May 3 - Bukhara

Day 19

Friday, May 3

BUKHARA   Begin your explorations of Bukhara by walking a very short distance north of your hotel to Labi Hauz, a large pool lined with very old mulberry trees and a perfect spot to have some tea. On one end of the pool is a khanaqa and on the other is a madrasa—both named for Nadir Divanbegi, finance minister under Khan Abdul Aziz in the 17th century. Note the unusual images of herons and a sun with a human face on the madrasa’s portal; Abdul Aziz was a Shi’ite in a heavily dominant Sunni neighborhood and was less influenced by the usual interpretation of the Koranic injunction against portrayal of the human or animal form.

Continue walking to the Ulug Bek Madrasa, one of the oldest theological colleges in the country and one of three commissioned by Ulug Bek, Tamerlane's grandson, and Abdul Aziz Khan Madrasa, one of the last to be built in Bukhara. Continue to the Kalan Mosque, formerly the Congregational Mosque, and its nearby 12th-century Kalan Minaret, the most impressive minaret in Central Asia. Opposite is the 16th-century Mir-i-Arab Madrasa which was closed n 1920 in keeping with official Soviet policy but which like other religious institutions in the Soviet Union was opened by Stalin in 1941, when he needed to get the population behind him during WWII.

Following lunch this afternoon, visit the Arg which houses the 17th-century Friday Mosque. (Please note: in early 2012, a portion of the Arg’s massive outer wall collapsed, and at the time of writing, the area remains closed until they are able to accurately decipher the cause.) Just behind the Arg is a fantastic Zindon that remained in use until relatively recent times and still provides visitors with a fascinating glimpse of what life in a prison would have been like in the Middle Ages. From here, walk to the Bolo Hauz Mosque with its exquisitely renovated ceiling panels, formerly used by the Khans for Friday prayers. Continue on foot to the mausoleum of Ismail Samanidon—one of the best examples of Samanid architecture, and the nearby Chasma Ayub.