Almaty - Central Mosque

The main religion in Kazakhstan is Islam. The Kazakh people have practised the Islamic religion for more than a thousand years. There are more than 20 mosques in the city, but the Friday Mosque on Pushkin Street is the centre of the city’s spiritual world. The Central Mosque of Almaty is one of the largest mosques in Kazakhstan. The mosque was put into operation in 1999. The personal support of the Head of State N.A. Nazarbayev played an important role in speeding up the completion of the construction and handing over the mosque for use by the faithful. The architects are: Baimagambetov and Sharapiev.

The grandiose building has a capacity of 7,000 visitors. The south-western part of the building faces Mecca and is crowned by a beautiful pentagonal mihrab. At the corners of the building are the Guddasta Towers, whose domes are covered with real gold leaf. The majestic building of the Central Mosque is decorated with marble and coloured tiles with Kazakh national motifs. The minaret tower is 47 metres high and the main dome 36 metres. Inside, the dome is decorated with coloured mosaics in which you can read wise suras from the Koran.

When you enter the building, you will find the Friday, ritual and women’s halls. In the Central Mosque of Almaty, there are also special upper mezzanines that serve as additional space for prayers. The entire wall surface is covered with white marble slabs and the portals are decorated with carved wooden doors. A magnificent chandelier with a diameter of about 5 metres hangs under the dome.