Bukhara, Uzbekistan Bukhara - The Holy City

Bukhara is one of the most ancient cities of Uzbekistan, situated on a sacred hill, the place where sacrifices were made by fire-worshippers in springtime. This city was mentioned in a holy book "Avesto". Bukhara city is supposed to be founded in the 13th cent. B.C. during the reign of Siyavushids who came to power 980 years before Alexander the Great. The name of Bukhara originates from the word "vihara" which means "monastery" in Sanskrit. The city was once a large commercial center on the Great Silk Road.

Bukhara lies west of Samarkand and was once a center of learning renowned throughout the Islamic world. It is the hometown of the great Sheikh Bakhouddin Nakshbandi. He was a central figure in the development of the mystical Sufi approach to philosophy, religion and Islam. In Bukhara there are more than 350 mosques and 100 religious colleges. Its fortunes waxed and waned through succeeding empires until it became one of the great Central Asian Khanates in the 17th century.

Bukhara with more than 140 architectural monuments is a "town museum" dating back to the Middle Ages. 2,300 years later, ensembles like Poi-Kalyan, Ismail Samani Mausoleum, Ark, Lyabi-Khauz are attracting a lot of attention. The city consists of narrow streets, green parks and gardens, historical and architectural monuments belong to the different epochs, but locate very close to each other.

Ark Citadel is the most ancient monument of Bukhara. According to the archaeological excavations, citadel belongs to IV-III centuries. Fortress area is 3.9 hectares. It is a rectangular building, a little stretching from west to east. The front gate to the citadel framed by two towers. Currently the height of the citadel walls is from 16 to 20 metre and the length of the walls is 789 metre.

During its long history, Ark had repeatedly been destroyed but was restored again. In IX-X centuries during the reign of the Samanids, citadel was rebuilt and in the reign of the Sheibanid, citadel Ark looked like a modern building. East and west gate were built. "Gurian " - east gate were destroyed in XVI century, and east gate "Registan" meet the guests not only from Bukhara but also tourists from over the world. According to the legend, citadel was built by epic hero Siyavush. Handsomeё young man and the daughter of the ruler Afrasiab were fell in love. But the girl's father told to Siyavush to build a palace on the bull's skin, if he wants to marry the princess. But Siyavush was cunning; he cut the skin into thin strips connecting the ends together and built a palace. By the beginning of the XX century there were the palaces of rulers, craft shops, warehouses, weapons, clothes, carpets. Three thousand people lived here.

Nowadays there is Bukhara State Museum, which includes: the department of numismatics and epigraphy, which has existed since 1987, the department of modern history and ethnography, here are stored 36 000 exhibits, the exhibition "Written Monuments", and the department of Bukhara nature is one of the oldest departments of the museum, which has been functioning since 1951.

Samanids Mausoleum

Of all the medieval buildings in Bukhara, the Samanids Mausoleum is of special interest. This world-famous architectural masterpiece was built at the close of the ninth century. The mausoleum was erected as a family crypt immediately after the death of Ismail Samani's father. Later, Ismail himself and his grandson Hasr were also buried in it. It is interesting to note that erecting crypts was against Islamic law at that time, for Islam forbade erecting any post-mortem monuments upon the tombs of Muslim believers. However, the prohibition was broken in the middle of the ninth century by one of the caliphs himself, for whom a special as-Suli-biya Mausoleum was built. Ismail merely followed his example.

The Samanids Mausoleum reveals the genius of a plain design. This is seen in its composition and the balanced design of its facades and interiors. It is composed of a semi-spherical dome resting on a cube. All of the facades are identical and marked with three-quarter domed columns on the corners. There is an upper armature and a central entrance with a visible horizontal dividing line.

The core is characterized by regular kiln-dried bricks, forming horizontal, vertical, and diagonal patterns on the walls. There are also separate details in the shape of disks or rosettes. Analysis shows that all elements in the Mausoleum are based on squares and diagonals: the elements form geometrically digressive lines. The same unification is seen in the architectural forms and kiln-dried brickwork in the interiors. The architectural design of the Samoniy mausoleum is entirely unique. It owes much to pre-lslamic Soghdian architecture, which used four-arch domed compositions and diminished forms on the top of buildings, including disks and rosettes on decoration columns (as can also be seen in the section between the dome and the drum of the interior]. Although this building is connected with pre-lslamic architecture, it also anticipates the emergence of a new architectural style with comparatively small dimensions; the Samanids Mausoleum is full of magnificence and feeling of moving from this world to the world that lasts forever.

Lyabi-Khauz: historical source of water supply in Bukhara

Architectual ensemble Lyabi-Khauz is formed with three large monumental buildings: Kukeldash Madrasah in the north, khanaka and Nodir Divan-begi in the west and in the east. From the south the square was closed with Trade Street. The center of old Bukhara large ensemble became a reservoir.

The name «Lyabi-Khauz» means «at reservoir». According to the old legend, for a long time knan gardener Nadir Divan-begi could not buy a lot for planned building, where a house of alone woman was. Then all-powerful vizier ordered to built a channel under women's house, and the water began to washaway walls, unhappy women had to sell this lot. The khan hauz secretly was called «khauz of violence», what in arabian inscription gives numerical meaning of building date -1620.

The khauz rectangular (36-46 meters height), stretched from the east to the west, is buried in shadow of venerable chinaras. Its shores are formed with stair launch to the water, made from massive blocks of yellow limestone. In old times there was «tea bazar», there sold sweets, dainties, bread and made food.

Kukeldash Madrasah (1568 - 1569] is the largest in Bukhara (80x 60 meters). It is built on traditional diagram of eastern institution - boarding school. However for the first time in madrasah built in rabid, light, ventilated hujrs leaded by loggias on the free yard to the streets of city. They open on the second floor on side-facades. Living apatment is equipped with modern amenities, as Ulugbek Madrasah in Samarkand, butr there is three-part apartmenton the first floor, consisted of ayvan, housing and household apartments. In darskhana 4 crossing archs, stretched from corner to corner diagonallywith netted decor, carry the light.

On the west side of Laybi-khauz is one more architectural monument. This is Nadir Divan-begi Khanaka (1619 - 1620). It is great multicells building with central cupola hall, with undeep niches on sides. In the building corners are living hydjras.

On the eastern side of khauz you can see a facade of curious architectual building - Nadir Divan-begi Madrasah. At first this building was built as caravan-saray in Madrasah, joined to main facade loggias, portal and corner towers. At this time second floor was built. On longitudinal axis, across from entrance peshtak is, traditional in caravan-saray, passage to the back yard, destined for pack cattle.