Talkhatan Baba Mosque
Merv, Turkmenistan
The Talkhatan Baba Masjid is a commemorative mosque, built around the mausoleums of revered Sufi saints Talkhatan Baba, Imam Qasim, Imam Shafi and Imam Bakr. It lies in the Talkhatan Baba Village in the Murghab Valley, approximately 19 miles southwest of the walled city of Sultan Kala in Merv. Though no single patron can be identified, the mosque is believed to have been constructed in 1095, a belief supported by its unmistakably Seljuk style decorative treatment.

The Talkhatan Baba Masjid represents the early, simple three-bay mosque typology with a central cupola and flanking arcaded bays on each side. The small, rectangular tripartite plan is oriented north-south along its length. Its blind western elevation is divided into four equal parts by pilasters, while its eastern elevation features arched openings to a forecourt. Four freestanding columns define the central domed space, while two additional structural columns are inset into the western qibla wall. The mosque is built entirely of fired bricks, and is notable for its graceful ornamentation in square and figure bricks with no use of plaster or decorative facings. The central hall's interior exhibits a distinct decorative brick pattern of double footers with bow and cross figure insertions. The mihrab prayer niche is embroidered with an elaborate brick pattern frame while each of the eastern façade's arch tympana feature distinct ornamental patterns. Arches springing from round colonnettes frame shallow niches between pilasters of the western façade.

This ornate west façade was extensively and insensitively restored in recent decades. The mosque's remote location has unfortunately resulted in poor maintenance and shoddy repair.

Sources:

Hillenbrand, Robert. 1999. Islamic Architecture. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. 104, 488.
Location
Merv, Turkmenistan
Events
late 11th or early 12th c.
Style Periods
Variant Names
Talkhatan Baba Masjid
Variant
Building Usages
religious