Bukhara
A living old town: the Kalyan minaret, the Ark fortress, trading domes and Lyabi-Hauz, all within walking distance of each other.
- 2–3 days, best on foot
- About 1.5 hours from Samarkand by high-speed train
- Nearby: the Nuratau mountains and village guesthouses
About Bukhara
Bukhara is a city of about 300,000 people, but the part you come for is small enough to walk end to end in half an hour. The historic centre has been on the UNESCO list since 1993, and it is not a museum quarter: people live in its lanes, and the Did you know? Under Bukhara's domes merchants changed money and gold Four 16th-century trading domes still stand over old crossroads. Toki Sarrafon was the money changers' dome, where merchants from India and China swapped coins; Toki Zargaron held jewellers' workshops, Toki Telpak Furushon sold caps. Read more → still trade. The modern city wraps around it, and the railway station is 12 km away, in Kagan.
For most of a thousand years Bukhara was a capital: of the Samanids in the 9th and 10th centuries, of the Uzbek khans from the 16th, and of the emirs until 1920. That is why one small old town holds a fortress, a royal square, a summer palace and buildings from every century between the 10th and the 20th.
History in brief
- 850By the middle of the 9th century Bukhara is the capital of the Samanid state. Their 10th-century family tomb still stands in the city park.
- 1220Genghis Khan besieges Bukhara for 15 days and destroys it. The Samanid tomb survives because floods had already buried it in silt and sand.
- 1562Abdullah Khan II makes Bukhara the permanent capital of his khanate. The Kukeldash madrasah and the jewellers' trading dome date from his reign.
- 1785The Manghit dynasty comes to power, and the state becomes the Emirate of Bukhara.
- 1873The emirate becomes a protectorate of the Russian Empire, with the emirs still on the throne.
- 1920The emirate ends, and the Bukharan People's Soviet Republic takes its place; in 1924 Bukhara becomes part of Soviet Uzbekistan.
- 1993The historic centre of Bukhara joins the UNESCO World Heritage List.
What to see
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Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
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1Poi Kalyan
The ,Did you know? Diggers went 13 m down and never found its base The Kalyan Minaret of 1127 rises about 46 m, and an excavation reached 13 m without finding the bottom of its foundations. Genghis Khan reportedly ordered it spared. Read more → the Kalyan Mosque and the Did you know? A madrasah still teaching after almost 500 years Mir-i-Arab, built in the 1530s opposite the Kalyan Mosque, was one of only three Islamic schools that kept working through the Soviet period, and it still trains students today. Read more → face each other across one square: the heart of the old town. Look at the bands of patterned brick that run up the minaret. Come at sunset, when the brick turns gold and the terraces around the square fill up.
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2The Ark and Bolo-Hauz
The fortress of the rulers of Bukhara stands on an artificial hill, behind walls 16 to 20 m high. A ramp leads up through the gate between two 18th-century towers to the throne room, the coronation court and the museums inside. Opposite is the Did you know? The famous columns of Bolo-Hauz are barely a century old The Bolo-Hauz mosque opposite the Ark was completed in 1712, but its best-known feature, the tall, slender carved columns along the front of the iwan, was added only in 1917, together with the small minaret of 1916–1917. Read more → mosque of 1712, its twenty carved wooden columns reflected in the pond.
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3Samanid Mausoleum
A 10th-century family tomb built entirely of baked brick laid in patterns: basketweave, checkerboard, rosettes. Floods buried it before the Mongols came in 1220, and that is how it survived. Go in the late afternoon, when the low sun brings out the relief; Did you know? A cone-shaped dome over Job's spring Chashma-Ayub, 'Job's Spring', has a conical dome in the Khorezm style, rare in Bukhara. Legend says Job struck the ground with his staff and water flowed; inside is a museum of Bukhara's water supply. Read more → is a short walk away.
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4Lyabi-Hauz
A square around a 17th-century pond, framed by the Kukeldash madrasah of 1568–1569, the largest in Bukhara, and the .Did you know? A caravanserai that became a madrasah by a khan's word Nadir Divan-Begi built his 1622 building by Lyabi-Hauz as a caravanserai. At the opening Imam Quli Khan praised it as a fine madrasah, and a khan's word could not be taken back: a portal and cells were added, and a madrasah it became. Read more → On the Nadir Divan-Begi portal two simurgh birds carry white deer towards a sun with a human face. In the evening, sit at the teahouses by the water.
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5Trading domes
Covered markets at old crossroads, from the 16th century: Toqi Zargaron for jewellers, Toqi Sarrafon for moneychangers, Toqi Telpak Furushon for hat sellers. Today they sell crafts and souvenirs. Between them, below today's street level, stands the Did you know? Legend: a mosque shared with Bukhara's Jews Magoki-Attori means roughly 'in the pit': even in the 10th century it lay below street level. Tradition says Bukhara's Jews once prayed here in the evenings, after the Muslims. Beneath it lie remains of a pre-Islamic temple. Read more → Mosque, one of the oldest in Central Asia.
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6Chor Minor
A small gatehouse of 1807 with four towers topped by turquoise domes, hidden in the residential lanes about 700 m east of .Did you know? Bukhara's ponds were once its water supply Pools like Lyabi-Hauz, dug around 1620 and 46 × 36 m, were the city's main source of water. Most were filled in during the 1920s–30s because they spread disease; Lyabi-Hauz survived. Read more → The walk there takes ten minutes, and the lanes are part of the visit.
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7Sitorai Mohi-Hosa
The summer palace of the last emirs, about 5 km north of the old town. The main complex was built in 1912–1918 under Emir Alim Khan, European outside and Bukharan inside, and now houses a museum of decorative arts: suzani, porcelain, gold embroidery. Take a taxi and allow one to two hours.
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8Bahauddin Naqshband complex
The memorial complex of the founder of the Did you know? A village renamed in honour of a Sufi master Bahauddin Naqshband (1318–1389), who gave his name to one of the largest Sufi orders, was born and buried near Bukhara in Qasr-i Hinduvan. The village was later renamed Qasr-i Arifan in his honour; the tomb over his grave dates from 1544. Read more → Sufi order, about 12 km from the city. His tomb dates from 1544, and the complex kept growing for almost four centuries: mosques, a minaret, a khanqah and a museum. It is a place of pilgrimage, so dress as for a mosque.
© Photos
Lyabi-Hauz pond, Bukhara — BeshevI / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Neighbourhoods
- Lyabi-Hauz and the trading domes The busiest corner of the old town: the pond, its madrasahs and teahouses, and the domed markets just beyond. A good base, since everything else in the old town is a walk away.
- Did you know? Legend: the minaret's foundation was laid with camel milk Legend says master Bako laid the foundations of the Kalyan minaret with ganch plaster mixed with camel milk, then vanished for two years to let them harden, and only then built the tower. Locals still show a grave they say is his. Read more → and The fortress-residence of the rulers of Bukhara on a high artificial hill: the oldest structure in the city. Read more → Ten minutes' walk west: the minaret square, then the fortress with its own Samarkand's main square, framed by three madrasahs: Ulugh Beg (15th century), Sher-Dor and Tilya-Kori (both 17th century). Read more → square in front of the gate. The terraces around Poi Kalyan are the place for sunset.
- Samanid Park West of the Ark, a park with the Did you know? Buried in mud, this tomb escaped Genghis Khan The 10th-century Samanid Mausoleum, one of the oldest monuments of Islamic Central Asia, was covered by flood mud and sand before the Mongols came in 1220. Hidden for centuries, its brick lacework survived intact. Read more → and Chashma-Ayub; the Bolo-Hauz mosque stands between the park and the fortress.
- The new town and Kagan The modern city surrounds the old centre, and the railway station is 12 km to the south-east, in the town of Kagan.
What to eat
- Bukhara Rice cooked in a kazan with carrots, onions and meat: the dish of every Uzbek celebration. Each region cooks it its own way. Sweeter than plov elsewhere in the country, with dried fruit, and its ingredients are layered in the kazan rather than stirred. As everywhere in Uzbekistan, it is a midday dish.
- Oshi bakhsh The green plov of the Bukharan Jewish community, coloured with chopped herbs such as coriander. It is rarely on menus, so ask your guide or your guesthouse.
- Tea at Lyabi-Hauz Green tea by the pond, on wide wooden beds under century-old trees, is the classic Bukhara evening.
Getting around
The old town is best on foot: from Lyabi-Hauz it is about 500 m to the Kalyan Minaret, under 1 km to the Ark and under 2 km to the Samanid Mausoleum. For the summer palace, Bahauddin Naqshband and the station in Kagan, 12 km away, take a taxi: Yandex Go works in Bukhara. City buses serve the modern town, but in the old centre you will hardly need them.
Local tips
- The fast train from Bukhara to Khiva does not run on Sundays, and from Khiva to Bukhara not on Mondays: plan that leg around it. Read more →
- The station is in Kagan, 12 km out: arrange a taxi or a transfer for your arrival. Read more →
- See Poi Kalyan twice: in the quiet morning and again at sunset.
- Bahauddin Naqshband and the mosques are places of prayer: shoulders and knees covered, a scarf for women, shoes off on the carpets. Read more →
- Cards work in almost all terminals, but carry cash in som for small stalls in the domes and for the bazaar. Read more →
- Between Bukhara and Samarkand, Did you know? Aydarkul is a wetland of international importance In 2008 the Aydar-Arnasay lake system, about 527,000 ha, became a Ramsar site. It lies where two great bird flyways cross and shelters Dalmatian pelicans and the rare white-headed duck. Read more → lake and a night in a yurt camp make a good stop. Read more →
Our take: how many days you need
Two to three days are enough to walk the old town without rushing: Lyabi-Hauz, the Kalyan minaret, the Ark and the trading domes are close to each other. One day gives the highlights; the extra days let you see the summer palace and take a masterclass.
When to go: month by month
Daytime temperature, rainfall, public holidays and our rating for every month.
- Jan7° Cool, fewer people Cold: 7° by day 17 mm of rain ★ 1, 14
- Feb10° Cool, fewer people Cold: 10° by day 24 mm of rain
- Mar17.1° Great Cool: 17.1° by day 25 mm of rain ★ 8, 21
- Apr24.4° Great Comfortable: 24.4° by day 22 mm of rain
- May30.7° Good Warm: 30.7° by day 11 mm of rain ★ 9
- Jun36° Good Hot: 36° by day 2 mm of rain
- Jul37.3° Hard Hot: 37.3° by day 0 mm of rain
- Aug35.6° Hard Hot: 35.6° by day 0 mm of rain
- Sep30° Great Comfortable: 30° by day 1 mm of rain ★ 1
- Oct22.9° Great Comfortable: 22.9° by day 3 mm of rain ★ 1
- Nov14.5° Great Cool: 14.5° by day 15 mm of rain
- Dec8.2° Cool, fewer people Cold: 8.2° by day 13 mm of rain ★ 8
- 1 Jan — New Year
- 14 Jan — Defenders of the Motherland Day
- 8 Mar — International Women’s Day
- 21 Mar — Navruz
- 9 May — Day of Remembrance and Honour
- 1 Sep — Independence Day
- 1 Oct — Teachers’ Day
- 8 Dec — Constitution Day
- Ramadan Hayit (Eid al-Fitr): the date changes every year
- Kurban Hayit (Eid al-Adha): the date changes every year
Climate source: Википедия, статья «Bukhara», таблица климата (нормы 1991–2020; NOAA) — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukhara
Rating by daytime temperature: great — 18–30°, good — 12–18° or 30–33°, cool, fewer people — below 12°, hard — above 33°; heavy rain (100 mm and more) lowers great to good. For the cities we also follow our expert: the season is March–June and September–November, with March and November the best months (start and end of the season, few people); winter is not marked as a bad time.
How to see Bukhara
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Read about Bukhara
The Ark of Bukhara: history, legends and how to visit the fortressA hill built by people over two thousand years, a prince with a bull’s hide, a marble throne of 1669 and twent…
Around Bukhara: day trips to the emir’s palace, Bahauddin, Chor-Bakr, Gijduvan and PaykendAn emir’s summer palace with a White Hall where no pattern repeats, a Sufi master’s shrine, a city of family t…
Bazaars of Uzbekistan: Chorsu, Siab, Bukhara and the Fergana Valley as locals shop themWhere Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara buy their bread, fruit and spices: how Chorsu and Siab are laid out, wha…
Legends of Bukhara: nine stories and where to hear themA prince with a bull’s hide, a conqueror who lost his hat, Job’s staff, a stubborn widow and Nasreddin on his …
Lyabi-Hauz and Chor Minor: Bukhara’s pond square and the gatehouse with four towersA pond of 1620 that outlived Bukhara’s other hauzes, phoenixes on a madrasah that was meant to be an inn, Nasr…
Poi-Kalyan in Bukhara: the Kalyan minaret, mosque and Mir-i-Arab, with facts and legendsThe minaret Genghis Khan left standing, a Friday mosque of 288 domes, a madrasah that kept teaching and the le…Bukhara: questions before the trip
How many days do I need in Bukhara?
2–3 days, best on foot
How do I get to Bukhara?
About 1.5 hours from Samarkand by high-speed train More in the article: Uzbekistan tours from Kazakhstan: flights from Almaty and Astana, the train, the border and entry
When is the best time to go to Bukhara?
Spring (April–May) and autumn (September–October) are the most comfortable; summer days are hot. More in the article: Uzbekistan in August: weather, Melon Festival, grapes and mountains
What can I add nearby?
Nearby: the Nuratau mountains and village guesthouses
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