🕌 Orenburg Caravanserai

The Orenburg Caravanserai (Bashkir: Каруанһарай) is a mosque, historical and architectural complex in Orenburg. It is a cultural monument of the Bashkir people. The caravanserai was built in 1837–1846 with donations as a place for the Office of the Bashkir-mesheryak army commander, hotels for Bashkirs who came to Orenburg for services and a workshop and school. The historical and architectural complex consists of Bashkir folk houses and mosques. The original design of architect Alexander Brullov was a pastiche of a traditional Bashkir village: the central dominant octagonal mosque reproduced the form of a Bashkir yurt.