Tombul Mosque

The Sherif Halil Pasha Mosque, more commonly known as the Tombul Mosque, located in Shumen, is the largest mosque in Bulgaria and one of the largest in the Balkans.

Build between 1740 and 1744, the mosque was initially located in the north-eastern Bulgarian (then Ottoman) town's centre, but is now in Shumen's south-west parts as the town centre moved as a result of the enlargement of the town. The mosque's name comes from the shape of its dome.

The mosque's complex consists of a main edifice (a prayer hall), a yard and a twelve-room extension (a boarding house of the madrasa). The main edifice is in its fundamental part a square, then becomes an octagon passing to a circle in the middle part, and is topped by a spherical dome that is 25 m above ground. The interior has mural paintings of vegetable life and geometric figures and inscriptions of Arabic, phrases from the Qur'an. The yard is known for the arches in front of the twelve rooms that surround it and the minaret is 40 m high.

Address
Georgi Sava Rakovski 21, Shumen, Bulgaria

Established
1740-1744