2024

LIAB-I-KHAOUZ ENSEMBLE

Street square and neighborhood to visit
4/5
4 reviews

Bordered by tchaikhanas and mulberry trees several hundred years old, behind the foliage of which can be seen the sumptuous facades of the madrasah and the khanaka Nadir Divanbeg, the Liab-i-Khaouz is a place of life and conviviality in the heart of the old city, an ideal starting and finishing point for walks in Bukhara.

The pool provides coolness even in the hot summer hours. At the time of its size, Bukhara had about 100 such basins, of which the Liab-i-Khaouz is one of the few survivors. Taken over by the tourism business, it is now flanked by restaurants on three sides and camel statues on the fourth. The traditional takhtans have mostly been replaced by western-style tables and chairs. The aksakal, or elders, who used to gather there in tens, have gradually been pushed to the right of the basin to make way for the now much larger number of tourists. This has not changed their habits: watching the time go by and playing dominoes for hours on end. There is a legend that tells how the basin was once the home of a Jewish woman. She had no desire to move, and she interfered with the plans of the Wazir, who decided to dig a canal under her house. The Wazir won the game, because the house, which had been eaten away by dampness, eventually collapsed. This unusual story of eviction left its mark on the inhabitants of the city, who named the basin Khaouz Bazur, the basin of constraint. In addition to being one of the rare basins to have crossed the centuries, it is also one of the largest in the city: it is 45 m long and 36 m wide. Three buildings line the basin

To the north, slightly set back, the Koukeldash Madrasa is the oldest, dating from the mid-16th century, while the Madrasa and the Nadir-Divanbeg Khanaka, facing respectively the east and west of the basin, were built in 1620, at the same time as the water body. The Kukeldash Madrasa, built in 1568 by Kulbaba Kukeldash, is the largest madrasa in the city; it measures 80m by 60m and comprises 160 cells on two levels.

To the east of the basin, the Nadir-Divanbeg madrasa stands out for the two huge semurgues, or simorghs, that adorn its portal. These fantastic birds with blue and green plumage, holding a doe in their talons, seem to fly towards a sun god that is reminiscent of the sun god on the façade of the Chir Dor Madrasa in Samarkand. The high entrance porch is characteristic of caravanserais, and was apparently not intended to open onto a madrasah. But it is said that the khan was mistaken at the inauguration and, while admiring the caravanserai, congratulated Nadir-Divan-Begi for his religious zeal in building such beautiful madrasas. It was unthinkable to contradict the Khan, and although there were no study halls or mosque, the caravanserai became a madrasah. In reality, this transformation was probably caused by the decline in commercial activity that Bukhara suffered in the 17th century. Today the cells are transformed into souvenir shops and craftsmen's workshops. In the summer, concerts are also organized there.

Finally, in the west, the Nadir-Divanbeg khanaka welcomed pilgrim dervishes. They were housed in the cells surrounding the central mosque, now transformed into an art gallery and souvenir shop.

Read more
2024

POY KALON SET

Street square and neighborhood to visit
4.8/5
4 reviews

It is undoubtedly the most beautiful square of the city, and in any case the most monumental. The Mir-i-Arab madrasa faces the huge Kalon mosque and its terrible minaret, "the tower of death". Many historical films have been shot in these places, and even if the horsemen of Mohamed Chaybani Khan are not there every day, the students of the madrasa and the pilgrims who go to the mosque take care of the atmosphere. In the evening, the atmosphere is magical: we stroll on the deserted esplanade while enjoying the night illuminations of the minaret and the mosque.

The minaret Kalon. Five times a day, four muezzin climbed the 105 steps of its interior staircase to call to prayer. Their voices carried more than 8 km and the other minarets relayed the call in a radius of 16 km. The minaret was built in 1127 by the Karakhanid Arslan Khan and was not only used to call the faithful to prayer. In the 17th century, it was from its top that the condemned and other impure were thrown out. The minaret was also used as an observation point during the day and as a lighthouse at night. Every evening, a basin filled with oil was lit in the center of the rotunda located at the top. The caravans arriving from the desert could thus locate themselves, like ships approaching the ports. Genghis Khan, who quickly appreciated its strategic importance, spared the minaret while no other monument of Bukhara survived his passage. 48 m high, with foundations sinking several meters into the ground, the minaret bears its name well, kalon meaning "big". Slightly conical in shape, it is decorated with a succession of rings of fired bricks with different geometric patterns. These bricks were made with camel milk and bull blood! All this terrible beauty did not prevent General Frunze from firing a cannon at the symbol of the power of the holy Bukhara. Badly damaged, the minaret was restored in the 1930s. In the 1970s, an earthquake was not more lenient and made him lose his head, restored since then by the care of Unesco and equipped, since 2019, with a night lighting that does not let escape any detail! For security reasons, it is unfortunately no longer possible to climb the spiral staircase leading to the top of the minaret to enjoy the splendid view offered on Bukhara and the domes of the madrasa.

Kalon Mosque. This imposing jami mosque, the largest after Bibi Khanoum, was rebuilt several times. It is said that a first mud-brick mosque was built in 713, probably on the site of a Buddhist or Zoroastrian temple, a frequent appropriation in this century of religious conquest. The mihrab of the Kalon mosque would have been located further east, at the Ark. In the ninth century, the mosque, with an area of 2 ha, was rebuilt according to new plans. The numerous pillars supporting the structure were made of wood, a rare commodity that forced to reduce the surface to one hectare. It is said that a fire destroyed it in the 11th century, or that the minaret collapsed and almost destroyed it completely. In any case, it was rebuilt in the 12th century by Arslan khan and destroyed again when Genghis khan passed by in 1220. In 1514, the khan chaybanide Abdullah khan made build a new mosque whose dimensions (130 m on 80) answered the "golden number"; in 1545, his successor made decorate the mihrab of mosaics of it. The immense interior courtyard and the covered galleries with 288 domes could accommodate more than 10,000 faithful. The mosque has seven doors, one facing the sunrise, two facing the sunset and two on each side wing. In the right wing of the mosque, a very deep well is said to contain holy water; it is poured into a huge stone bowl ensuring that it stays fresh. The pilgrims make a vow while drinking it. In the center, a rotunda with eight doors - symbolizing the gates of paradise - was built by the last khan of Bukhara in memory of the martyrs who died during the destruction of the mosque by Genghis Khan. During the Soviet era, from 1924 to 1989, the mosque remained closed, and was transformed into a warehouse and a mill during the Second World War. The blue dome, the Kok Goumbaz, dominating the mihrab, and its portal have been restored with funding from Unesco, told us a holy man meditating in the shadow of a dome, and that is also why, he added, it was not returned to worship, and that non-believers can still admire the most beautiful mosque.

Madrasa Mir-i-Arab. It was built in 1535 by Sheikh Abdullah, a Yemeni religious leader and spiritual guide of Ubaydullah khan. The khan financed its construction through the sale of 3,000 Persian prisoners, Shiite Muslims who were considered infidels and therefore could be sold as slaves. During the Soviet era, this madrasa was the only one authorized to provide religious education in Central Asia. Today, it enjoys a considerable reputation and the students are very numerous. Its access is forbidden to visitors. From the outside, its appearance is imposing and its two blue domes make a beautiful echo to the Kok Goumbaz of the Kalian mosque. The khan Ubaydullah khan and the sheik Abdullah Mir-i-Arab are buried there.

Read more
2024

JUICE AREA

Street square and neighborhood to visit
4/5
1 review

The Jewish quarter of Bukhara is located in the south of the Liab-i-Khaouz basin. It is a picturesque tangle of alleys where the city's large Jewish community used to gather. Synagogues, Jewish schools and houses of all social classes were there. The history of the Jews of Bukhara goes back to the Persian emperor Cyrus who, during his conquest of Babylon, is said to have freed the Jews of the East and encouraged them to settle in his lands in Central Asia. The Jews of Bukhara (a name that actually refers to a larger community than just the Jews living in Bukhara to include all the Jews of Central Asia) are believed to be descendants of those Babylonian Jews who arrived in the fifth century B.C., making it one of the oldest known Jewish communities.

Over time, other Eastern Jewish communities (from Yemen, Morocco or Iran) have grown the original Persian-speaking community. The Jews of Bukhara spoke Bukhariot, a dialect with Persian roots which they wrote in Hebrew letters, especially for poetic texts. Even today, very few of them speak Uzbek, but they do speak Russian and Tajik.

The first synagogue was built in 1620; before that, Jews officiated in mosques. The community grew in trade and specialized in fabric dyeing, but was extremely isolated from the rest of the Eastern Jews and widely persecuted. She is obliged to live in a certain neighbourhood, is not allowed to ride horses, cannot wear silk. Like the Marannes, converted to Catholicism but practising Judaism in secret to escape the Spanish and Portuguese Inquisition of the 15th century, some Jews converted to Islam. They are called the Chala here. In 1793, a Sephardic rabbi, Joseph Maimon, arrived in Bukhara and discovered a local cult mixed with Persian influences and Zoroastrianism. He decided to change all this and converted the Jews of Bukhara to the Sephardic liturgy practiced today.

The arrival of the Russians in the 19th century paradoxically appears to be good news for the community. Paradoxically because the Russian Empire and its pogroms are not a priori great supporters of Judaism. However, at the time, the Russians appeared to be less virulent towards the community and the Chalas could return to their original religion without fear of persecution. Unfortunately for them, the Jews of Bukhara are not at the end of their sentence and the arrival of the Bolsheviks sounds the death knell of the community. The 13 synagogues of Bukhara are closed, rich merchants sent to camps, religious practice forbidden. Tired of all these successive persecutions, the Jews of Bukhara migrated en masse to Israel and the United States upon independence. Today, there are about 50,000 in the New York area of Queens alone and 100,000 in Israel. There are less than 300 of them in Bukhara. The few remaining families take care of the two synagogues that have reopened, the school and the cemetery. The beautiful houses in the area have been bought and often transformed into charming guest houses. Today it is very pleasant to stroll through this maze of narrow streets to taste the atmosphere and the beautiful architecture. Most Jewish houses have been converted into guesthouses, so it is often possible to visit the interior.

Read more
2024

THE PLACE OF REGISTAN

Street square and neighborhood to visit
2/5
1 review

The huge square, the ancient heart of Bukhara, seems quite empty. The residences of the Bukhariot nobles, the three madrasas and the mosque that surrounded it were destroyed at the beginning of the century. The only monument erected in the square was a statue of Lenin, which in turn disappeared in 1992. It was in this square, where there was also a very lively bazaar, that the public executions took place. Its only interest today is a metal tower from the top of which one can enjoy the view of the city, with the fortress guard house in the foreground.

Read more