Bukhara Things to Do Tips by filipdebont

The Ark or the Citadel is a 2000 years old fortress.

It was the housing for the rulers. During the years it was destroyed and rebuild many, many times. And what they did now is not so good, they have not restaurated this building, no they rebuild it.

They have build new walls on top of the old ones. What a waste of money and energy.

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Ismail Samani Mausoleum:

You find this magnificent building in the Samani Park. It was completed in 905. This mausoleum was buried under two metres of sediment for many, many years.

That is why it is still in such a good shape. This Mausoleum consists entirely of clay bricks bound with egg yok end camel’s milk. The colour of this building changes as during the day the position of the sun changes.

There is also a legend, first you make a wish, then you walk three times clockwise around the building and your wish comes true.

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It’s also called the spring of Job, where curative water miraculously gushed from the desert in the Old Testament prophet’s behest.

The spring is still here. The building was built over the spring in the 12th century. So Shasma Ayub is not a mausoleum, but a shrine (a Mazar).

The legend says that women who wish to get pregnant should drink from the well. So that’s maybe a good excuse when you come home pregnant (by accident), you can always tell your friends or parents that drinking water from the famous well is the cause.

Maybe that’s the reason that none of our female travel companions dared to drink from the well, hahahaha . . . .

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The Poi-Kalyan group is the religious heart of Buchara.

At this place the Arabs build a Mosque in 795.

The Poi-Kalyan group consists of the Kalyan Minaret, the Kalyan mosque, and the Mir-I-Arab madrasa and behind the Minaret the emir Alin Khan Madrasa.

This is surely a must-see when you are visiting Bukhara

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The Kalyan Minaret is a 47-m high brick construction and was completed in 1127.

It was probably the tallest building in the world in that period.

The building was not only used to cal the faithful for prayer but was also used as a lighthouse for the caravans travelling at night. The tower surely must impressed Genghis Khan, as he spared it during his conquests with the Mongols.

Later on, it was known as “Tower of Death”, because it was used to punish faithless women as criminals by throwing them from the tower.
Before the drop, they were put in a bag, to avoid too much mess on the square.

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In our travel guide was written that tourist were not allowed to climb the tower.

But we asked it, and oh yes it was possible, (entrance fee: 1 US$).

It is well worth to climb this tower because of the splendid view from the top.

Take care, because it is very dark on the staircase, so headlight was very handy.

Once you reach the top you have a great view over the city.

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In the prevouis tip I have already written on the great view you have over the city.

It is also the ideal place to make a close-up of one of the blue domes of the Mir-I-Arab Mosque, this shot taken from The Kalyan Minaret with a telelens.

It is a completely different view then from ground level.

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The Kalyan Mosque was first built in the 12th century, it was badly damaged by the Mongols and restored in 1514.

This mosque is huge, matching Samarkand’s Bibi Khanym Mosque (see my Uzbekistan page) in scale if not in decorations.

I believe that these mosques are kind of an unique architecture, it was so beautiful.

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Via the entrance gate you get access to the courtyard. This is also the entrance if you want to climb the Kalyan minaret.

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The courtyard is 127- by 78- m. At the west ends a mighty blue dome called Kok Gumbaz supported a stork’s nest until Bukhara’s pools wee drained and the storks stopped migrating here from Egypt.

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