Idgar Mosque
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Etigar Mosque, located on the Public Square in the middle of the city, is the biggest in China occupying an area of 16,800 squaremeters. It is said to be a cemetery built by the Kashgar Emporer Shakesezi Mizhaerset in 1442 in commemoration to and to worship the souls of his deceased relatives. The temple inside was used for memorial ceremony and now attracts many prayers and religious followers. In 1538 Shakesezi’s descendant Wubuliaerboke expanded the temple to accommodate larger groups of prayers. And there have been multiple expansion and refurbishment undergone to gradually form today’s grand and majestic monument.
"Etigar" in local language means a place for prayer service. The mosque has a light greenish color with delicately carved flowery patterns. The entrance of the Etigar Mosque was made into a 12-squaremeter archway, which is giant as tall as 17 meters but delicately decorated. For example, on top of the archway there ingeniously carved a crescent moon. At dawn, Islamic monks living in the temple would climb up and down the tower exactly 5 times and summon all Muslims to pray. There are 15 beautiful frescos along the walls of the archway. The clusters of temples stretch out 140 meters north to south, and 120 meters west to east.
Walking through the archway, there is a gigantic courtyard with a prayer’s temple on one side and the 18-meter high scripture preaching hall on the other. Both were designed in typical Islamic styles that show off very well its unique architectural characteristics. The square-shaped roof of the prayer temple is sustained by 158 light bluish columns. The ceilings and each of the four corners were made of exquisite wood carvings and decorated with colorful paintings and patterns. During the prayer service, the Chief of the Islamic Religious Association will usually be in the preaching hall reading scriptures; and he will also teach people about the services and scriptures in open days. It is useful to note that shoes must be taken off before entering the halls irrespective social rankings.
The prominent Etigar Mosque takes its fame from not only its amazing scale but more importantly its ability to serve special religious purposes. Everyday thousands of Muslims travelled miles from all over Xinjiang to pray here. In the afternoon of a typical "Juma Day" (a service day for prayers, and is usually on a Friday), an estimated six to seven thousand Muslim males would participate in the service. The annual "Juma Day" is an even grander occasion for prayer service where there will usually be around twenty to thirty thousand participants. After the ceremony the crowds would gather outside the temple, and music is always best choice for celebration: drums, singing and dancing. They will carry on the Saman Dance throughout the entire night. Yet quite unfortunately as a tradition of Muslim, women are restricted to participate in this dance.
Etigar Mosque, as a pivot preserved cultural relic of Xinjiang Municipality, continues to serve as an important location for religious services and activities, and increasingly become a significant and popular scenic and tourism spot in Kashgar area. During the busy holiday seasons thousands of Islamic people would gather in and around the prayer temple or at the big courtyard. Uygur young men would wear handsome festal costume and dance Saman creating quite an exciting and joyful atmosphere.
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lavender0108 Says:2008-3-20 2:47:00
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