According to intershippingrates, Bukhara is one of the oldest and one of the most famous cities in Uzbekistan, once a major trading center on the Great Silk Road. According to legend, Bukhara was founded before our era by the legendary ruler of Turan and the hero of the famous Persian epic “Shahnameh” – Afrasiab. Archaeologists have discovered on the territory of modern Bukhara the remains of buildings, dishes and coins, tools and jewelry, which date back to the 4th century BC. e. Thus, the age of the city exceeds 2500 years. It is authentically known that in ancient times Bukhara was part of the state of Sogdiana. The city acquired its modern appearance during the reign of the Sheibanid dynasty in the 16-17 centuries, then it was surrounded by fortress walls, inside which mosques, madrasahs, mausoleums, caravanserais and baths were erected. The old city of Bukhara is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. In addition to its architectural ensembles, Bukhara is known for its inhabitants – the poets Narshakhi, Rudaki and Dakiki and the scientist Avicenna.
The old city of Bukhara has about 150 historical monuments. The central place among them is occupied by the Ark fortress., where the rulers of the city lived from the moment of its creation (mid-16th century). The perimeter of the outer walls of the fortress was 789.6 m, and the inner area was 35 thousand square meters. m. To this day, from the fortress walls of the Ark, the northern gates of Talipach, the southwestern gates of Karakul have survived. Today on the territory of the Ark there is a local history museum. Near the Talipach gate is the Chashmai Ayyub mausoleum, built in honor of Saint Ayyub (Job in the Bible), who traveled as a preacher through the Bukhara lands. Nearby is the mausoleum of the Samanid dynasty who ruled in Central Asia in the 9th-10th centuries AD. Here is the grave of the founder of the dynasty – Ismail Samani. This is the first of the known Muslim mausoleums in Central Asia and one of the earliest in the East, as well as the first building in Central Asian architecture, built of baked bricks. Opposite the Arch is the Bolo House Mosque built in 1718, which was a place for prayers of the Emir of the city and his entourage. A little south of the Ark is Poi-Kalyan Square., surrounded by the majestic Kalyan mosque of 1514, which until later reconstructions could accommodate up to 12 thousand people, the Miri-Arab madrasah (1536) and the Kalyan minaret 46 m high. The Kalyan minaret was built in 1127 and is now considered one of the highest architectural monuments Central Asia. In ancient times, the minaret served as a beacon for caravans, and later as a place of public execution. The minaret has an observation deck, which can be reached by a spiral staircase. The site offers a beautiful view of the entire ancient city. Near the Kalyan minaret, the Great Quarter Mosque (Juma) is interesting.
Be sure to go to the Lyabi House ensemble 1620, which is the hallmark of the city. It was erected according to the idea of a high-ranking dignitary, the uncle of the Emir of Bukhara Imam Kuli Khan – Nadir-Divan-Begi. The ensemble is formed around a rectangular pool (46×36 m), along the perimeter of which mulberry trees grow. “House” is translated as a pond. In the 16th century, many ponds were built in Bukhara, however, later it turned out that they are spreaders of diseases, and most of them were filled up. The Lyabi-Khaus ensemble also includes three monumental madrasahs of the 16th-17th centuries: the Kukeldash madrasah (1569), the Khanaka madrasah (1620) and the Nadir-Divan-Begi madrasah (1623). Madrasah Kukeldash is the largest madrasah in the city. In addition, in Lyabi House you can see a monument to a folklore character – Khoja Nasreddin.
Another complex formed around one of the surviving Bukhara “houses” is the Khodja Zainutdin complex of the first half of the 16th century. Behind the Lyabi-Khauz ensemble in the north-eastern part of Bukhara, you can see the minarets of the destroyed ancient madrasah – Chor-minor (translated as “four minarets”). Also interesting in the Old City of Bukhara are the Caliph Hudoydod complex of the 18th century, the Ulugbek Madrasah (11-16th century), the Abdullaziz Khan Madrasah (1652), the Baland Mosque of the early 16th century with internal gilded paintings, the Gozien Madrasah, the ceiling of which is decorated with carved marble, Ensemble Kosh-madrasah, consisting of two madrasahs: Modari-khan madrasah and Abdallah-khan madrasah (both – the end of the 16th century). The status of Bukhara as an ancient trading center is confirmed by the presence of many trading domes, the most famous of which are: Tak-i Sarrafon (the dome of money changers), Telpak Furushon (the dome of hat sellers) and Tak-i Zargaron (the dome of jewelers).
In the vicinity of Bukhara, it is worth visiting the mausoleum of Baha ad-Din of the 16th century, where the head of the Nakshbandi dervish order, the Chor-Bakr necropolis is buried, which is a whole city with streets, courtyards, gates, a mosque and a madrasah, among which you can see many burial places of sheikhs from the family of Dzhuybar seyids, and the settlement of Varakhsha, where before the arrival of the Arabs in the region there was a residence of Bukhara-Khudats who ruled Bukhara.
About 150 km north of Bukhara, the sands of the Kyzylkum desert begin. Here, within the Turkestan Range, there is the Sarmyshsay tract, which occupies a mountain gorge with a river. Here, on an area of ​​approximately 20 square meters. km you can see the remains of ancient settlements, grave hills, crypts and rock paintings (about 4000 fragments of rock art in total), dating back to the Stone Age.
