Beside a pool opposite the Ark’s gate is the functioning Bolo-Hauz Mosque (1718), the emirs’ official place of worship. The stunning painted wood and carved columns of the high aivan are some of the most beautiful in Central Asia. Beside it is a now-disused 33m water tower, built by the Russians in 1927.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
0.19 MILES
The spectacular-looking Ark, a royal town-within-a-town, is Bukhara’s oldest structure, occupied from the 5th century right up until 1920, when it was…
0.45 MILES
When it was built by the Karakhanid ruler Arslan Khan in 1127, the Kalon Minaret was probably the tallest building in Central Asia – kalon means…
1.09 MILES
Photogenic little Char Minar, in a maze of alleys between Pushkin and Hoja Nurabad, bears more relation to Indian styles than to anything Bukharan. This…
0.38 MILES
At the foot of the minaret, on the site of an earlier mosque destroyed by Chinggis Khan, is the 16th-century congregational Kalon Mosque, big enough for…
0.66 MILES
Between the two covered bazaars, in what was the old herb-and-spice bazaar, is Central Asia’s oldest surviving mosque, the Maghoki-Attar, a lovely…
0.77 MILES
Lyabi-Hauz, a plaza built around a pool in 1620 (the name is Tajik for ‘around the pool’), is the most peaceful and interesting spot in town – shaded…
0.36 MILES
This mausoleum in Samani Park, completed in 905, is the town's oldest Muslim monument and one of its most architecturally interesting. Built for Ismail…
0.72 MILES
This wealthy merchant's house, built in 1892, was once home to one of Bukhara’s many infamous personalities, the man who plotted with the Bolsheviks to…
Nearby Bukhara attractions
0.19 MILES
The spectacular-looking Ark, a royal town-within-a-town, is Bukhara’s oldest structure, occupied from the 5th century right up until 1920, when it was…
0.23 MILES
Southeast of Samani Park are two massive medressas, one named for the great Shaybanid ruler Abdulla Khan (currently empty) and the other for his mother…
0.24 MILES
This medressa named after the Shaybanid ruler Abdulla Khan is part of an ensemble together with the Modari Khan Medressa. The medressa is empty but you…
0.26 MILES
The peculiar Chashma Ayub (Spring of Job) mausoleum dates from the 12th century and has a tent-like Karakhanid-style roof. Legend has it that the prophet…
0.33 MILES
In Bukhara's backstreets between Hoja Nurabad and Islamov, across from the Ark on Hoja Nurabad, the interior of the 16th-century Hoja Zayniddin Mosque has…
0.36 MILES
This mausoleum in Samani Park, completed in 905, is the town's oldest Muslim monument and one of its most architecturally interesting. Built for Ismail…
0.37 MILES
Northeast of the Ark and just behind it is the old Zindon (jail). Morbidly fascinating attractions include a torture chamber, shackles used on prisoners…
0.38 MILES
At the foot of the minaret, on the site of an earlier mosque destroyed by Chinggis Khan, is the 16th-century congregational Kalon Mosque, big enough for…