Bukhara City
- Bukhara is an ancient city in Central Asia. It got its name from a Sanskrit
word which signifies in English "monastery". The city was founded not later
than in the 1st century A.D. seized by the Arabs in the year of 709, Bukhara
was already considered an important cultural and trade center, which fact
determined, in many respects, the dramatism of the city's historical fate.
- Bukhara is situated in the centere of the oasis inthe Lower Zeravshan in
south-western Uzbekistan. Over long years it had many rulers. In the 10th
century the Samanid dynasty made Bukhara its capital, then the town was
taken over by Genghiz Khan, then by Tamerlane, and finally, in the 16th
century Bukhara became part of the Uzbek state. Throughout all this time
Bukhara remained the center of a caravan trade route between Europe and Asia.
- Today Bukhara has become a mojor industrial and cultural center of the
republic. Among the industrial enterprises special attention is drawn by the
astrakhan ful factory, one of the country's largest. Bukhara delivers
hundreds of thousands of astrakhan ful pieces of various colours to
intertional ful auctions. Many types of Bukhara ful won gold medals. The
city has also a cotton-cleaning, silk and knitted-gooods factories, as well
as a creamery. Bukhara is famous for its ancient folk crafts, especially
embroideries in gold and silk. The gold-embroidery factory produces smart
handbags, hats, slippers and other things. It is a very old enreprise,
which is still important in our days. The seamstresses in gold engaged in
the unique craft resemble the characters of Oriental tales.
- Bukhara is possibly a single place in Central Asia which preserved in all
its entity the image of an Oriental town. Ancient streets, markets, small
squares, lonely female silhouettes in the national costumes - all of this
caringly preserver the flavour of the East, its live breath.
- Unique architectural monuments - the witnesses of all historical ages
beginning with the 9th century - are the main pride of Bukhara. Among them
is the mausoleum of Ismail Samani, a masterpiece of the medieval
architecture, which has been preserved very well till our days. This 11th
century monument was built out of golden-colour bricks, laid either
horisontally or vertically, or at various angles so skilfully that
throughout theday, depending on the light, the ornaments change their tones,
while the walls seem to look like the intricate lace.
- Other remarkable structures include Minari Kalyan (great minaret), a
50-metre tower, whichcrowns the city. From afar one can see light-blue tyles
of its dome. A small mausoleum of Buyan-Kuli-Khana with the beautiful
facings of carved terracotta dates back to the 14th century. There are many
monuments of the 16th-19th centuries. these are the Ulugbek madrassah which
is the oldest of all structures retained in Central Asia.
- There are also a Kukeldash madrassah, domed trade structures, a covered
market, the Ark fortress, and the Chor-Minor madrassah with a four-cupola
entrance.
- A trip to Bukhara will supply you with lots of impressions and you will
remember it long.