The most beautiful religious buildings Boukhara

Nicknamed "the pearl of the East", the mausoleum of the Samanides has long been forgotten at the bottom of a cemetery. When the archaeologist Shishkin discovered it in 1930, during the development of Samani Park, it was drowned among other graves, buried under several meters of earth, which saved it from the Mongolian tornado and a thousand years of history. Today the necropolis has disappeared, a park has been laid out around the mausoleum, and a basin has been dug to restore it to its original configuration. The Uzbeks venerate the founder of one of the most prestigious dynasties of Central Asia. The Pearl of the Orient is a witness to the golden age of Bukhara. Built at the beginning of the 10th century by Ismail Samani for his father Akhmad, this dynastic tomb is the second oldest mausoleum in the Muslim world. Its precise dating would make it possible to know whether the tradition of mausoleum building for Muslim dynasties originated here, or in Iraq, with the tomb of the Caliph Al Mountasir. Its architecture retains a Sogdian influence, but incorporates construction techniques that were revolutionary for the time. The mausoleum is conceived as a symbolic representation of the universe: a cube of just under 11 m on each side with four identical façades, symbolizing the earth and stability, surmounted by a semi-spherical dome which is the Sogdian representation of the universe. Above the door of the mausoleum is represented a circle in a square: the Zoroastrian symbol of eternity. Decorative techniques made of bricks assembled in groups of four or five in different directions were also an innovation that would mark the following centuries. The mausoleum has 18 different combinations, including three-dimensional. Its proportions and decorative motifs are based on the principle of the dynamic square, an architectural discovery that gives the ensemble a power and harmony rarely equalled. Depending on the position of the sun, the brickwork gives the monument a different light and appearance, moving, despite its sober form. The builders used baked brick, cemented with egg yolk and camel milk. This unusual material and its skillful assembly allowed the monument to cross more than a millennium without suffering from earthquakes. Pilgrims walk three times around the mausoleum reciting prayers. Some tourists too, because they say that if you make a wish to come back to Bukhara... the wish comes true.

The huge iwan is set on twenty wooden pillars of Karagatch. The decoration of the wooden ceiling caissons, as well as the painted stalactites adorning the tops of the fine pillars, make this mosque one of the most beautiful in the city. When the Emir went to Friday prayer, carpets were laid on the floor from the Ark door to the entrance of the mosque. The mosque itself dates from 1712, the 12m high iwan, making it one of the highest in Central Asia, was added in the 19th century and the minaret in 1917.

East of the jewelers' bazaar. "Kosh madrasa" means "two madrasas". This term refers to all buildings facing each other or belonging to the same complex. Thus, southwest of the Bolo Khaouz Mosque, the two madrasas Modar-i-Khan and Abdullah Khan are also known as "kosh madrasas". The Ulugh Begh Madrasa dates from 1417, it is the oldest of the two. It was built by Ulugh Begh, the astronomical prince of Samarkand, Tamerlan's successor. The inscription on the front door recalls the wisdom and open-mindedness of its builder: "To aspire to knowledge is the duty of every Muslim. "Open-mindedness that few of his contemporaries and successors shared, since the building, like all madrasas, remained closed to women. This was the first of three madrasas built by Ulugh Begh, the other two being in Samarkand and Gidjuvan, 45 km from Bukhara in the direction of Samarkand. The Madrasa of Bukhara is smaller in size than its sister Madrasa of the Registan of Samarkand, but its harmonious proportions and the skilful sobriety of its decoration make it a fine example of Bukhara's medieval architecture and a precious legacy of the Timurid architecture in Bukhara, which was much neglected in this period compared to Samarkand. After independence, students were able to return to study in the madrasah cells, but the government finally preferred to restore it and open it to tourism.

The city's Restoration Museum is housed in the old mosque on the right, and souvenir and craft shops have invaded the cells. A spiral staircase leads to the vaulted roof above the entrance. Much less sober than its neighbour, the madrasa of Abdul Aziz Khan was built two hundred years later, in 1654, when Bukhara had become the capital of the khanate. The architecture and decoration of the imposing madrasa built under the Chaybanids were carried out by the best master craftsmen of the time.

The mosaic of the pishtak, or entrance portal, as well as that of the portals leading to the inner courtyard, is a bright yellow tangle of vegetation with simorgh birds and even a dragon. These decorations, like those on the façade of the Nadir-Divanbeg Madrasa, are a departure from the Islamic rule forbidding figurative art. But the decorator of the madrasah, Abdul Aziz Khan, seems to have ventured to the limits of tolerance: from the darskhana, looking at the back of the mosque when the lights are off, and letting the eyes get used to the darkness, one can see the faded silhouette of a man in a turban, which disappears as one walks towards the entrance and the eyes get used to the light again. Many different techniques were used to decorate the madrasa: relief majolica, painted gantch casts, engraved marble, chiselled mosaic... The decoration of the interior domes of the winter and summer mosques is particularly remarkable. The darskhana to the right of the entrance, transformed into an antique shop, is worth seeing for two reasons: its unrestored decoration is sublime and there are beautiful carpets and suzani. The madrasa also has fireplaces, a great innovation for the time. The decoration of the façade and part of the courtyard has remained unfinished. Indeed, Abdul Aziz Khan was dethroned and his successor put an end to the work.

Before the Arab conquest there was a market and a Buddhist temple on this site, then a Zoroastrian temple dedicated to the moon. The first mosque was built in the 9th century - making it the oldest in Central Asia - on the ruins of the temple, as was customary at that time, building on the existing foundations. It was completely rebuilt in the 12th century and remodelled in the 16th century. But following the destruction of Genghis Khan, it was found below ground level and was only discovered in 1839 by Shishkin, the same archaeologist who had unearthed the Samani mausoleum in the cemetery, which was buried under the ground for the same reasons. Excavations have also brought to light the south portal of the 12th century mosque. Shishkin also discovered traces of the Zoroastrian temple dating back to the ^5th century, and the even older Buddhist temple. Over the centuries, the ground level had risen several meters and the Magok Mosque had been half buried underground. Already for the construction of the east portal, which dates from the 16th century, the entrance had to be adapted to the change in street level, and a staircase with wide steps leads down to the entrance of the mosque. The mosque has a very colourful name that reflects its history: "agok" means "underground" and "attor" means "merchant". The mosque now serves as a carpet exhibition hall. To the east, the wells go down into the earth to where the Buddhist temple used to be.

The mazar, in fact a chapel, is a place as revered as the Ismail Samani mausoleum. Chachma Ayoub means "source of Job". Legend has it that Job, the Old Testament prophet, brought a spring of pure water by planting his pilgrim's staff there. It is not the only mausoleum in the Muslim world dedicated to Job, and his tomb will be found more than once where a spring of pure water springs in Syria, Iraq or the Sultanate of Oman. Recent archaeological research has established that a mazar was built here as early as the 9th century, but the present building dates from the 14th and 16th centuries. It consists of four main rooms in which the gurkhana, the holy water spring, and the rooms for pilgrims are located. Near the entrance to the gurkhana, an inscription attributes the construction of the mazar to Amir Hadjaj and thanks Tamerlan for his benevolence. On the wooden plank, another inscription records the arrival of the Prophet Ayub and his death in Bukhara. It is the only building in Bukhara that dates back to the time of Tamerlan. The cone-shaped dome, built in the 14th century, is typical of Khorezm architecture and was executed by craftsmen from Kounia Ourgench whom Tamerlan had brought back from his military campaigns. The round lantern dome was added in the 16th century. The spring, reputed for its healing properties, is supposed to cure skin diseases. The mazar now houses a museum dedicated to the history and different techniques of water supply in Bukhara.

Built at the beginning of the 19th century, this miniature madrasa behind the Kalian minaret often goes unnoticed, eclipsed as it is by its huge neighbours. It nevertheless presents an interesting unusual architecture. Indeed, it has three interior courtyards, intended for classrooms and living quarters. It is now a children's library but it is possible to go there to take a few steps and enjoy the timeless atmosphere that floats there, contrasting with the tourist crowd outside.

The two madrasas Modar-i-Khan and Abdullah Khan are located to the southwest of the Bolo-Khauz Mosque. The smaller of the two, the Modar-i-Khan Madrasa, dedicated to the mother of Abdullah khan, was built in 1566, at the beginning of the Emir's reign. It is a madrasa of classical architecture, comprising a level of cells where the students lived and a mosque and a courtyard room, or darskhana, overlooking an inner courtyard. The same craftsmen and souvenir shops can be found there today as in other madrasas in Bukhara. The Abdullah Khan Madrasa dates back to 1588. Also built by Abdullah khan, but then at the height of its glory, its appearance exudes more power than its modest neighbour. The madrasa has a traditional layout, with a large courtyard surrounded by cells, but the architects have complicated the structure by increasing the number of cells at the corners of the buildings with courtyard rooms topped by a dome. The 'Abdullah's Lantern', located in the north wing, is an example of these architectural finds. This octahedral hall is surrounded by two-storey ogival galleries. The entrance to the madrasah can be closed, but it is possible to enter the madrasah by going around the left side. Unless the restorers have taken it over, you will be able to wander freely through this veritable labyrinth and discover the star-shaped decorations on the interior domes of the mosque and darskhana.