Turkmenistan; Ashgabat city; Mosque of Turkmenbashi Rukhy

Turkmenistan; Ashgabat city; Mosque of Turkmenbashi Rukhy
The Turkmenbashi Rukhy Mosque is the main mosque of Turkmenistan, the largest single-domed mosque in the world and the largest in Central Asia. Named after Saparmurat Turkmenbashi, the founder and first president of Turkmenistan. The mosque was officially opened in 2004.
Saparmurat Niyazov personally took part in laying the foundation of the mosque in autumn 2002. Built by the French company Bouygues in 2004, in the village of Kipchak, 15 km from Ashgabat (in 2013 included in the city), near the M37 highway. At the official opening, Saparmurat Niyazov asked all Turkmens to repeat three times with him the words addressed to the Almighty: “Almighty Allah, accept this mosque from us. This is your home"
The mosque cost the Turkmen treasury more than $100 million. Its total area is 18 thousand square meters, the height of the building, built of white marble, is 55 meters, and the height of each of the four minarets is 91 meters, symbolizing 1991, the year of gaining state independence of Turkmenistan. The mosque can accommodate 10,000 believers, and 7,000 men and 3,000 women can pray at the same time. There are 8 more entrances in the building, in front of each of which arched gates rise and cascades of fountains are broken. The mosque provides floor heating, which is made in the form of an eight-pointed star with a carpet of 215 square meters. On the territory of the mosque there are special rooms for ablutions and ritual events for 5 thousand people. An underground car park for 100 buses and 400 cars has been built near the mosque. The walls of the mosque are decorated not only with sayings from the Koran, but also with quotations from Saparmurat Niyazov's book "Rukhnama".