Bukhara lies on the Silk Road and retains more than 2,000 years of history. Medieval mosques, madrasas, turquoise tiles, and domes date back to at least the 9th century, and the city’s original urban fabric has been preserved as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993. Lyabi Hauz, a central square meaning “by the pond,” once supported commercial and religious life. Key sites include the Nadir Divan Begi Madrasa with low towers, arches, mosaics, and ornamentation, and a khanaka named after Nadir Divan Begi. Toki Sarrafon shelters a major bazaar, leading to the Khoja Kalon Mosque and the Khodzha Govkushon Madrasa, while Arq provides a distinctive curved walled fortress form.
"Bukhara, a city on the famous Silk Road, steeped in over 2,000 years of history. Its madrasas, mosques, turquoise tiles and domes, dating as far back as the 9th century, make it one of the best-preserved medieval cities in Central Asia. Its original urban fabric has been so well maintained that it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993."
"The ancient Persian city served as a major center of Islamic culture for centuries, as evidenced by Lyabi Hauz (meaning by the pond), one of its central squares that was once bustling with commercial and religious activity. Shaped like an irregular polygon, it houses the Nadir Divan Begi Madrasa, a complex of low towers, arches, mosaics, and interwoven ornamentation that evokes a sense of stepping back in time."
"Walking west, the distinctive 16th-century domes of Toki Sarrafon shelter one of the city's must-see bazaars, surrounded by alleyways lined with restaurants, shops, and stalls. You must walk through it to reach the Khoja Kalon Mosque with its splendid minaret and the Khodzha Govkushon Madrasa, whose name alludes to the slaughter of bulls, as the site was a slaughterhouse almost until the 16th century when it was transformed into a madrasa."
"Equally impressive is Arq, the walled fortress that, in addition to its generous dimensions, is notable for its curved shape, so different from the linear design of the European standard. A few meters away, the Bolo-Hauz Mosque is equally memorable, as its name suggests, translating to children's pond, with its"
Read at english.elpais.com
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