Bukhara
A whole old town that still lives and trades — minarets, domed bazaars and tea houses around Lyabi-Hauz.
A city of scholars and merchants
Bukhara has been a trading town for more than two thousand years, and for long stretches of its history it was one of the great centres of learning in the Islamic world. Under the Samanids in the ninth and tenth centuries it was a capital of scholars and poets; later it became the seat of the emirs of Bukhara, who ruled until 1920. What makes it special today is that the old town was never cleared away: people still live, pray and trade in the same lanes, among dozens of historic buildings.
How the old town works
The centre is compact and walkable, and it has three hubs. The first is the Lyabi-Hauz Ensemble, a pool shaded by old mulberry trees and framed by the Nodir Devonbegi Madrasah, the Nodir Devonbegi Khanqah and the Kukeldash Madrasah — this is where Bukhara sits down for tea in the evening. From here the covered trading domes lead past the Magoki Attori Mosque, whose foundations lie well below today's street level, to the second hub: the Kalon Minaret, the Kalon Mosque and the Mir-i-Arab Madrasah facing it. Legend says Genghis Khan spared the minaret when he burned the rest of the city. The third hub is the Ark Fortress, the citadel of the emirs, with the Bolo Hauz Mosque and its carved wooden columns across the square. A short walk west, in a park, stands the Samanid Mausoleum, a small brick cube from the tenth century, and next to it the Chashma Ayub Mausoleum, built where, legend has it, the prophet Job struck the ground and a spring appeared.
Two days lets you walk the old town without rushing. On the second day we usually go a little further out: to the Chor Minor Madrasah with its four small towers, the Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa Palace, the summer residence of the last emir, and the Bahauddin Naqshband Complex, a place of pilgrimage for Sufis from all over the world.
When to go and getting there
Spring and autumn are the best times; summer is very hot and dry, and we plan around the midday heat. The Afrosiyob train arrives from Samarkand in about an hour and a half and from Tashkent in under four hours, and Bukhara has its own airport. Onward to Khiva, you either take the train or cross the Kyzylkum desert by car with your driver. Inside the old town everything is within walking distance — most of the main sights are under fifteen minutes apart.
Frequently asked
Two full days. One for the old town on foot — Lyabi-Hauz, the trading domes, Poi-Kalyan and the Ark — and one for the Samanid Mausoleum, Chor Minor and the sights outside town such as Bahauddin Naqshband.
They are different, and we recommend both. Samarkand has the grandest monuments; Bukhara has the most complete and lived-in old town, best enjoyed slowly on foot.
By train or by car across the Kyzylkum desert. The drive takes most of a day, but with your own driver you can stop along the way; the train is a comfortable alternative. We arrange either on our tours.
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