Uh-mazing Uzbekistan!! (Part 6): Beyond Bukhara's Bubble of History!

- December 29-30, 2025, Monday to Tuesday.

- The coziness of Bukhara's historical center is just a tourist comfort zone. While there are plenty of important historical sites standing side by side just around the Lyab-i Hauz area, Bukhara does boast a lot of grander historical spots. The good new is that most of these other places are still around the city as well, so they may be a bit of a walk from the Lyab-i Hauz area, or a short car ride away.

- If Samarkand has its Registan, for me, the main attraction in Bukhara is the Ark of Bukhara. It was built in the 5th century as an elevated and fortified city, and the Shaybanids further shaped the Ark in the 16th century. The palace and other government offices were located in the Ark. Now, the Ark contains remnants of its former glory, that is, a vast archaeological site, with some intact parts of the royal buildings such as the coronation hall.

Ark of Bukhara. See those impressive walls??

Ark entrance.

Coronation hall. And yes, you can pay to rent a sultan's costume for a few minutes, but bring your own camera. The person manning the booth can help you take photos.

The throne.

Ark walls.

Ruins of an old mosque at the archaeological site.

View of the Kalyan Complex from the Ark.

- Across the Ark is the Bolo Hauz Mosque. It was built in the 1700s and appears different from other mosques because of its decorative wooden columns outside the main iwan or gate. These columns were actually added only in the 1900s as additional support.

Bolo Hauz Mosque.

Details of the columns.

Mosque interior.

Bukhara Tower at the premises of the Bolo Hauz Mosque. It was a water tower from the 1920s! Now, it is an observation deck for tourists.

- Not far from the Bolo Hauz Mosque are two mausoleums. The Chashma Ayub Mausoleum is said to be the burial place of the Prophet Job ("Ayyub" in Arabic). It is said to be the site where Job was able to find miracle water. Whether this is true or not, its architectural style is also of interest because it was built in the Khwarezmi style, which is different from the usual architectural style used in Bukhara.

Chashma Ayub Mausoleum.

- A few steps away is the mausoleum of Ismail Samani. It is a 10th-century mausoleum and believed to be one of the earliest examples of Central-Asian Islamic architecture for the dead. While small in structure, its beige bricks also give it a different look compared to the colorful tiled buildings in the region.

Ismail Somoni Mausoleum.

Mausoleum's interior.

- I later rode a YandexGo car to the Chor Bakr Necropolis. This is quite far from the main city center, and takes around 30 minutes or so to reach. The necropolis was established in the 1500s by the Shaybanids, and is said to be the resting place of Muhammad's descendants, especially the four Abu-Bakrs (Chor Bakr means "the four Abu-Bakrs".) Being there felt like being in a city of the dead ("necropolis") as there were endless tombs in the complex. It was also difficult to pinpoint which tombed belonged to whom.

Almost empty.

To the tombs of the four Abu-Bakrs (and apparently, a lot more too.)

Now sure which of these are the most prominent ones, but they looked the nicest. There were no labels.

Another part of the necropolis.

Mosque, madrasa, and minaret of the necropolis.

- It took me a while to get a YandexGo back to the city, but I made it nonetheless. I spend the rest of the day taking me time wandering the historic center, and accompanying my dad to the Ark of Bukhara, who wasn't able to come with me earlier that day.

- The following day, I first visited the Chor Minor, or "Four Minarets". It is a short walk from the historic center. Built in the 1800s, this is actually a gatehouse of a now non-existent mosque. Therefore, the structure isn't actually four minarets, despite its name. It was said that the inspiration for this is the Char Minar in Telangana, India. This modest yet unusual building has rounded tops bearing symbols from different religions. One of the towers has a fake stork nest, in honor of the storks that used to always fly around the are and build nests on the towers.

Chor Minor.

From the front. The tower was closed so I couldn't go up.

See the bird? There were many birds flying around, but none of them, at least when I was there, were storks. I read somewhere that storks don't come anymore because their water supply was depleted.

- One complex in the historic center that Bukhara boasts is the Po-i Kalyan Complex. Built between the 12th and 16th centuries, it is one of the largest Islamic complexes in Central Asia, with the Kalyan Minaret being the tallest minaret in Bukhara and one of the tallest in the world. The Po-i Kalyan Complex is within the historic center, beyond Toki Telpakfurushon. It is near other trading domes, which are the Toki Zargaron and the Tim Abdullah Trading Dome.

Po-i Kalyan Complex.

Inside the mosque's courtyard.

Mihrab. This is the dent in the wall that serves as a marker to know where Mecca is. Muslims pray in the direction of Mecca.

With the tower from inside the mosque.

Kalyan Tower.

Toki Zargaron.

Tim Abdullah Khan Trading Dome.

- At the opposite side of Toki Zargaron from where the Po-i Kalyan Complex is, stand two ornate madrasas that face each other. The Ulugh Beg Madrasa, built in the 1400s, is the oldest of Ulugh Beg's madrasas. Across it is the Abdulaziz Khan Madrasa, built in the 1600s. It is an unfinished madrasa because Abdulaziz Khan, from whom the mosque was named after, was dethroned as the madrasa was being built. Both these madrasas are now souvenir centers. 

Ulugh Beg Madrasa.

Abdulaziz Khan Madrasa.

Courtyard of the Ulugh Beg Madrasa.

Mihrab of the Abdulaziz Khan Madrasa.

Courtyard of the Abdulaziz Khan Madrasa.

Walked around the Lyab-i Hauz area for one last time before leaving Bukhara the next day.

I just noticed how cute the ducks' "house" was at the Lyab-i Hauz. It was made in perfect Central-Asian style !

- We called it a day quite early because of our extremely early flight back to Tashkent the following day. I could easily understand why tourists have such fascination with Bukhara. It's easy to go around, has plenty of interesting things to see and buy, and has good food choices. As much as I didn't want to leave Bukhara, the trip had to move forward because we also wanted to see more of Tashkent after our one-day peek before our visits to Samarkand and Bukhara!