Holiday in Central Asia (19): Bukhara in Uzbekistan
Now in Bukhara (Day 18), we had a splendid day on a tour of some of the many sights of the Old City. It was 35C and there was not a cloud in the sky.
The name Bukhara means ‘monastery’ in Sanskrit. They say that the 20th century has not yet arrived in Bukhara, yet alone the 21st century. Although the city’s origins are lost in time, the local authorities arbitrarily chose 1997 to celebrate Bukhara’s 2,500th anniversary. Bukhara is a centre of the great Tajik culture and the vast majority of the city’s population is still Tajik-speaking.
Much of the Old City’s appearance dates to the 16th century when Bukhara was capital of the Bukhara khanate and the city boasted dozens of caravansaries (merchants’ inns) and bazaars, 100 madrassahs (Islamic colleges), and 300 mosques. There are almost 1,000 places of historic interest and over 140 buildings are protected architectural sites. The dominant colour is brown or mustard and overzealous restoration has been kept at bay here.
We started our city tour at the Nadir Divanbegi Madrassah This particular madrassah – dating from the 1630s – has a tympanum decorated with two flying phoenixes with white does clamped in their talons (a rare type of design since humans and animals do not normally feature in Islamic art). Opposite this building is a statue of Hoja Nasruddin astride a donkey. He is a semi-mythical ‘wise fool’ who appears in Sufi teaching takes. Further along is the Lyabi-Hauz, a plaza built around a pool in 1620 (the name is Tajik for ‘around the pool’).
At the height of its commercial power, Bukhara had five main vaulted and domed bazaars or trading domes or toks. They straddled convergent trade arteries and and were accessed by entrance arches tall enough for a laden pack camel. Today three of these bazaars survive. The northern-most and largest of the three is the Tok-i-Zagaron (jewellers) of 1570. The other two are the Tok-i-Sarrafon (money changers) and the Tok-i-Telpak Furushon (cap makers). It was a joy to wander through them.
Next we admired a pair of madrassahs standing directly opposite one another – such a pair is called kosh madrassahs. On the north side is the Uleg Beg Madrassah of 1417. This was named after the grandson of Tamerlane and star motifs reflect his fascination with astronomy. On the south side is the Abdel Aziz Madrassah of 1652. Today it is – like so many former madrassahs – full of stalls selling to tourists.
Registan Square is the heart of the old town (or shakhristan) and the scene of many historic events ranging from the execution of the British ‘Great Game’ adventurers Charles Stoddart & Arthur Conolly in 1842 [for further information click here] to the overthrowing of the emirate and the raising of the Red Flag in 1920.
On the square is the main entrance to the Ark Fortress with its high sloping walls and bulbous towers that swell out at the bottom. Home to the rulers of Bukhara for a millennium, the Ark is as old as Bukhara itself. The first fortress to be documented as built here dates from the 7th century, but the present form of the fortress dates from the 16th century. The Ark was 80% destroyed in September 1920 by a fire started by Bolshevik bombardment.
Entrance to the impressive Ark is through a western gateway built in 1742 and up a stone ramp. At the top of the walkway, one reaches the 18th century Court Mosque with its deeply-carved mushroom-topped stalactite pillars. This is now a small museum. Then there is the 17th century Throne Room (or Kurinesh Khana) which has witnessed a series of coronations of new emirs. This was largely destroyed by the fire of 1920 and has been the subject of much restoration.
Entrance to the impressive Ark is through a western gateway built in 1742 and up a stone ramp. At the top of the walkway, one reaches the 18th century Court Mosque with its deeply-carved mushroom-topped stalactite pillars. This is now a small museum. Then there is the 17th century Throne Room (or Kurinesh Khana) which has witnessed a series of coronations of new emirs. This was largely destroyed by the fire of 1920 and has been the subject of much restoration.
Hidden behind the Ark is the Zindan, the old water tower that served for centuries as the city jail. There were three appalling cells, the most infamous known as the Bug Pit because, when a prisoner was judged to be too ill to be fed, he was given over to the spiders. Access to this pit was only down a six metre long rope. The pit housed the British adventurers Charles Stoddart & Arthur Conolly before they were beheaded.
Travelling east along the road known as Khodja Nurobod, we came to perhaps the jewel of Bukhara’s old town: the magnificent square called Poi Kalon (literally the ‘Pedestal of the Great One’). At the south end, it contains the famed giant brick Kalon Minaret, spared by Genghis Khan, and standing 155 feet (48 metres) high. A minaret has stood here since 919 and the present one was started in 1127.
On opposite sides of this graceful square are the Mir-I-Arab Madrassah and the Kalon Mosque. The Mir-I-Arab Madrassah is now the largest Muslim school in Uzbekistan. The name means ‘Prince of Arabs’ and refers to Sheikh Addullah of Yemen, the spiritual adviser to the Shaybani Ubaydullah Khan who had the madrassah built in the 16th century. Today it houses around 140 students who study a four-year course of Arabic, theology and the Koran.
The Kalon Mosque forms a 415 by 255 feet (127 by 78 metre) open rectangle with four iwans on its axis and seven entrance gates. The name means ‘Great’ and, not only is it one of the most ancient mosques in Central Asia, it is also the second biggest, capable of accommodating some 10,000 worshipers. A mosque of one kind or another has stood here since 795 and the present structure was completed in 1514.
Dinner was something special. We went to the home cum workshop of a guy called Rahmon where, as well as having dinner, we had music from two men, dances from two women, and displays of beautiful suzanis. At an invitation from one of the dancers, I joined in for a while in the interests of British-Uzbek relations.