Shaikh Khalifa Mosque, Shymkent

The Central Mosque of Shymkent, popularly linked to the name of Sheikh Khalifa, was completed in 2013 following an initiative by Kazakhstan's first president, Nursultan Nazarbayev, with financial support from the then-president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It opened with prayer halls able to hold around 8,000 worshippers, making it one of the larger mosques in the country's south. Its design departs from the traditional hemispherical dome, taking a shape recalling the top of a yurt and topped with a crescent, while four tall minarets frame the structure; the building's bright white finish earned it the nickname Ak-Meshit, meaning 'White Mosque.' Beyond the main prayer spaces for men and women, the complex includes an imam's residence, washing facilities, a café, and a shop for religious goods. Locals also know it informally as the Sheikh's Mosque or Bekzhan Mosque, after the nearby Bekzhan Market.