Who does not like to travel and discover new beautiful places? Of course, the sea, the sun and the beach - this is the main vacation of people tired of gray everyday life, but you must admit - learning the world and historical values of different countries is no less interesting and exciting. The reader in our tour is waiting for the city of Bukhara (Uzbekistan). It is proposed to learn about all the sights of this beautiful corner of our planet.
Legend of Uzbekistan
Bukhara is a city literally shrouded in secrets and legends. Historians claim that it was founded by the great Siyavush, who, according to legend, was the son of the Iranian king Kay-Kavus and the beautiful Turanka who fled from his cruel father. It was Siyavush - a brave and valiant warrior - who built the first Bukhara citadel Ark, at the eastern gate of which he was buried after death at the hands of Afrasiab, the king of Turan. The residents of Bukhara poured out all the sorrow for the killed warrior into a song cycle called “Crying of Mugs”, and admirers of Siyavush and still on the first day of the New Year slaughter a rooster near the surviving walls of the Bukhara citadel in memory of the founder of the city. By the way, through the cities of Uzbekistan, namely through Bukhara, the legendary Great Silk Road passed - the road connecting the East and the West.
Faith and Modernity
Today, Bukhara is a city that is not only the center of culture of modern Uzbekistan, but also the regional center of this country. Uzbeks themselves call this city the pillar of Islam. According to one of the many legends, all the cities inhabited by Muslims are enveloped in sacred light shining from the sky, and only over Bukhara it rises skyward.
And indeed, not all cities of Uzbekistan can boast of so many different mosques and tombs of great Muslims, elevated to the rank of saints. However, the sights of Bukhara are not only places for prayers to Allah. This city has many places saturated with history and fairy tales. It was here, in Bukhara, that great people such as Avicenna and Omar Khayyam created poetry and scientific works.
Places for inspiration
Once in this city, you immediately realize that the old Bukhara with its legends is closely intertwined with the new, modern Bukhara. Its streets are mysterious and winding, and the walls of newfangled buildings peacefully coexist with the walls of buildings with a long history. It is a city of contrasts saturated with the spirit of antiquity and oriental wisdom.
It is simply impossible to see the sights of Bukhara in one day - they are so numerous. Neglecting a visit to one of them is like being in Paris and not seeing the Eiffel Tower. To absorb the charm of this city with every cell of the body, you can explore the tours to Bukhara, offered by many tour operators. And if you can’t see all the nooks and crannies of this pearl of Uzbekistan, we recommend that you visit the Samandin Mausoleum, Ark Citadel, Miri Arab Madrasah, Kalyan Mosque, Chor Minor Madrasah and Shopping Domes. These are the most interesting sights of Bukhara, which invariably make an indelible impression on tourists.
Dynasty legacy
One of the most ancient Muslim historical buildings erected in the 10th century is the Samandin Mausoleum. Since it was built of bricks with a scratched pattern, it can rightfully be considered a kind of monument of brick production of those times. The mausoleum was not destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Bukhara and is perfectly preserved to our times, due to the fact that it was covered with sand and fragments of destroyed buildings. In addition, an ancient legend says that the great grandeur of the Mausoleum made such an enormous impression on the invaders that, bowing to the beauty of the building, they did not burn it, leaving it untouched. The opening of the building belongs to the Soviet archaeologist Vasily Afanasevich Shishkin, who discovered it in 1934 during excavations.
The Samandin Mausoleum is the last refuge in which members of the Samandin dynasty found themselves - Ismail Samani (ruler of Bukhara and the last representative of the Persian dynasty) and his son Ahmad ibn Ismail.
The Samandinov Mausoleum is not just a monument of ancient building culture, it is the whole story of the resurrection of the city after endless wars with Arabs.
Temple of Knowledge
When sightseeing Bukhara, it is impossible not to visit the Miri Arab Madrasah. This is not just an awesome place, but also one of the first educational institutions, which in the era of the USSR was the only one of its kind for people professing Islam.
It is claimed that the founder of this educational institution, Sheikh Miri Arab, convinced the ruler of Bukhara to sell 3,000 captured Iranians in order to build the Madrasah with the proceeds. Until the mid-20th century, it was the most prestigious educational institution.
In 1941, before the Great Patriotic War, the Bolsheviks organized a military registration and enlistment office in this building, during the period of hostilities refugees survived under the domes of the Madrasah.
Nowadays, despite the huge number of different universities, Miri Arab Madrasah is still considered one of the best, and the competition for applicants is impressive - about 14 people per place.
The building itself is richly decorated with colored mosaics, which magically turned into ornaments and flowers. The most beautiful place of Miri Arab Madrasah is the tomb in which Sheikh Abdullah Yamani, Mudarris Muhammad Kasim and Ubaidullah Khan rest.
Place for prayers
Kalyan Mosque is the oldest prayer building in Central Asia, which was built in the 15th century. The area of the building can accommodate up to 12,000 people during religious holidays .
Galleries of the Kalyan Mosque, installed on 208 columns, consist of 288 domes, and the blue domes are a kind of visiting card of Bukhara.
On four sides
Chor-Minor Madrasah is a magnificent combination of beauty and grandeur. The name Chor-Minor in translation means "four minarets", which form the sophisticated form of the madrassah and are symbols of the South, North, West and East. Historians claim that once a wealthy dealer in silk carpets and thoroughbred horses Niyazkul-bek traveled to India and visited the Taj Mahal. He was so impressed with this building that upon returning to his homeland he decided to build an equally magnificent building. At the same time, he put forward by the architect several mandatory conditions.
First, the building should be erected on the Silk Road, so that traders and travelers could not pass by.
The second - the appearance of the madrasah should symbolize the four cardinal points and show everyone that all the peoples of the world are equal as they are.
A place for curiosities
Since Bukhara was located on the Silk Road, from time immemorial it has been a huge platform for trade. It was here that merchants from the most remote countries arrived with goods.
To streamline places for conducting trade transactions, impressive Trade Domes were erected. It was under them that a bazaar was arranged, where various goods came true and were bought - from banal food products to overseas curiosities.
A few decades ago, for each type of product, its own dome was intended. These days, this approach has become irrelevant, and only three of them are used for trading.