KAGAN PALACE
The construction of the Kagan Palace was launched in 1895 and took just under 10 years. The Emir of Bukhara, inspired by the Petersburg palaces, wanted to be able to receive the Tsar with great pomp on his next trip to Central Asia. The railway line now connects his lands to the lands of the Russian emperor, and he must be able to be accommodated in a stately manner when he gets off the train. This is how the construction work began, led by a Russian architect who was able to recreate the style of St. Petersburg. The result: an enormous white palace, a bit of a cream pie where the tsar will never set foot. First he was delayed by other matters, then the Bolshevik revolution turned everything upside down. The palace remained empty for its first years, welcoming a few visiting dignitaries and banned from staying in the holy city of Bukhara because they were not Muslims. In 1920, the arrival to power of the socialists gave it a completely different orientation from its original purpose: it was transformed into a social centre for railway workers. Events were held there in the magnificent banquet hall. Today, the palace is the property of the municipality, which has set up a small railway museum of little interest. But take the time to walk around the building: the exterior, with its turrets, its architecture mixing Moorish, Oriental and Russian Imperial styles is worth a look and shows how much the Emir had tried to please the Tsar.
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