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Alloquli Khan Medressa, Bazaar & Caravanserai
The street leading north opposite the Aq Mosque contains some of Khiva's most interesting buildings, most of them created by Alloquli Khan - known as the 'builder khan' - in the 1830s and '40s. First come the tall Alloquli Khan Medressa (1835) and the earlier Kutlimurodinok Medressa (1809), facing each other across the street, with matching tiled façades.
Read more about Alloquli Khan Medressa, Bazaar & Caravanserai
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Dishon-Qala
The Dishon-Qala was old Khiva's outer town, yet another creation of the 'builder khan' Alloquli, and surrounded by its own 6km wall. Most of it is buried beneath the modern town now, but part of the Dishon-Qala's wall remains, 300m south of the South Gate.
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Ichon-Qala
The main entrance to the Ichon-Qala is the twin-turreted brick West Gate (Ota-Darvoza, literally 'Father Gate'), a 1970s reconstruction - the original was wrecked in 1920. The two-day ticket gives you access to all the sights and museums in the Ichon-Qala besides the Islom-Hoja Minaret, the Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum and the Akshaikh Baba Complex in Kuhna Ark.
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Isfandiyar Palace
Isfandiyar Palace on Mustaqillik was built between 1906 and 1912, and like the emir's Summer Palace in Bukhara displays some fascinatingly overdone decorations in a messy collision of East and West. The rooms are largely bare, allowing one to fully appreciate the gold-embroidered ceilings and lavish touches like 4m-high mirrors and a 50kg chandelier. The harem, in case you're wondering, was behind the huge wall to the west of the palace. It's undergoing renovation and may open some day.
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Islom-Hoja Medressa
From the East Gate, where the slave market was held, go back to the Abdulla Khan Medressa and take the lane to the south beside it to the Islom-Hoja Medressa and minaret - Khiva's newest Islamic monuments, both built in 1910. The minaret, with bands of turquoise and red tiling, looks rather like an uncommonly lovely lighthouse. At 57m tall, it's Uzbekistan's highest.
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Juma Mosque
East of the Music Museum, the large Juma Mosque is interesting for the 218 wooden columns supporting its roof - a concept thought to be derived from ancient Arabian mosques. The few finely decorated columns are from the original 10th-century mosque, though the present building dates from the 18th century. From inside, you can climb the 81 very dark steps of the 47m Juma Minaret (1000S).
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Kalta Minor Minaret
Just south of the Kuhna Ark stands the fat, turquoise-tiled Kalta Minor Minaret. This unfinished minaret was begun in 1851 by Mohammed Amin Khan, who according to legend wanted to build a minaret so high he could see all the way to Bukhara. Had it been completed it surely would have been the world's tallest building, but the Khan dropped dead in 1855 and it was never completed.
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Kuhna Ark
To your left after you enter the West Gate stands the Kuhna Ark - the Khiva rulers' own fortress and residence, first built in the 12th century by one Oq Shihbobo, then expanded by the khans in the 17th century. The khans' harem, mint, stables, arsenal, barracks, mosque and jail were all here.
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Mohammed Rakhim Khan Medressa
East of the Kuhna Ark, across an open space that was once a busy palace square (and place of execution), the 19th-century Mohammed Rakhim Khan Medressa is named after the khan who surrendered to Russia in 1873 (although he had, at least, kept Khiva independent a few years longer than Bukhara). A hotchpotch of a museum within is partly dedicated to this khan, who was also a poet under the pen name Feruz.
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Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum
This revered mausoleum, with its lovely courtyard and stately tilework, is one of the town's most beautiful spots. Pahlavon Mahmud was a poet, philosopher and legendary wrestler who became Khiva's patron saint. His 1326 tomb was rebuilt in the 19th century and then requisitioned in 1913 by the khan of the day as the family mausoleum.
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Tosh-hovli Palace
This palace, which means 'Stone House', contains Tosh-Hovli (Stone House), facing the caravanserai, contains Khiva's most sumptuous interior decoration, including ceramic tiles, carved stone and wood, and ghanch . Built by Alloquli Khan between 1832 and 1841 as a more splendid alternative to the Kuhna Ark, it's said to have over 150 rooms off nine courtyards, with high ceilings designed to catch any breeze. Alloquli was a man in a hurry - the Tosh-Hovli's first architect was executed for failing to complete the job in two years.
Showing 1-11 of 11 results
