We are in the old center of Bukhara. Bukhara was a prominent destination and this is the spiritual center of the city. It consists of a madrasah, a minaret, and a mosque. The madrasah and the mosque entrance sit at opposite sides of a large plaza and the minaret is between them, but off to one side. I’ll talk about each of these as they are really three separate monuments that are grouped together. The next day, the plaza between the madrasah and mosque was all closed off and they were filming a movie with dozens of actors in period costume along with camels and tents and the whole nine yards.

The Miri-Arab madrasah (school) is in the first photo. The madrasah was built in the early 1500’s and is related to sheikh Abdallah Yamani from Yemen, the spiritual guide of the sheybanids. This madrasah is still an active madrasah today and where future imams and religious mentors receive their education. This was the only spiritual education center in the USSR that begun to function after WW II. You can see different stone mosaics with geometric, vegetative and calligraphic writings and patterns. Since this is a working school, tourists are not allowed. But I went into the entry hall and looked around but really couldn’t see very much from there.

On the opposite side of the large plaza is Kaylan mosque but between the madrasah and mosque is the Kalyan Minaret which is the monument that was built first. The 158 foot high baked-brick tower was constructed in 1127. It was designed to call the Muslim faithful to prayer five times a day. It was also a landmark for travelers along the Silk Road. When Genghis Khan arrived about 100 years after the construction, local legend says that the great Khan looked up from the base to the top of the tower and the steep angle caused his hat to fall off. Admiring the audacity of the tower and having bowed down to pick up his hat, Khan ordered it spared from destruction, which the Mongols did to the rest of the city. One thought is that Khan really wanted it left in order to use it as an observatory to watch for invading armies. In the 16th century, the mosque and madrasah were built around the minaret. You can see the minaret in the second photo. It was nicknamed the “Tower of Death,” as it was used for public executions by throwing people off the top of it. That started early and went on until the last known execution around 1920 during the Russian Revolution.

The Kalyan mosque is the largest, by far, of the three monuments. It is one of the oldest in central Asia. The mosque was built at the beginning of the 15th century. It has an entrance much like the madrasah in the first photo. Inside is a huge courtyard surrounded by galleries and square columns covered with domes. The building accommodates up to 10,000 people. We didn’t actually get to go into the mosque itself but we walked all around the courtyard and into the galleries.

You can see Vicky about the center of the courtyard in the third photo. The mosque is behind her on the left side.

The fourth photo is also from the courtyard but right next to the mosque looking back towards the entry way. The minaret can also be seen in the photo.

The last photo is in the galleries to the sides of the courtyard. There are 208 strong pillars which support 288 small domes. There is also one open dome where light comes in and from a certain angle, you can see the minaret.