Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
Coordinates: 38.017596, 58.252605
Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque or Gypjak Mosque is a mosque in the village of Gypjak, Turkmenistan.
It is located about 7 kilometres west of the Ashgabat city centre, on the M37 highway.
It opened on October 22, 2004 and was built by Niyazov with a mausoleum in preparation for his death.
Niyazov died two years later, and was buried in the mausoleum on December 24, 2006.
The vast prayer room can hold 10,000 pilgrims, with 7,000 men on the main floor and 3,000 women on the second level. Beneath the mosque is an underground parking area with a capacity for 400 cars.
Inside the mosque is spectacular. The thick brown carpet and extensive use of golden chandeliers for lighting is very impressive.
Controversy surrounding the mosque
The mosque has been at the center of controversy as scriptures from both the Quran and the Ruhnama (The Book of the Soul), Niyazov’s ‘pseudo-spiritual guide to life’ are built into the walls.
It has outraged many Muslims that the Ruhnama is placed as the Quran’s equal.
Niyazov was obsessed with his book (there’s a giant statue of it in Ashgabat), so much so that he elevated it to the same level as the Quran when he built the Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque—
Even more incendiary was one particular quotation inscribed prominently on the entry arch to the mosque, which reads “The Ruhnama is the holiest book and the Quran is the book of Allah.”
Know This
The Gypjak mosque is a few kilometers north east of Ashgabat on the M37 highway.
