Hazrati Shoh Mausoleum

Hazrati Shoh Mausoleum

 If you ask any local resident who is buried in Hazrati Shoh Mausoleum you will get the answer that this sacred place is the tomb of St. Hazrati Shoh – the brother of Kusam ibn Abbas, the cousin of Prophet Muhammad buried in the 11th century in Samarkand complex of Shakhi Zind. This is the way the legend is told in this place.

The mausoleum itself being one of the most ancient landmarks of Tajikistan is a part of the historical-architectural complex “Hazrati Shoh” located in the old part of Istaravshan. The complex consists of three cult structures: Hazrati Shoh Mausoleum, Khudoyor Valami Mausoleum and Hazrati Shoh Mosque (also known as Namozgokh) built in the 19th century. All three structures stand in a semicircle. Each of them was erected at different times and has its own history of creation and purpose. In the past, the city cemetery and the Madrassah were also a part of the complex.

Today Hazrati Shoh Mausoleum is a modest two-dome brick building with a tomb (gurkhan) and a chapel (ziyoratkhon) which has been repeatedly restored.

In front of the mausoleum, there is a spring the water in which is considered holy and medicinal. According to a legend the spring was formed after caliph Ali dropped his crosier into a high-mountain Lake Ojkul. The crosier emerged at the feet of Hazrati Shoh buried in Uro-Teppa right where the spring was born. It was from this spring that the history of the mausoleum started. According to the scientists the Muslims consider a spring as a source of life; this is why the burial place of the honored religious figure appeared there. Later the mausoleum was erected above his tomb.

The complex is dated the 18th century though historically it emerged much earlier – in the 10th – 11th centuries.