Bulgaria Inside

Tomboul Mosque is the biggest Muslim sanctuary in Bulgaria and the second biggest mosque on the Balkans.

Its construction took place in 1744 in the town of Shoumen. In the 18th century, Tomboul mosque was in Shoumen’s very center but the growth of the town has moved it to the southwestern part of the town today.

Ottoman ruler Sherif Khalil insisted on the construction of the sanctuary in 1740. Columns from Pliska were used in the construction.

The official name of the mosque is Sherif Khalil after its creator but most people know is as Tomboul (a word meaning rounded in Turkish). The name is derived from the shape of its dome.

The area of the mosque is 1730 decares. The complex consists of a mosque, a religious school, a dorm for religion students and a yard.

All parts of the building are connected with each other via the yard.

The prayer hall is square-shaped, while its central part becomes circular and ends in a dome. The overall height to the peak of the dome is 25 m.

Beautiful geometrical figures and Arabic writings from the Koran decorate the mosque walls. The minaret is 40 m high and 99 stairs lead to its top, from which the imam calls all believers to prayer.

A fountain in the central part of the yard is used for ceremonial washing before prayers. The fountain water is considered to be sacred.

Tomboul mosque had a library protecting nearly 500 religious books. All of these were taken to Sofia’s national library.

This mosque is the only functioning Islamic sanctuary that also acts as a tourism landmark. It has been included among the 100 national tourist sites.