The Khast-Imam complex is a recreated modern site built in the 1990s on an original site. As we drove up I could hear the azaan call to prayer which I had not commonly heard before. I hadnt been able to pray yet as there is barely any running water in public places to wash yourself. Planning to make my Friday Prayers I had washed in the hotel before leaving

The Mosque was already packed to the doors and there was barely any room to get in. As people stood to straighten the lines some space opened up. I didnt stay long and left before everyone else did crushing thru the doors and trampling all the shoes.

We now left that crowded area to return back once everyone had left and went over to visit a tomb. I'm not sure who this is but I believe its the only original building in the entire complex

Tashkent is an old city going back to before the 10th Century. The name changed to Tashkent when the Arabs had trouble pronouncing the original name and misspelled the name in its current form.

While the tomb just had a brick interior it did have carpeting which gave it a more warmer feel than the other stone mausoleums.

Now we went back to the main complex to visit a Madrassa. This is newly built and still undergoing some final tilework on the main domes.

Inside the classrooms were used as souvenir shops and artisans workshops. I'd seen enough by this point so didnt spend too much time.

There was a school party that was very curious to see me a foreign tourist.

Outside in the main square one of the students was bold enough to ask me if I spoke english and if I was a tourist. Then they asked to take a group pic and all handed their cameras to my guide.

The next and most interesting building was a small building that was constructed to hold the worlds oldest Koran. This is an 7th Century copy that was brought possibly by the Prophet's cousin who is buried at Shah-i-Zindah in Samarkand.

There are blood stains down the spine and the sides from when the person is killed. No photography is allowed inside the building but I found an internet picture.

It is written in Kufic style which does not have any of the punctuations common in Quranic writing. Also the book is quite large about 2ft by 2ft so not very portable.

The Soviets took it to St Petersburg to help restore the pages and to make a copy to have a more secure record of the original writings. From this 50 copies were made and distributed.

The rest of the museum had copies of the Koran from every major language around the world.

We now went back to the Juma Mosque which was now empty. Although being newly built and modern it still had very interesting detail around the domes and mihrab.