I am hoping to see this when I visit Tashkent next week. It is in the Library of Teleyashayakh Mosque in the Hast Imam area. does anyone have more specif directions, including street address, nearest metro. If I find it I will report back.
Thanks
Janey
I have been to visit the the oldest Quran but unfortunately cannot remember the exact street address. I travelled there by taxi from the Chorsu Bazaar, the journey took less than 10 minutes. The museum is down a series of quiet lanes, near the grave of a famous 10th century Islamic scholar, Kaffel-Shashi.
The Mufti of Uzbekistan, the country's highest religious leader, has his offices there, in the courtyard of an old madrassa located almost right opposite the building which houses the Quran. Even though I didn't know the exact street address of the place the taxi driver seemed to know exactly where to find it.
I apologise for being a little vague but hope this information helps you find the place!
It's in the Moyie Mubarek Library Museum. Just tell a taxi driver, Stari Quran (old Quran) He'll know what you're talking about.
Hi Janey,
I think Chorsu Bazaar might be the nearest metro stop, but I'm certainly not sure. It's an easy walk from there at any rate, maybe 15-20 minutes. The building housing the Koran is part of a complex containing a number of large Islamic buildings, including a grand new mosque and a large medressa, if I remember correctly. At any rate, you can see the complex from quite a long way away, and I think Hast Imam is understood if you're asking for directions. When I visited, it cost 3000 Sum to see the Koran (Uzbeks get in for free), and it is most definitely worth the effort of getting there.
Giora
According to Lonely Planet, the street address is Zarqaynar 114 and telephone is 160 03 02. I was there a couple of weeks ago. I asked the taxi to take me to Khast Imom. Once you get to the Khast Imom complex, the big mosque at the front nearest to the main road has a sign on it saying "Hazrati Imom - Jome Masjidi." Facing the mosque, with your back to the main road, head down the left side of the mosque. You will come to a couple of buildings after 100m or so. The smaller one on the right is the Moyie Mubarek Library Museum with the qur'an. It has a metal detector outside (although you don't need to go through it). You'll need to take off your shoes to enter, and no photos are allowed inside. The qur'an is in a big display case in the center. Check out other exhibits in side rooms.
The library is on the edge of a large courtyard, and across the courtyard is a medressa which now has souvenir shops. The Imam Ismail al-Bukhari Islamic Institute is to the east of the courtyard across a grass area, and the Abu Bakr Kaffal Shoshi mausoleum to the northeast of the courtyard, also across the grass area.
My opinion: don't torture yourself walking from Chorsu, as it's about 1.5 km, it'll be hot, you may get lost, and taxis are super cheap. You could probably pay 2,000 som from Chorsu to Khast Imom (or 3-4,000 if the driver tries to charge you tourist prices and you can't be bothered haggling over such a small amount of money).
I've read in an old guide book that only men are allowed to view the old Quran. Can anyone confirm whether this is true or not.
Thanks
JJ
I'm also female (and Muslim) and had no problems when I went there. There were also several other women there at the same time as me. If you are a woman the only thing that you will be asked to do when viewing the Quran in this place is to respecfully cover your head and to remove your shoes (same as the men), other than that there are no restrictions! There is absolutely nothing in Islamic law saying a women should NOT to view the Quran...ALL Muslims are encouraged to read it. The only Islamically-stipulated time that a woman may NOT touch the Quran is during menstruation.
Yes, I am definitely a girl and I definitely went. So the old guide book is no longer accurate.
In my travels in Central Asia, the only place I got booted out of was the Central Mosque in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Admittedly, I went inside on a Friday and LP says that foreigners aren't allowed inside on Fridays. (I had made my way through the crowds to the front door, and figured I would give it a try as I had covered my head, prayer time had just finished, and no one had objected to my presence so far.) Probably the combo of being a foreigner, female and carrying a big camera meant that I was never going to be allowed to stay in there very long! That said, don't be concerned about being denied entry to places in Central Asia because you're female. I found Central Asia very relaxed on this front compared to some other countries (e.g. Iran, Ethiopia). Even when there are signs up saying that women must cover their heads, I found that people usually just smiled and indicated that I could ignore this.
this is where a map comes handy:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1898412
it's in one of the buildings on Hezrati-Imam Sq.