Dungan Mosque

This exotic-looking, incongruous, blue building in central Karakol resembles a Buddhist temple, but is in fact a mosque. Completed in 1910, the mosque was built to serve Karakol's community of Dungans (Chinese Muslims who fled persecution in the 1880s). Designed by a Chinese architect, the building is constructed entirely without nails and much of its imagery, including a wheel of fire, reflects the Dungans' pre-Islamic, Buddhist past. Instead of a minaret the mosque has a wooden pagoda. Despite being closed by the government from 1933-43, the mosque continues to be used as a place of worship. These days worshippers are not exclusively Dungan and include a large Kyrgyz contingent. The 'Dungan Mosque' has therefore become simply 'The Mosque' in local parlance. Women are not always allowed to enter, but the friendly caretaker, who lives in the grounds, will open its doors and allow you to peer inside.