The Hajj and Religious Politics after 1905 135to house his hajj complex. Located in Peresyp, an outlying suburb about five
miles from Odessa’s city center, this building was a large, two-story stone struc-
ture, flanked by one-story wings. It was a work-relief institution, built by the
government in the late nineteenth century to house and feed unemployed work-
ers, but now standing mostly empty.^75 Saidazimbaev got use of the building from
August through December, the projected hajj departure season, with the condi-
tion that a bakery continue to operate in one wing of the building.^76 The building
was not ideal. It was located in a drab, industrial neighborhood that was a long
walk from the train station and the passenger port. It was far from the
200,000-ruble complex Saidazimbaev had planned to build down in the port,
with space for 3,000. This building had space for only 1,400. It also required
extensive renovations, which Saidazimbaev commenced immediately.^77
Over the next two months, Saidazimbaev transformed Odessa’s House of
Industry into an elaborate hajj complex, based on Gurzhi’s plan. The finished
facility was captured in a photo essay published that fall in Odesskii listok, one
of the city’s most popular newspapers. Twenty-nine photos and accompanying
text took readers on a tour of the complex, through immaculate sleeping quar-
ters and a well-stocked pharmacy, “Japanese-style” steam disinfection cham-
ber, small mosque, bakery, teahouse, and separate men’s and women’s hospitals
staffed by uniformed nurses. Exterior photos showed makeshift structures
housing a halal butcher and a barber; tents pitched in a courtyard for “Kirgiz
pilgrims,” and open fire pits for pilgrims to cook their native dishes. Several
photos captured large crowds of bearded Muslim men in turbans and belted
robes, standing alongside Russian police officers and city officials in bowler
hats and overcoats, for ceremonies that marked the end of Ramadan, a major
Muslim holiday. Standing at the center of this group was Saidazimbaev, identi-
fied in captions as the “creator of Odessa’s hajj complex,” and the hajj director
for Russia, appointed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs.^78
The photo essay would have comported with Stolypin’s vision for the hajj, as
an occasion to showcase the government’s toleration of Islam and build loyalty
among the empire’s Muslim population, for political motives of imperial stabil-
ity. In line with Stolypin’s vision of the Odessa hajj complex as a “refuge, spe-
cially outfitted to serve the needs and demands of pilgrims,” that would attract
pilgrims because of its superior features, these photos showed a clean, efficient,
multipurpose facility, with contented Muslims mixing easily with Russian
officials.^79