Abdulhalik Gijduvani Memorial Complex

Khoja Abdulkhaliq Gijduvani — one of the most significant spiritual teachers of Central Asia of the 12th–13th centuries. He was born in Gijduvan and was a student of the famous Sufi mentor Yusuf Hamadani. After his training, Gijduvani developed the Khwajagan tradition, which subsequently had a decisive influence on the formation of the Naqshbandi order. His death is dated to the year 617 AH / 1220 CE.

Eight classical principles of the spiritual path are associated with the name of Gijduvani: "awareness of breath", "watchfulness of step", "journey within oneself", "solitude in company", remembrance, return of attention, watchfulness of thoughts, and preservation of awareness of the Divine presence. Later these principles became part of the spiritual system of the Naqshbandi order. State sources of Uzbekistan also confirm that Gijduvani developed the eight main rules of the Khwajagan tradition.

Today the place of his burial is a major memorial and pilgrimage complex. Here are located the shrine of Abdulkhaliq Gijduvani, a mosque and the historic Ulugbek Madrasah. The madrasah was built in the year 836 AH — 1432/1433 — by order of Mirzo Ulugbek and is considered the last of the three surviving madrasahs associated with his name.