World’s Largest Quran Exhibited in Tatarstan
The world’s biggest Quran was presented in Kazan, the capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, on Thursday. At the presentation, the audience gasped with delight when the giant book in a stone-encrusted gold-and-silver frame cover was unveiled.
The Quran arrived from Italy where best jewel makers worked for a year and a half on a folio that is destined to become yet another Muslim relic. Symbolically, the work was completed this year, proclaimed Year of the Russian and Italian Language and Culture. “I haven’t seen anything like that in my life!” Rishat Khamidullin, the press secretary of Tatarstan’s Muslim Spiritual Department, told the Voice of Russia:
"This is the world’s biggest Quran. One is really impressed by its size – 1.5 m by 2 m, and 3 m by 2 m if unfolded. It weighs 800 kg. The 120-kg frame cover is tinseled with gold and silver and adorned with malachite, jasper and phianites. It’s a veritably unique book. The event is great importance not only for Tatarstan but for the entire country. The book will be at Kazan’s Qul Sharif mosque until next May, and then it will be transferred to the town of Bolgar where it will be put on public display at a local museum."
Situated on the left bank of the Volga about 200 km south of Kazan, Bolgar is an important historical site where ancestors of modern Tatars adopted Islam as their state religion. The town is famous for its monuments. The Bulgar historical and architectural museum compound with its mosques, mausoleums and chambers dating from the 13th and 14th centuries is a candidate for UNESCO world heritage status.
Another absolutely unique Quran, which has no analogues in the world, was created in Russia five years ago. This is a gold copy of the so-called Osman Quran. The 8th -century original is kept at the Institute of Oriental Studies in St. Petersburg. The 162 pages were embossed on gold leafs at the Moscow Mint. Some pages of the gold Quran were sent to Saudi Arabia and Egypt as a gift from Russia and as a sign of respect for all nations professing Islam.
The world’s biggest Quran was presented in Kazan, the capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, on Thursday. At the presentation, the audience gasped with delight when the giant book in a stone-encrusted gold-and-silver frame cover was unveiled.
The Quran arrived from Italy where best jewel makers worked for a year and a half on a folio that is destined to become yet another Muslim relic. Symbolically, the work was completed this year, proclaimed Year of the Russian and Italian Language and Culture. “I haven’t seen anything like that in my life!” Rishat Khamidullin, the press secretary of Tatarstan’s Muslim Spiritual Department, told the Voice of Russia:
"This is the world’s biggest Quran. One is really impressed by its size – 1.5 m by 2 m, and 3 m by 2 m if unfolded. It weighs 800 kg. The 120-kg frame cover is tinseled with gold and silver and adorned with malachite, jasper and phianites. It’s a veritably unique book. The event is great importance not only for Tatarstan but for the entire country. The book will be at Kazan’s Qul Sharif mosque until next May, and then it will be transferred to the town of Bolgar where it will be put on public display at a local museum."
Situated on the left bank of the Volga about 200 km south of Kazan, Bolgar is an important historical site where ancestors of modern Tatars adopted Islam as their state religion. The town is famous for its monuments. The Bulgar historical and architectural museum compound with its mosques, mausoleums and chambers dating from the 13th and 14th centuries is a candidate for UNESCO world heritage status.
Another absolutely unique Quran, which has no analogues in the world, was created in Russia five years ago. This is a gold copy of the so-called Osman Quran. The 8th -century original is kept at the Institute of Oriental Studies in St. Petersburg. The 162 pages were embossed on gold leafs at the Moscow Mint. Some pages of the gold Quran were sent to Saudi Arabia and Egypt as a gift from Russia and as a sign of respect for all nations professing Islam.
