Pir Siddiq Complex

In Margelan, which has more than two thousand years of its history, as well as in the entire Fergana Valley, almost no monuments of medieval architecture have been preserved due to frequent earthquakes. Perhaps the oldest and most unusual religious building in this ancient city can be called the architectural complex of Pir Siddiq. It was formed in the middle of the 18th century and includes a mosque, a minaret, a courtyard with the tomb of Pir Siddiq and, quite unexpectedly for such ensembles, a dovecote. It is not for nothing that this complex is popularly called "Kaptarlik" – "Pigeon".

There is an old legend among the Margilans about the miraculous salvation of Saint Pir Siddiq. Once, in ancient times, when pagan Turks attacked the Fergana Valley, he hid in a cave, hiding from the infidels, and pigeons built nests and sealed the entrance with them. The pursuers reached the cave, but when they saw the pigeons sitting quietly in their nests, they decided that a person could not hide here, otherwise the birds would show concern. Since then, pigeons have been revered in Margilan, and a complex was built near the tomb of Pir Siddiq in memory of that event.

The mausoleum itself was built over an earlier burial site in 1155 AH (1742), as indicated by an inscription in a rectangular recess above the entrance to it. Initially, a dome was erected above the chamber with the tomb of the saint, but later it was replaced with a flat ceiling. It is supported by four wooden columns, and the trunk, base and capital of one of them are covered with magnificent carvings. The pointed entrance arch of the tomb is decorated with a decorative portal typical of the architecture of the Fergana Valley. The portal is framed on both sides by columns topped with tall domed lanterns, and their base and trunk are decorated with geometric ganch carvings.

There is a mosque and a minaret in the eastern part of the complex. And the courtyard surrounding the tomb is surrounded by a fence with a monumental portal-domed entrance – darvazakhona. An ivan with a four-tiered dovecote was erected right there. Its winged inhabitants are considered sacred birds of Pir Siddiq.