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The Juma Mosque: A Mosque With No Dome and No Portal — Only a Forest of Columns

Everyone expects a mosque to have a dome, an arch and a blaze of tilework. The Juma Mosque in Khiva gives you none of that. From outside, a blank clay box. Inside, half-light and 213 wooden columns — and no two are the same.

A Kvazar guide · Updated 2026 · ~8 min read

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In the very center of Itchan Kala, between Khiva's western and eastern gates, stands a building you could easily walk past: it has no tall portal, no blue dome, no ornate facade. This is the Juma Mosque — the city's main Friday mosque and, in many people's view, its true wonder. All its beauty is hidden inside: the ceiling of the great hall rests on 213 wooden columns, turning the interior into a museum of woodcarving under one roof.

In short: the Juma Mosque is Khiva's main Friday mosque, unique in having no portal, no dome, no galleries and no inner courtyard. It is a large covered hall whose ceiling rests on 213 wooden columns gathered over many centuries: the oldest are dated to the 10th–12th centuries, others to the 18th–19th. Light falls from above through openings in the ceiling. It's worth visiting for the atmosphere and the carving — a meditative sight rather than a showpiece one.
In this guide What kind of mosque it is The 213 columns Where the ancient columns came from Light and atmosphere Is it worth going in FAQ

How is the Juma Mosque different from an ordinary mosque?

In that it has almost none of the things a mosque is usually recognized by: no monumental portal, no dome, no arched galleries, no inner courtyard. It's a plain rectangular covered hall with a flat ceiling, entered from three sides. All the building's expressiveness lies not in its exterior but in its inner "forest" of wooden columns. This kind of ancient hypostyle (columned) mosque is a great rarity in the region.

From outside, the Juma Mosque looks like an ordinary mud-brick structure, and that's the deception: zero grandeur, immense value. A mosque is thought to have stood on this site as far back as the 10th century — medieval authors attest to it — and it took its present form after a rebuilding at the end of the 18th century, funded by donations.

This "hidden" character makes the mosque very Khivan in spirit: the city as a whole isn't about showy luxury but about wholeness and preservation. The Juma Mosque is its quintessence.

Why are there 213 columns, and why so many?

213 wooden columns hold up the flat ceiling of the great hall — a structural necessity: without dome technology, an area this size could only be roofed with a dense grid of supports. But the columns here aren't merely load-bearing: each is covered in carving, and no two are alike. So the hall reads not as a technical frame but as a gallery of carved wood.

The columns stand in even rows receding into the half-light, and it's precisely their repeating rhythm that creates the special sensation people come here for. The carving on them varies in style and age: some bear the floral-vegetal Khivan pattern, others Arabic inscriptions in the ancient Kufic script.

In essence, you're looking at a catalogue of Khivan and Khorezmian woodcarving, stretched across several centuries and gathered in one room. A careful eye reads the history of the craft off the columns.

213 columns, and not one repeats its neighbor — this isn't a hall but a chronicle of carving, written in wood.

How can the mosque have columns older than Khiva itself?

Some of the columns are far older than the present building: it's believed the oldest may have been brought from earlier structures, and even from Kyat, the ancient capital of Khorezm. About two dozen columns are dated to the 10th–12th centuries by the character of their Arabic inscriptions; the columns with vegetal pattern belong to the 18th–19th. So the mosque is assembled from supports of different eras.

This turns the Juma Mosque into a kind of archive: the new building carefully absorbed the ancient columns rather than letting them be lost. There's a fine legend too, that one of the columns was brought from India — it's linked to the name of the city's patron, Pahlavan Mahmud.

For the traveler this means that, examining the columns, you are literally moving through time: neighboring supports may be eight or nine centuries apart.

Why is it so dark inside, and yet so beautiful?

The Juma Mosque has no windows in the usual sense — light enters through small openings in the ceiling, which also serve for ventilation. Narrow shafts of light fall from above between the columns, picking the carving out of the gloom, and the pattern of light shifts through the day. It's precisely this play of light in the half-dark that creates the hall's almost meditative atmosphere.

This isn't a grand, dazzling space like the portals of Samarkand, but a quiet, focused one. You want not to photograph here but to slow down. The best time is when the sun is high and the rays fall almost vertically.

Is it worth going into the Juma Mosque?

Yes — it's one of Khiva's main sights, though the most understated. Where the other monuments of Itchan Kala strike you at once, the Juma Mosque reveals itself to those willing to linger. Entry is usually on the single Itchan Kala ticket. Beside it stands the Juma Mosque's minaret, which you can climb if you wish.

Tip: come here after the noisy palaces and madrasas, when you want quiet. The contrast works in the mosque's favor — its restraint registers more strongly. Allow 15–20 minutes to simply walk among the columns without hurrying.

Frequently asked questions

How many columns are in the Juma Mosque?

213 wooden columns hold up the ceiling of the great hall. They're gathered from different eras: the oldest are dated to the 10th–12th centuries, the later ones to the 18th–19th. No column repeats another in its carving.

Why does the Juma Mosque have no dome or portal?

It's an ancient hypostyle (columned) type of mosque: instead of a dome, the hall is roofed with a flat ceiling on a dense grid of wooden supports. So there's no dome, no monumental portal and no inner courtyard — all the beauty is within.

Where did the ancient columns come from?

Some columns were brought from earlier structures, possibly from Kyat, the ancient capital of Khorezm. About twenty columns are dated to the 10th–12th centuries by their Arabic inscriptions; the ones with vegetal pattern to the 18th–19th.

When is the best time to visit the Juma Mosque?

During the day, when the sun is high: the rays fall almost vertically through the ceiling openings and pick the columns' carving beautifully out of the gloom. It's best to come after the noisy palaces — the contrast heightens the impression.

Where is the Juma Mosque?

In the very center of Itchan Kala in Khiva, on the main axis between the western and eastern gates, beside the Juma Mosque's minaret. Entry is usually on the single ticket to the Itchan Kala museum-reserve.

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