The Hoja Amin Mausoleum in Namangan stands as a fascinating monument of the past. According to legend, it is the final resting place of Amin Hoja, the successor to one of the most renowned sheikhs of Tashkent, Shaykhantaur. The tomb is not inside the mausoleum but behind it, and next to it stands a fragment of a dried-up tree, clearly much older than the surrounding structures.
Constructed in the second half of the 18th century, when Namangan became one of the major cities of the Fergana Valley, the mausoleum was built using traditional Central Asian architectural styles. If one were unaware of its construction date, it might be mistakenly assumed to be from pre-Mongol times. This is because this style of architecture was typical in pre-Mongol Central Asia, where the main decoration was intricate patterns of terracotta and decorative bricks. Few authentic pre-Mongol stone buildings remain in Central Asia, such as the Kalan Minaret and the Samanid Mausoleum in Bukhara, the minarets and mausoleums of Uzgen and Burana, Taraz and Talas. The facade of the Hoja Amin Mausoleum resembles them, differing only in being newer and more intact.
The Fergana Valley’s main architectural feature is its preservation of pre-Mongol traditions, thanks to its relatively limited exposure to the Mongol invasion and its long influence from Kashgar. This tradition survived here and persisted until the 18th and 19th centuries, an era of general decline in Central Asia.
A wooden painted mosque with two rows of halls was built near the mausoleum much later.
The mausoleum is adorned with intricate terracotta carvings, a technique that was reintroduced in the early 14th century by Central Asian architects, using a colorful glaze. While monuments in Samarkand from the 14th and 15th centuries and those in Bukhara from the 16th and 17th centuries boast stunning mosaics made from colorful tiles, the Hoja Amin Mausoleum surprises with its revival of terracotta carvings, crafted with skillful and confident hands in the late 18th century.