The iconic yellow tiles of Kashgar's Id Kah Mosque have been a travel destination for centuries. Id Kah Mosque, also spelled as “Eid Kah” or ” Aitiga’er in Chinese” means in Uyghur language, “place for festival”. It is the biggest mosque in the region and in China. It is also the center of Islamic activities for people in Kashgar and surrounding cities. For many Uyghur in the villages surrounding Kashgar, it is a spiritual journey. For most of us, it is a curious monument of ancient Uyghur culture in the middle of a quickly modernizing city. Here’s everything you need to know before you go.
History
The land on which the Id Kah mosque is built was originally used as a cemetery as early as 996 AD. Some history connects the mosque to older structures that dotted this plot of land, it’s a tentative connection at best.
The familiar mosque face we easily recognize today only dates back to the early 19th century. The Id Kah Mosque was officially built in 1442. At that time it was a simple prayer hall by the ruler of Kashgar at the time, Saqsiz Mirza, for the purpose of saying prayers for the souls of his deceased relatives.
The true heart of Kashgar lies not in the People’s Square, a space guarded by China’s second largest Mao ZeDong statue. No, the true heart of this beautiful city is in the square and alleyways that fall under the shadow of the yellow-bricked Id Kah Mosque.
The entire mosque covers an area of 16,800 sq. meters, making it the largest mosque by land area in China (there is another mosque in Qinghai whose building is actually larger). Inside the Id Kah prayer halls, close to 20,000 worshipers can cram together to worship during the major Muslim festivals. During normal Friday prayers, however, that number is usually between 2,000-5,000.
For those unaware, Eid ul-Fitr marks the end of the month-long religious fasting called “Ramadan”. For the entire month a fast is supposed to be observed from sun-up to sun-down until the final day when they hold a celebration that seems to me to be as big in their culture as Christmas is in America.
People travel long distances to see family, visit friends, and in many cases to visit an important mosque. This is particularly the case where thousands of Uyghur gather to pray at the Id Kah Mosque.