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"Bukhoro-i-Sharif" - Bukhara
the Noble (as this ancient city has always been referred to in
Central Asia) - Still retains the atmosphere of a medieval city
in the narrow streets of its old town. The massive walls of the
Ark Fortress (10th to 19th centuries) dominate the old town area.
Behind them are the elegant aiwans of the mosques and divans.
There is also the dark pit of Zindan, the prison, where two British
officer were kept before being executed in the main square in
June 1842.
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the Ark is the elegant and almost fragile looking Bolo-Khaus Mosque
beautifully reflected in the pool in front of it. |
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a narrow street, beside the Ark one comes to a small square with
the Poi-Kalyan Complex (12th to 20th centuries), which includes
the Kalyan mosque (16th century), one of the grandest buildings
in Central Asia, the Miri-Arab Madrassah (16th century), and active
Islamic Seminary, and the Kalyan Minaret (the Great Minaret), a
45-meter high tower that can be clearly seen from almost every point
of the old city. |
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the centre of the old town in the Lyabi-Khaus Ensemble with its
elegant buildings surrounding a pool Among them are; the Kukeidash
Madrassah (16th century) and the Nadir-Divan Beghi Madrassah and
Khanako (17th century). The buildings'refection in the pool and
the ancient trees around it create a special atmosphere of peace
and solitude. |
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the greenery of the park one can see the beautiful brick lacework
of the Ismail Samani Mausoleum (9th - 10th centuries), done in a
style that predates the use of glazed tiles. |
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cans still drink from the Prophet Job' Well, around which a Memorial
Complex was built in the 14th century.
One the road to Samarkand, in the suburbs of Bukhara, is the
"Sitorai-Mokhi-Khosa", the Summer Palace of the last
Emir, built in an intriguingly eclectic style, combining European
and local elements. Its breathtaking Reception Hall, decorated
in carved stucco and mirrors, has become a model for the modem
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