HAZRAT SULTAN MOSQUE

Completed in 2012, the Hazrat Sultan Mosque is currently the second largest of the five Central Asian republics, after the Gypjak Mosque in Turkmenistan. It is named after the Sufi sheikh Ahmed Yasawi, whose mausoleum is in Turkestan, in the south of the country. Dazzlingly white, symbolizing the purity of the believers, its silhouette contrasts sharply with the surrounding monuments. Not so long ago, the mosque stood at the very edge of the capital's built-up area, and from its walls you could see the infinity of the steppe. Today, construction has overwhelmed its surroundings, and a few building sites are still under way. Among the most recent notable buildings surrounding the mosque are, of course, the National History Museum, the Academy of Arts and the Independence Museum, all facing the Peoples' Peace Tetrahedron. Angles, shapes, dimensions: the whole is in stark contrast to the more traditional lines and materials of the Grand Mosque. Its 28-metre-wide dome rises to a height of 51 metres, 11 more than that of the Nur-Astana mosque near Khan Shatyr, on the other side of the river. The four minarets rise to 77 metres. The mosque can accommodate 5,000 worshippers at high prayers, and up to 9,000 with the courtyard, but it's rare to see it full. Since its completion in 2012, it has replaced the Nur Astana mosque, previously the capital's main Muslim place of worship.