Must-see attractions in Bukhara

The Cap Makers Bazaar is a typically domed bazaar straddling one of Bukhara's main street junctions. It contains several souvenir stalls that still sell…

Not far from the Ismail Samani Tomb is the Talipach Gate and one of the city's few remaining eroded sections of Shaybanid-era town walls. Only 2km out of…

The Moneychangers' Bazaar is a typically domed bazaar straddling one of Bukhara's main street junctions. It contains several souvenir stalls and a…

The student rooms at the 16th-century Abdul Aziz Khan Medressa are occupied, rather typically, by souvenir shops. This is an unrestored gem, built by its…

Only hardcore fans of Islamic architecture will want to travel 2km east of the centre to this delicate little mausoleum, the resting place of a Mongol…

Deep in the old town is the tiny and decrepit Turki Jandi mausoleum, favoured for getting one’s prayers answered. Turki Jandi’s tomb is accessed through…

A century ago there were at least seven synagogues in Bukhara, reduced after 1920 to two. This synagogue is located southwest of the old town – from the…

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…

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…

At the intersection of Jubar and Naqshbandi is the large 16th-century Gaukushan Medressa, with chipped majolica on its unrestored facade. It's normally…

This cemetry, just south of the Old Town, is perhaps the most impressive evidence of the previous size of the local Jewish community. It's a well…

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…

The Kukeldash Medressa, built in 1569 by Abdullah II, was at the time the biggest Islamic school in Central Asia. It now hosts the occasional evening…

On the eastern side of Lyabi-Hauz is a statue of Hoja Nasruddin, a semi-mythical ‘wise fool’ who appears in Sufi teaching-tales around the world.

The displays here on the history and manufacture of Bukhara's famous puppets are worth a quick visit, especially if you have kids in tow.