The Great Khan Mosque (Biyuk Khan Jami) is located to the right of the Northern Gate, which is the main entrance to the territory of the Khan`s Palace. It is the oldest building in Bakhchisarai. On its wall there is a plaque with the name of Khan Sahib Giray, who in 1532 began the construction of the new capital of the Crimean Khanate.
The Great Khan Mosque was built in the architectural style of the Crimean Tatars. The mosque building is covered with a four-pitched roof with red tiles, although at first, domes towered over the mosque. On the walls of the Great Khan Mosque you can see beautiful panels with majolica, where sayings from the Koran are written. The window portals are also very beautifully decorated.
Two minarets, 28 meters high, rise above the mosque. They are made of limestone blocks bonded with a solution with the addition of lead. Having become monolithic, the minarets withstood all fires and destruction. Stairs inside the minarets lead to stone balconies at the top. Services are still held in the Great Khan Mosque these days. Five times a day, from her minaret, the muezzin calls people to prayer.
Tourists can enter the Great Khan Mosque of Bakhchisarai, as well as see the Khan`s Lodge. The interiors of the mosque have been reconstructed many times over the past centuries, however, in some place patterns of the 18th century painted by the artist Omer have been preserved on the walls. Beautiful stained glass windows have been preserved. In the mosque you can see a collection of ancient Korans.
