Bukhara the Holy, Bukhara the Noble, the Dome of Islam, the Pillar of Religion, the most intact city in the hoary East, the most interesting city in the world
Central Asia's holiest city, Bukhara has buildings spanning a thousand years of history, and a throughly lived-in old centre that probably hasn't changed much in two centuries. It is one of the best places in Central Asia for a glimpse of pre-Russian Turkestan. Most of the centre is an architectural preserve, full of former madrasahs, a massive royal fortress, and the remnants of a once-vast market complex. History - It was as capital of the Samanid state in the 9th and 10th centuries that Bukhara - Bukhoro-i-sharif (Noble Bukhara), the "Pillar of Islam" - blossomed as Central Asia's religious and cultural heart, and simultaneously brightened with the Persian love of the arts.
Among those nurtured here were the philosopher- scientist Ibn Sina and the poets Firdausi and Rudaki - figures with stature in the Persian Islamic world that, for example, Newton or Shakespeare enjoyed in the West. After two centuries under the smaller Karakhanid and Karakitay dynasties, Bukhara succumbed in 1220 to Gengis Khan, and in 1370 fell under the shadow of Timur's Samarkand.
A second lease of life came in the 16th century when the Uzbek Shaybanids made it the capital of what came to be known as the Bukhara khaganate. The centre of Shaybanid Bukhara was a vast marketplace dozens of specialist bazaars and caravanserais, over one hundred madrasahs (with 10,000 students) and more than 300 mosques.
Under the Astrakhanid dynasty, the Silk Road's decline slowly pushed Bukhara out of the mainstream. Then in 1753 Mohamed Rakhim, the local deputy of a Persian ruler, proclaimed himself emir, founding the Mangit dynasty that was to rule until the Bolshevik's came
Sights:
The majority of sights lie scattered around the old town (shakhristan) and are thus most easily reached on foot. The following itinerary starts at Registan and proceeds through the heart of the old bazaar quarter to the area around the Lyazi Hauz square. Bukhara's range of interesting sights requires at least two or three days to do the city justice and is perhaps the Central Asian city that most rewards the inquisitive traveller prepared to veer off the main tourist routes and immerse himself in the old town.
BUKHARA MUST-SEES Lyabi Hauz the most peaceful and interesting spot in town-shaded by mulberry trees as old as the pool Covered Bazaars vast warren of market lanes, arcades and crossroads mini-bazaars whose multi-domed roofs were designed to draw in cool air Kalan Minaret. It's an incredible piece of work, 47 meters tall with 10 metre deep foundations Ismail Samani Mausoleum. In Samani Park is the town's oldest monument (completed about 905 A.D) and one of the most elegant structures in Central Asia The Ark. This royal town-within-a-town is Bukhara's oldest structure Mir-i-Arab Madrasah it was the only in Central Asia functioning madrasah in Soviet times
"As a guest in Uzbekistan you will be accorded much respect and shown great hospitality, for local families gladly seize the chance to welcome new friends from abroad"
Bukhara the Holy, Bukhara the Noble, the Dome of Islam, the Pillar of Religion, the most intact city in the hoary East, the most interesting city in the world
