How to get from Khiva to Bukhara. The road from Bukhara to Khiva. How to get to Bukhara
In the spring of 2011, I visited Uzbekistan. In a month I crossed it from west to east, visited Muinak, Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand, Shakhrisabz, Termez, Tashkent, Ferghana, Margilan, Kokand and Andijan. I bring to your attention my mini-guide to this country.
Geography
Uzbekistan is located in the center of Central Asia. It borders in the northeast with Kyrgyzstan, in the north and northwest with Kazakhstan, in the southwest with Turkmenistan, in the southeast with Tajikistan, and in the south with Afghanistan. In the east, Uzbekistan is bounded by the foothills of the Tien Shan and Gissar-Alai in the south - the Amu Darya River.
It is interesting that Uzbekistan is one of the two countries of the world (the second is Liechtenstein), which not only do not have access to the oceans, but also do not border on any country with such an exit. To get from Uzbekistan to the ocean, you need to cross at least two borders.
Most of the country is the plains. The Gissar-Alai ridges are located only near the border with Tajikistan: the Zeravshan ridge between Samarkand and Shakhrisabz and the Gissar ridge to the south and east of Shakhrisabz. And to the north-east and east of Tashkent, on the border with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, are the Pskem and Chatkal ranges (belong to the Tien Shan system), better known as the Chimgan Mountains. In the very east of the country, separated from Tashkent by the Kuramin ridge, there is a large and fertile Ferghana Valley - the largest intermountain depression in Central Asia, surrounded by mountains from almost all sides.
Climate of Uzbekistan
The climate in Uzbekistan is sharply continental. Summer is hot, dry and sunny, winters are cool, but not too long. In January, usually from +4 to −8 degrees Celsius, in July - from +22 to +42. It is best to come here in late spring (April to May) or early autumn (September to October) when the temperature is between +20 and +25. The coldest and windiest part of the country is Karakalpakstan, the warmest is Termez and its environs. The difference in temperature between them can reach 10-20 degrees.
The forty-day period from the end of June to the beginning of August is called "chilla" in Uzbekistan. At this time, the temperature during the day can be above +50, and at night it does not fall below +30. At this time, it is better not to visit the country.
Uzbekistan population
The population of Uzbekistan is 29 million people. Of these, 51.4% live in urban areas and 48.6% live in rural areas.
In the Soviet years, people from other union republics (mainly Russians) came to Uzbekistan. In the 1990s, many of them left the country. Today, Uzbeks make up 84% of the population, Russians and other Slavs - 4.5%, Tajiks - 4.5%, Kazakhs - 2.5%. Many Russians live in Tashkent and Fergana, many Tajiks live in Samarkand and Bukhara. Karakalpaks, a Turkic-speaking people close to the Kazakhs, live in western Uzbekistan. They have their own national autonomy - the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The total number of Karakalpaks in the country is small - only 2%.
Languages
The state language of the country is Uzbek. It belongs to the Turkic languages \u200b\u200band is closest to the Uyghur language, prevalent in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China. Initially, the Uzbek language used the Arabic alphabet, in the Soviet years it was translated first into the Latin alphabet, and then into the Cyrillic alphabet. With independence in the early 1990s, authorities began to translate the language back into Latin, but this process dragged on. Today in the country two alphabets operate simultaneously - Cyrillic and Latin. There are more official inscriptions (street signs, road signs, city maps) in Latin letters, and national (inscriptions on minibuses, price tags on markets, signs of shops and restaurants) in Cyrillic. There are many signs and inscriptions in Russian. Approximately 2/3 of the inhabitants of Uzbekistan are fluent in Russian, while the rest know individual words and phrases. The Russian language is best known in Tashkent, and worst of all - in rural areas and small towns.
As many Tajiks live in the country, their language is also very popular. For example, in Bukhara and Samarkand, Tajik almost supplanted Russian as the language of interethnic communication: many Uzbeks and Russians know it.
Religion
Uzbekistan traditionally professes Sunni Islam. After independence, the number of adherents of Islam has grown, but so far religion has not had a serious impact on society. The most secular cities of the country are Tashkent and Ferghana, the most religious are small towns and villages of the Ferghana Valley and Central Uzbekistan. Russians in Uzbekistan are not too religious, although many adhere to Orthodoxy. In some cities, pre-revolutionary churches were preserved.
Entry to Uzbekistan
R 
russian citizens do not need a visa to visit Uzbekistan, but a passport is required. Also, without a visa, citizens of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan and Ukraine can enter the country.
You can import foreign currency into Uzbekistan without restrictions. Uzbek sums can be moved across the border (imported and exported) only within 50 minimum wages (50 thousand soums x 50 \u003d 2.5 million soums). You can export currency within the amount imported into the country.
In addition, you can import into the country no more than 1 thousand cigarettes and 1.5 liters of alcoholic beverages.
Any currency you have, be it rubles, dollars, Uzbek sums, or any other money you need to enter, must be declared.
Take two declaration forms from customs officers and fill them out, indicating the currency and the most valuable things (laptop, camera or video camera, etc. - preferably with a specific model, as well as approximate cost). One copy will remain with the customs officer at the entrance, you will save the second (on which he will put a seal) until the end of the trip. When leaving, you will need to fill out another declaration form and give the customs officer two copies for comparison.
Be careful and include in the declaration the entire amount up to cents, cents, etc. Customs officers often find fault with travelers who have forgotten to indicate any currency they have. The problem is that there are only three lines in the form for indicating the currency. If you have more of them, add the numbers 4, 5, 6, etc. below and indicate the appropriate types of currency. If there is no space in this section, you can use the "Other Values \u200b\u200band Products" section.
As a rule, customs officers at the entrance and exit shine through things with an X-ray, ask them to show the contents of the backpack and count the available currency. All this can take several hours, so do not expect to go through the Uzbek border quickly.
Previously, Uzbek customs officers were extremely free to the law: they could extort money, try to “seize” valuables and otherwise violate the law. Fortunately, in recent years their harmful activity has decreased, but you still need to be alert at the border. Be careful and serious about passing the Uzbek customs.
registration
A foreigner must register in Uzbekistan if he is in the country for more than three business days (holidays and weekends do not count). The registration procedure is governed by a resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan, where there is an appendix “Rules for the stay of foreign citizens and stateless persons in the Republic of Uzbekistan”. It is rather vague and not specific, but in Uzbekistan there is a certain tradition of issuing this very registration.
So, there are several ways to register.
The most difficult way is to go with a citizen of Uzbekistan to the migration service. You will need to bring copies of your passport and the passport of the landlord, a number of documents (it is better to check the list in advance), fill out several forms and pay the fee (about $ 5 for CIS citizens). Do not forget to make a copy of your passport for yourself, since the migration service will pick up the original and will not issue any certificates. In a few days you will receive the desired registration, which is a stamp in the passport.
The second way is to spend the night in hotels that themselves register. This method is chosen by most travelers. Not all hotels can accept and register foreigners, but only those that have a special license, but, fortunately, almost all major cities have “licensed” hotels, including inexpensive ones, where you can be accommodated and registered. Hotel staff must give you a receipt for payment, which will be your registration. In most hotels, registration is free.
If you have an unregistered travel break (for example, your last registration expired on the 15th and you received a new one only on the 17th), there seems to be nothing to worry about. Although the law does not provide an unambiguous interpretation on this score, police usually do not find fault with this. However, just in case, prepare a convincing explanation. Like, "he drove all night in a car," "spent the night on the shore of the lake in a tent," "he waited until the morning at the train station," etc.
The third way is to build your trip so as to travel outside the country every three business days. It is possible to slip through Uzbekistan within this period, but for a full inspection of this country, of course, three working days will be short.
The law does not clearly say from which day the countdown of the days necessary for obtaining registration begins, but according to established practice, border guards and police do not consider the day of entry. That is, if you entered on Monday, you can leave on Thursday, and if you entered on Thursday, you can leave on Tuesday (weekends do not count).
Supporters of ultra-budget trips who do not want to spend money on hotels can cross the border every three business days and go back right there. This can be done in Andijan (near the Kyrgyz border), Kokand (border with Tajikistan), Denau (border with Tajikistan), and most conveniently - in Tashkent (the border with Kazakhstan is located on the northern outskirts of the city).
Well, I’ll add that the lack of registration is “non-compliance with the established procedure for temporary or permanent registration”. It is punishable by a fine of 50 to 100 times the minimum wage, or by expulsion from the country (Code of the Republic of Uzbekistan on Administrative Responsibility, Article 225). The minimum wage in Uzbekistan since December 1, 2010 is almost 50 thousand soums, respectively, for the lack of registration, you can officially be torn off 2.5-5 million soums (about 1000-2000 dollars). Be careful, there are cases when people really were forced to pay such gigantic amounts!
How to get to Uzbekistan
By plane. The easiest way to fly from Moscow to Tashkent. Several airlines work in this direction at once, so finding a ticket for the desired date will not be difficult. Aeroflot, Transaero and Uzbekistan Airways fly to Tashkent from Moscow. Tickets from Moscow to Tashkent and back cost about 20 thousand rubles.
Uzbek Airlines does not sell tickets directly via the Internet. For contacts of representative offices in Moscow and other cities, see their official website www.uzairways.com
By train. Trains from Moscow, Chelyabinsk, Ufa, Novosibirsk, Kharkov, Saratov, and St. Petersburg run to Tashkent. The last two trains follow through western Uzbekistan and pass through Nukus and Samarkand.
In addition, Tajik trains run through Uzbekistan Moscow - Dushanbe, Moscow - Kulyab and Saratov - Khujand. True, they make "technical stops" in Uzbekistan, so you can’t buy a ticket to the Uzbek stations, but you can buy tickets to Tajikistan and just get off in Uzbekistan. In this case, of course, you will overpay heavily, but in the absence of other possibilities, this option is suitable. The train goes from Moscow to Tashkent for almost three days. A ticket to the reserved seat car costs almost 7 thousand rubles, which is not much cheaper than a plane ticket.
All trains go through the territory of Kazakhstan, so get ready for long expectations at the border, visits of border guards and customs officers and other troubles.
By bus or car. Russia does not border with Uzbekistan, but there are two main roads through Kazakhstan: the first is Atyrau (where you can get from Saratov or Samara via Uralsk, or directly from Astrakhan) - Beineu - Kungrad; the second - Aktyubinsk (where you can get from Orenburg or Orsk) - Kyzylorda - Turkestan - Chimkent - Tashkent. The first leads to the western part of the country, the second to the capital of Uzbekistan. From Western Siberia you can go through the main Kazakh highway Astana (or Pavlodar) - Karaganda - Alma-Ata. Only, before reaching Alma-Ata, in the vicinity of the village of Burubaital (the southern tip of Lake Balkhash), it will be necessary to turn left into Taraz and Chimkent.
There are no official direct bus routes from Russia to Uzbekistan, but there are irregularly-running private buses for guest workers and shuttles that you can search in the market of your city.
Around the country
By plane. Tashkent is connected by air with all regional centers of the country. Flights are operated by the state-owned monopoly company Uzbek Airlines (Uzbekistan Airways, O’zbekiston havo yo’llari). The official website of the airline is www.uzairways.com. True, it is not particularly useful for a traveler: you can neither buy a ticket there, nor even find out the fares, you can only see the current schedule.
Airplanes fly from Tashkent to the following cities: Andijan, Bukhara, Fergana, Karshi, Namangan, Navoi, Nukus, Samarkand, Termez, Urgench. Here are the approximate prices for flights from Tashkent (one way prices): Andijan - 70 thousand soums ($ 30), Bukhara - 77 thousand soums (32 dollars), Termez - 87 thousand soums (36 dollars), Urgench - 120 thousand soums (50 dollars), Nukus - 110 thousand soums (46 dollars). A round-trip ticket costs twice as much as a one-way ticket.
Tickets for domestic flights can be bought at any airline office in the country, as well as at the airline’s representative office abroad. In Tashkent, tickets are sold at the main air travel agency near the railway station (51 Amir Temur ko’chasi St., tel. 140 48 10, 8.00-13.00, 14.00-19.00). For contacts of Uzbek Airlines in other cities, see the company's website.
By train. Uzbekistan has a well-developed railway connection: almost all of the country's major cities are connected by railways. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some branches ended up abroad. For example, sections on the Kungrad-Navoi and Karshi-Termez lines remained on the territory of Turkmenistan, and the road from the central part of the country to the Ferghana Valley on the territory of Tajikistan. However, the authorities built new railways, so you can drive from central Uzbekistan to Kungrad and Termez without stopping by in Turkmenistan. There is no railway to the Ferghana Valley yet, and due to the difficult terrain it is unlikely to be built in the foreseeable future. The Tashkent-Andijan and Bukhara-Andijan trains that traveled through Tajikistan were canceled in 2010, so it is impossible to get to the Ferghana Valley by train.
The official website of Uzbek Railways is www.uzrailway.uz. For a traveler, it is almost useless, since tickets cannot be bought there. However, you can see the schedule of all Uzbek trains at www.uzrailway.uz/rus_p_6.html. In addition, the site www.uzrailpass.uz can be useful to tourists, where the actual prices for travel in Uzbek trains are laid out.
Train prices in Uzbekistan are tied to the Swiss franc and change (usually grow) every week. The fare in the reserved seat car is approximately 4000-6000 soums (1.7-2.5 dollars) per 100 kilometers.
At ticket offices at train stations or railway ticket offices (they sell at a small extra charge) you can buy a ticket right on the day of departure, but if you plan to go on a weekend, you better take care of this in advance. Uzbek Railways are included in the Express system, and theoretically tickets for them can be bought in Russia: at railway ticket offices and on the Internet (on the ticket.rzd.ru website). True, tickets for Uzbek trains are sold in Russia with a margin of 30-50%. As in Russia, train tickets in Uzbekistan are registered. They can only be bought with a passport, and the conductor checks the passengers' documents upon landing.
The interiors of Uzbek cars are not much different from Russian ones. As in Russia, there are compartment, reserved seats and general wagons. There are express trains "Registan" (Tashkent - Samarkand), "Shark" (Tashkent - Bukhara) and "Nasaf" (Tashkent - Karshi), which travel at an average speed of more than 100 km / h. They usually have seats and two categories of wagons: first and second class. Classes differ only in the presence of a TV and some other useless amenities. The fare in the second class is approximately the same as in the reserved seat car of a long-distance train.
By bus and taxi. Uzbek buses are the cheapest in the entire former Union. This property more than compensates for the mess in the bus service and confusion.
Over long distances (more than 200 km), large and quite comfortable buses run (most often Mercedes). Thanks to the flat terrain, they walk quite quickly: for example, from Tashkent to Samarkand (310 km) can be reached in 4 hours, and from Tashkent to Bukhara (620 km) in 8 hours. In some areas (for example, between Bukhara and Nukus), the speed decreases markedly. Since buses are forbidden to ride in Uzbekistan at night, they depart, as a rule, in the morning in order to be there by evening. If the distance is not too far (for example, from Tashkent to Samarkand), as a rule, there are several flights during the day. Bus station buildings in Uzbekistan are empty and abandoned, and only on the site in front of them are buses waiting for passengers.
There is something like an official schedule, but it is often not respected. Sometimes there is additional transport, which is not indicated in any schedule: just the bus owner arrives at the bus station, hangs a sign on the bus with the name of the city and calls customers. Only Tashkent - Samarkand flights leave strictly according to the schedule, and tickets for them can even be bought at the box office. In all other cases, payment takes place directly on the bus.
On nearby and suburban routes (the concept of near and suburban transportation includes all distances less than 200 km - for example, only minibuses go along the Ferghana Valley, and there are no large buses) small Isuzu buses and Damas minibuses run. They are sent as they are filled from morning to mid-day (after 15-16 hours they will already be difficult to find). Damas is a symbol of the Uzbek car industry, cheap but very uncomfortable. This is a minibus with a length of less than three and a half meters and a width of less than one and a half meters. It houses the driver and seven passengers. Even a thin person without luggage will feel cramped here. Doors open on both sides.
Prices for transportation in large buses - 3000-3500 soums (1.25 - 1.5 dollars) per 100 kilometers. On minibuses, the fare varies from 2,000 to 4,000 soums (0.8 - 1.7 dollars) per 100 kilometers.
Another popular mode of transportation in Uzbekistan is intercity group taxis. If you want to quickly get somewhere, it is better to use this transport. And in some directions (for example, where the road goes through a mountain pass), there is no alternative to them: for example, from Samarkand to Shakhrisabz or from Tashkent to the Ferghana Valley, you can only get with the help of such a taxi.
Group taxis depart from a place that is popularly called a nickel. For example, in all cities of the Ferghana Valley there is a Tashkent nickel - a place from where taxis leave for the capital. The fare in a group taxi is 5-10 thousand soums (2-4 dollars) per 100 kilometers. It is more expensive than an Uzbek bus, but by Russian standards it is still inexpensive (cheaper, for example, than taking a long-distance bus in Russia). If minibuses and taxis go in the same direction, their cost usually differs by half.
It must be borne in mind that taxis do not travel long distances. Say, from Tashkent to Bukhara it will be necessary to go by three taxis: Tashkent - Samarkand, Samarkand - Navoi and Navoi - Bukhara. It is better to leave in the morning: then there is more choice of a taxi and passengers quickly pick up. After lunch, you will have to wait for other passengers for a long time, and a taxi driver, taking advantage of the situation, may request a large amount.
Urban transport. In most cities there is no civilized bus service. Big city buses are only in Tashkent. The main form of urban transport in Uzbekistan is Isuzu and Damas minibuses. The fare is 300-600 soums. Payment to the driver or conductor.
Tashkent is the only city in Central Asia in which there is a subway. It has been operating since 1977 and consists of three lines.
Electric transport in the whole country exists in only two places: there are several tram routes in Tashkent, and there is a trolleybus line created in 1997 between Urgench and Khiva.
"... but there are irregularly running private buses for migrant workers and shuttles" - I would not recommend this type of transportation at all, because 3 days on the train you still have to survive it, and an illegal bus ... it's tin ...
"City taxi in Uzbekistan is quite cheap" - but strangely enough the price is different for everyone, for foreigners or decently dressed, it will be higher ...
But in general, Samarkand and Bukhara there really is something to see.
And still better to go there in the spring. since mid-March everything is in bloom.
In the fall, for the most part, Uzbekistan looks lifeless.
Informative! Thanks! I didn’t even know about some points ...)
When planning a trip to Uzbekistan, we did not really think about how we would overcome the distance between cities. The fact that the 200 km road (between Samarkand and Bukhara) took 6 hours was a surprise to us. The distance between Bukhara and Khiva is 600 km.
The local responded to a question about travel time:
- If we get lucky.
“Well, if, say, you're lucky?”
- Well, about 6 hours, - the local wondered
- And if you're not lucky?
Local shrugged.
The main arguments in favor of traveling were, firstly, the already available airline tickets Urgench - Tashkent (Urgench is a city 20 km from Khiva, there is no airport in Khiva itself), and secondly, the fact that we’re unlikely when or else we’ll find ourselves in Uzbekistan and, accordingly, we will see the third "pearl of the Silk Road" now or never.
Initially, we planned to leave at 6 am in order to get to Khiva at a reasonable time and see drummers (one-humped camels) grazing in the desert on the way. At 6 in the morning we overslept and arrived at the intercity taxi stand by noon. Again, the crowd of Uzbek drivers who surrounded us densely bargained, agreed that, in addition to the two of us, the driver takes a maximum of one passenger in the front seat. As soon as we left the city, the needle of the UzNexia speedometer did not fall below 120. We had hopes for the implementation of the “with any luck” scenario.
Half an hour later, in the middle of the desert, we were stopped by an Uzbek traffic police. After brief disputes with the guns, the driver had to drive the car to the penalty parking, located here, behind the traffic police post. Why - we tried to find out, but did not understand. According to one version, the taxi driver did not have a driver’s license (!), According to another, the registration certificate for Uzneksia, according to the third - ... yes, however, what is the difference - you can just as easily find out from the lion on what basis he eats wildebeest.
At the traffic police post, we spent the next 4 hours - waiting for another taxi. I was forbidden to take photographs; what I managed to take was forced to remove. While we were waiting, the gayts slowed down every third car, agreed with some on the spot, some, like us, were left to wait for something. The gay men were not particularly interested in us (apart from the fact that they forbade us to shoot), sometimes they called me up and asked me "Where from? What are you doing? How much did you pay the taxi driver?"
Finally, the next taxi came for us, and we continued on, already in less comfortable conditions - with three fellow travelers. One of them (in the photo in the right front seat) did not know Russian, but when he caught a station with a Russian-language repertoire on the radio, he turned up the sound to the maximum and yelled in unison with the performer: “We’re high, today we are high”, then he sang some crap like Black Eyes, then there was a song (again in Russian) about the Uzbek Rakhman, who went to Moscow as a guest worker, he became a "big man" and his Uzbek friends came to him and they are sitting in white jackets the most expensive restaurant. Then, we asked to turn off the radio. The traveling companion (because of his ignorance of spoken Russian) did not understand, and the driver was genuinely surprised: "They sing in Russian. How can you not like this?"
On the way, the driver taxied to the villages several times, transported "transmissions" of various properties. Most of all, I was impressed by the huge spare part for KAMAZ, which is not known to fit under the driver's seat. At 7 pm it got dark, and for another 6 hours we rode in pitch darkness. The Uzbeks, including the driver, were snoring, we were bored.
At midnight we got to Urgench (this was where our fellow travelers needed it), and the driver said that we would be lucky further for a fee. I started a sluggish “we didn’t agree so”, he’s energetic “you also understand me: gasoline, a family and some other argument. I had to pay extra so that he drove us the remaining 20 kilometers. In Khiva we were taken to some klopovnik belonging to a friend of a taxi driver, but we already did not care.
Yes, and we did not see camel-drummers in the desert. Donkeys only.
Bukhara from A to Z: map, hotels, attractions, restaurants, entertainment. Shopping, shops. Photos, videos and reviews about Bukhara.
- Hot tours to Uzbekistan
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Bukhara is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia and one of the greatest shopping centers on the Silk Road. And Bukhara is a museum city where you can see more than 140 architectural monuments of the Middle Ages. The historic city center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Attractions such as the small Samanid mausoleum, which recently celebrated its millennium, Kosh Madras, the Kalon minaret and the Poi Kalyan architectural complex, were built about 2,300 years ago and attract many tourists.
The mausoleum of Ismail Samani was built during the life of this ruler, one of the most prominent representatives of the dynasty, who ruled Bukhara from 892 to 907. Initially, the mausoleum was intended for the tomb of Ismail's father, Ahmad, but later became a tomb for all members of the royal family. This is the oldest Muslim landmark in Bukhara and a real masterpiece of early Islamic architecture.
Bukhara is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia and one of the greatest shopping centers on the Silk Road.
A bit of history
According to legend, Bukhara was founded by King Siavas, the legendary prince of Persia, who stood at the origins of the Persian Empire. Siavas was sent into exile in Turan after a false accusation, which raised his stepmother, Sudaba. There, the ruler of Samarkand, Afrasiab, gave his daughter Ferganiza to the prince and gave his son-in-law a vassal kingdom in an oasis - this was the current Bukhara.
If we ignore the legends, the history of Bukhara can be traced from the 4th-5th centuries. n e. It was to this period that the first coins with Sogdian inscriptions were found here. Genghis Khan razed Bukhara to the ground, but with his descendants, the city began to gradually revive. After the conquest of Samarkand and Bukhara by Mohammad Shaibani, the ancestor of the dynasty of the same name, the Bukhara Khanate was formed in 1506, which reached its peak by the end of the century, in the 18th century. ruled by Nadir Shah of Iran, then the Uzbek emir and, finally, formed the emirate of Bukhara in 1785.
How to get to Bukhara
Uzbek Airlines planes fly to Bukhara airport from Moscow (three times a week), St. Petersburg (once a week), Tashkent (daily) and Kiva (seasonally). You can also get to Bukhara by train from Tashkent (two trains daily through Samarkand). It takes about 6.5 hours to travel, the night sleeping train is slower, but it is more convenient.
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Attractions and attractions of Bukhara
What tourists need in Bukhara in the first place is the Old City. Its beauty is so deep in soul that no transport is required here (plus the city is very small). One of the most remarkable city sights is the Kalon minaret, built by the Karakhanid ruler Arslan Khan in 1127. According to legend, the khan killed the imam, and in a dream, the murdered imam asked the ruler to bury his head in a place where no one could step on it. Then Arslan Khan built a tower over the tomb of the Imam. The height of the minaret is 47 m, and its ornamental stripes are decorated with blue tiles - it is believed this is the first use of such ceramics, which then became ubiquitous in Central Asia.
The minaret is the second name "Death Tower", because once convicted criminals were executed by dumping from it. And this practice stopped, by the way, only at the beginning of the 20th century.
The summer residence of the Bukhara emirs - the city citadel Ark - is located on Registan Square. Since ancient times, Ark has been a real fortress where the rulers of Bukhara could sit out anything. On the territory there was everything necessary - palaces, temples, barracks, offices, warehouses, workshops, stables, a well, an arsenal and a prison. Today a museum is open in the citadel.
Laby Havs is considered the center of the Old Town. This square received the name, which means “pool ensemble” in Persian. The rectangular pool is surrounded by three monumental buildings of the 16th century: the Kukeldash madrasah, built during Abdullah II (for the period of construction - the largest Islamic educational institution in Central Asia); Nadir-Divanbegi Madrasah, originally built as a caravanserai, but under Imam Kulimkhan converted to a school; and the winter mosque Nadir Dewanbegi. And near all this is the beautifully preserved amazing Toki Zargaron market.
Famous poets such as Narshakhi and Rudaki Dakiki lived in Bukhara.
In addition to the above, world-famous architectural monuments in Bukhara include the mausoleums of Chashma-Ayuob (or Source of Job), Buyan-Kuli-Khan, Sayfiddin-Boharzi. The list of relics continues with the cult ensemble Gaukushon near the Khoja-Kalyan mosque, the Khoja-Gaukushon madrassah, the unique Magoki Attori mosque, the Jami palace mosque, Ulugbek madrasah, Abdulaziz Khan, Modari Khan and Abdullah Khan.
What else to do in Bukhara if the consciousness is no longer able to accommodate the views and information about historical sights? Go to the bathhouse. Seriously: the Borzy Cord Hammam is one of the city’s most famous public hammams. Until 14:00 it is open only to local men, and from 14:00 to midnight for tourists. The session includes massage and scrub. Kunjak Women's Bath is located near the Kalon Minaret.
Suburbs of Bukhara
There are many historical monuments in the vicinity of Bukhara: the Varakhsha settlement, the Namozgoh suburban mosque, the haven of wandering dervish monks Khanaka Fayzabad, the tomb of the sheikhs of the 16th century. Chor-Bakr (5 km west of the city), the ruins of the caravanserai of Rabati-Malik in Kermin.
The Garden of Stars and the Moon is located 6 km from Bukhara. Here is the summer palace of the last Bukhara emir. The garden is open from Wednesday to Monday. The mausoleum of Bakhautdin Naqshband is located east of Bukhara, and this is one of the most significant Sufi shrines in the country and not only. Here is the tomb of Bakhautdin, the founder of one of the most influential Sufi orders in Central Asia.
