Kazakhstan on Friday unveiled a new mosque in its capital Astana, the biggest in Central Asia, as part of festivities marking long-serving President Nursultan Nazarbayev’s 72nd birthday.
The gleaming white structure with Kazakh national ornaments will have a capacity to accommodate 5,000 worshippers. It took less than two years to build.
“This celebration is a celebration for all Kazakh people. I congratulate you on opening Kazakhstan’s biggest mosque,” Nazarbayev said. “We are a multinational country… We are a tolerant nation.”
The mosque, called “Khazret Sultan”, stands on some 11 hectares (27 acres) of land in central Astana. In January it was dramatically engulfed in flames after the wooden scaffolding in its tall cupola caught on fire, setting off an ominous plume of smoke above the city.
