This is the largest single-dome mosque in the world and the largest mosque in all of Central Asia, built in the village of Gypjak, the ancestral home of the country's first president. The foundation was laid in the autumn of 2002 with the personal involvement of Saparmurat Niyazov, and the grand opening took place in 2004.
The mosque covers an area of 18,000 square metres, of which the central hall alone takes up 7,000 — capable of holding nearly 10,000 worshippers at once. The main building reaches a height of 55 metres, while the four surrounding minarets rise to 91 metres — a figure symbolising 1991, the year of the country's independence.
The entire structure is faced in white marble, surrounded by numerous fountains. Nearby stands the mausoleum of the Niyazov family, containing five sarcophagi — for the parents, two brothers who died in the 1948 earthquake, and Turkmenbashi himself, who was laid to rest here in 2006. The sheer scale of the complex makes it one of the country's most striking architectural landmarks.
