Tago

Tago Mosque

Sited above hilly Tago village, this mosque is best accessed via a cable car (built in 1985) from Khulo, the district capital located across the valley. Tago mosque is currently home to an active congregation, but its prayer hall has not quite recovered from Soviet era use as an agricultural warehouse. The interior is best described as haphazard: vinyl panels (of the sort used to line bathrooms) cover most of the walls and even the mihrab niche; the original columns supporting the mezzanine have been replaced by metal pipes welded to an I-beam; a chimney pipe from the floor below erupts through the prayer hall floor and up out the ceiling. Some of the only hints of earlier decoration are the broken remnants of a carved minbar crown and a few applied wooden ornaments framing the unpainted dome. The entrance vestibule, located on the level below the prayer hall, currently functions as a small madrasa. Overall, Tago exemplifies the struggles of a community that can only afford to make their village mosque as comfortable as possible for regular use without regard for long term maintenance or historic preservation.

DISTRICT : Khulo
LOCATION :  41°37’25.2”N 42°18’50.0”E
POPULATION : 294
CONSTRUCTION DATE : 1900-1915  (hijri 1318-1333)
RENOVATION DATE(S) : 1990s
CRAFTSMEN : Local masters  
MINARET : Yes