Ornate Pillar in Djuma Mosque, a photo from Xorazm, West

Photographer's Note

The city of Khiva (Uzbek: Xiva) in Khorezm (Xorazm) Region is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with world famous architectural monuments, making Khiva one of the main centers for international tourism in the country. This pearl of eastern middle age architecture, lies 25 kilometers south of present-day Urgench in Uzbekistan.

The current City Walls of Khiva, which have been restored, were according to locals built sometime after the destruction of the city by the Mongols. The fabled Ichan-Qala (inner walled city) is the historic heart of Khiva; To walk through the walls and catch the architectural jewels in all its monotoned, mud-walled glory is like stepping into another era. The Djuma Mosque (Friday mosque), located in Ichan-Qala, and originally dating to the tenth-century, was also destroyed during the sack of the city.

The construction of this Mosque is unconventional and unique - there are no domes, galleries, portals - only the roof, held by 213 carved columns. The mosque hall is in the size of 45 on 55 meters is rectangular in shape and is covered by a flat roof. The hall is surrounded by massive wall with three entrances. Ancient Arabian mosques had a similar layout. The present day building which we see was rebuilt in the 18th century in the Arabian-style structure with 213 wooden columns in the 18th century. The majority of the columns were carved from tree trunks in the 18th- 19th centuries. Carved wooden columns, each works of art, are all very different, differing from each other with forms, dimensions, art furnish and time of their making. Some of them were made from ruined medieval buildings. These columns of the 18th-19th centuries are well recognized due to Khiva's typical floral-vegetative pattern. We see one of such ornate pillars in this picture.

Moonlight through three holes in the ceiling (one you can see on the middle) of the mosque and carved wooden columns create an exclusive atmosphere for prayer. Pity we could not see this beauty with our eyes.

Picture cropped & resized

danos, jhm, pierrefonds, Graal, mayjayne, mayjayne, holmertz, kordinator, ChrisJ, adores, nikkitta, papagolf21 heeft deze opmerking als nuttig gemarkeerd

Critiques | Translate

danos (110407) 2014-12-05 0:36

Hello Angshu,
very nice the view as the presentation of this carved wooden column as we can see a lot of elements on it.The presentation of the visitors in the Djuma Mosque,must be a great experience for them.Your informative note tell us a lot for this impressive and important construction.

Regards,Danos

Gerrit (62042) 2014-12-05 1:28

Hello Angshuman,
this looks like a fanatstic place, The wooden pillar is so utterly decorated. The construction looks wonderful.
regards, Gerrit

jhm (211738) 2014-12-05 3:08

Hello Angshu,

Incredible what a very big artwork of the pilar, the artist is a extraordinarily man.
Also perfect photographed, in high quality.
Colours and presentation are excellent make your picture very attractive.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

pierrefonds (115572) 2014-12-05 4:02

Hi Angshuman,

The blurred background id giving depth to the composition. The point of view is showing the details of the ornate pillar. The surrounding light has a good effect on the colors. Have a nice day.

Pierre

Graal (103040) 2014-12-05 5:58

Hello Angshuman,
amazing artistic work. Interesting details, unusual pillar. Interesting interior of mosqe. Good informations and photo work.
Have a nice WE.
Aleksander

Sergiom (117241) 2014-12-05 5:59

Bonjour Angshuman,

J'aime beaucoup le choix de la profondeur de champs dans cette composition. L'élément à l'avant plan est d'une grande netteté tandis que le flou de l'arrière plan fournit l'atmosphère de l'endroit.

Amicalement

Serge

mayjayne (7204) 2014-12-05 7:08

Dear Angshu,

Living in a Muslim country, I have yet to come across a mosque with a flat roof! The carvings on the wooden pillar are splendid, and well captured in your shot.

TFS,
May

holmertz (103642) 2014-12-05 7:15

Hello Angshuman,
A very well taken photo with a razor sharp focus on the marvellously carved wooden pillar. The slightly blurred background gives us a good general idea of the place, including some of the visitors. It's a very well chosen POV and a well considered composition.
Kind regards,
Gert

photographer_sg (6059) 2014-12-05 7:42

Hello Angshuman
Excellent depiction of this fascinating piece of wooden sculpture. The details are brought out with pin sharp clarity. The just adequately blurred background is superb too, in the sense that it provides a good feel of the surroundings while retaining the main subject as the focal point. Excellent picture and thanks for sharing it.
Have a nice Sunday.
Satya

jjcordier (79299) 2014-12-05 19:31

Angshuman
Bon choix de profondeur de champ pour mettre en vedette ce pilier étonnant tout en le situant dans son environnement flouté juste comme il faut.
Amicalement
JJ

kordinator (8738) 2014-12-09 0:08

Dear Angshuman
Fantastic pearl of eastern middle age architecture.
Excellent presentation of this carved wooden column.
The blurred background id giving depth to the composition.
Great photo job.
Kind regards
Saša

pajaran (117077) 2014-12-09 4:25

Dobar dan, popodne.
Interesantan tekst o starom gradu sa istorijom i opisom ...
Dobar snimak i kontrast, lepo pokazan enterijer i drveni stub sa detaljima.
Dobar rad i kompozicija, lepa arhitektura.
Lepo popodne i sve najbolje.
Paja.

Good afternoon, this afternoon.
An interesting article about the old city with a history and description ...
Good footage and contrast nicely demonstrated interior and wooden post with details.
Good work and composition, beautiful architecture.
A nice afternoon and all the best.
Paja.

Nicou (193814) 2014-12-09 4:42

Hello

quelle image fantastique cette colonne toute travaillée quel rendu et dessin quel effet avec le personnage en fond en couleur ce plafond de bois quelle œuvre d'art superbe.
Bravo et amitié
Nicou

Fis2 (171961) 2014-12-09 6:40

Witaj Angshu!
Interesting ornate pillar, excellent details.
Curious interior.
Good frame and depth.
Well done.
Good evening
Krzysztof

abmdsudi (95869) 2014-12-09 22:19

Namaste Angshu
A superb capture with excellent approach, like the way you have isolated the delicately crafted pillar and going as low as f3.5 narrower dof and staying crisp sharp in focus. It's pretty much all controlled by the aperture with just nice glimpse in the foreground which does work for me. Great capture, Congrats
Best regards

ChrisJ (172436) 2014-12-10 21:50

Hello Angshu,

Good use of a shallow dof to focus on the ornately carved and decorated wooden pillar within the Djuma Mosque. I like the minimalist color and the people at left add scale. The warm colours of the ceiling contrast well against the cooler tones of the floor. Tfs!

Didi (61589) 2014-12-11 10:54

Salam Angshu
Interesting selective setting DOF on the right part
Good sharp details
I am surprised about tourists who wearing shoes inside the mosque
Well done
Best regards

adores (46979) 2014-12-11 13:27

Hi Angshuman!
It's a fantastic artwork,the details are just magnificent and you captured them with a very good light. I like the composition, with the focus on the pillar and the people around, in the blurred background. This must be a really nice country!

mkamionka (75139) 2014-12-14 9:34

Hi Angshu,
fantastic idea so creative way to present this amazing detail. The background is nicely blurred but preserves enough clarity to satisfy the curiosity, plus it adds brighter more vivid colors.
Excellent work!
M

gervaso (28435) 2014-12-17 2:33

Hello, Angshuman!

Very nice capture of the beautiful details of this pillar, with excellent texture and sharpness! Perfect use of the narrow depth of field to emphasize it! Wonderful composition! Well done!

kasianowak (17676) 2015-01-06 1:16

And here, I was 8 months before you! The interior of this mosque is so beautiful with all the lovely columns but at the same time so difficult to photograph. You did a great job here, I like the idea to fill the foreground with the carved wooden surface.
Best wishes
Kasia

emka (158860) 2015-01-08 21:32

Hello Angshu, Very interesting note about this unique monument. What a strange construction of this mosque! I have never seen anything like that. What a opity you haven't seen the moon there. Amazing columns.

WArm regrads MAlgo

nikkitta (17070) 2015-01-09 11:13

Namaste Angshu,

Like the natural frame provided by the well carved column as well as the very informative note to introduce the shot

As I can see, some columns are at the base thin as pencils, never saw this before
Well done, regards
Maria

papagolf21 (152607) 2015-02-02 1:37

Bonjour, cher Angshu,
Merveilleux détails à travers cette composition très réussie. L'on peut admirer le travail de sculpture.
Très bien vu également l'effet flouté de l'arrière-plan.
Le tout accompagné d'une très bonne note d'accompagnement.
Amitiés.
Philippe