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Kalyan minaret and the domed bazaars of Bukhara

The trading city · Uzbekistan

Things to do in Bukhara: travel guide

Two thousand years of merchants, madrasahs and domed bazaars.

Bukhara’s historic centre is a living town rather than a museum. People still pray at the mosques, trade under the 16th-century domes and gather by the Lyabi-Hauz pool in the evening. The Kalyan minaret, built in 1127, has watched over the city for almost nine centuries.

Give it at least two full days: the lanes of the old town are best explored slowly, with time for a hammam, a suzani workshop and a long dinner on a rooftop.

Time needed
2–3 days
Best time
April–May and September–October
Getting there
High-speed and regular trains connect Bukhara with Samarkand and Tashkent. Khiva is about 450 km away across the Kyzylkum desert, a full day by road.
UNESCO World Heritage
Inscribed 1993
BukharaDushanbeSamarkandAncient MervKhivaTashkentFann MountainsSeven Lakes (Haft Kul)IskanderkulNurata & Lake AydarkulDesert fortresses of Khorezm

Don’t miss

Sights in Bukhara

Arched facade and twin blue domes of a Bukhara madrasah sightsAbdulaziz Khan Madrasah, Bukhara: the unfinished masterpieceThe Abdulaziz Khan madrasah of 1652, the richest decorated madrasah in Bukhara, with its stalactite portal, painted interiors and unusual images, facing the Ulugbek madrasah. Kalyan minaret above the rooftops of Bukhara at sunset sightsArk Fortress, Bukhara: the citadel of the emirsThe Ark of Bukhara, the fortified royal town where emirs ruled until 1920, what is inside, how long to allow and how it fits a walk through the old city. sightsBahauddin Naqshband complex, Bukhara: the shrine of the Sufi masterThe memorial complex of Bahauddin Naqshband, founder of the Naqshbandi Sufi order, outside Bukhara, its history, buildings, pilgrim customs, etiquette and how to visit. sightsBolo-Hauz Mosque, Bukhara: the mosque of forty pillarsThe Bolo-Hauz mosque facing the Ark, the emir’s Friday mosque with its high porch of carved wooden columns reflected in a pool, its history and how to visit. Kalyan minaret and the old trading domes of Bukhara sightsBukhara trading domes: the covered bazaars of the Silk RoadBukhara’s 16th-century trading domes, Toki Sarrafon, Toki Telpak Furushon and Toki Zargaron, and the Tim of Abdullah Khan, how they worked and what to buy there today. sightsChashma-Ayub, Bukhara: the spring of Job and the water museumThe Chashma-Ayub shrine in Bukhara, built over a spring linked to the prophet Job, its unusual conical dome, the water museum inside and the legends around it. Chor Minor, the four-minaret gatehouse in Bukhara sightsChor Minor, Bukhara: the gatehouse with four minaretsChor Minor, the small 1807 gatehouse with four turquoise-domed towers hidden in the lanes of Bukhara, its builder, its symbolism, the view from the roof and how to find it. sightsChor-Bakr necropolis, Bukhara: the city of the deadThe Chor-Bakr necropolis west of Bukhara, the family burial ground of the Juybari sheikhs, with lanes of tombs, a mosque, khanaka and madrasah, its history and how to visit. A carved wooden door opening onto a tiled madrasah courtyard sightsFayzulla Khodjaev House, Bukhara: a merchant’s mansionThe Fayzulla Khodjaev house in Bukhara, a rich merchant’s home of the 1890s with carved and painted rooms, the dramatic life of the revolutionary who grew up there and how to visit. Kalyan minaret and the domed bazaars of Bukhara sightsKalyan Minaret, Bukhara: the tower Genghis Khan sparedThe Kalyan minaret, built in 1127 and the symbol of Bukhara, its brickwork, its legends, its role for caravans and the best places to see and photograph it. Arched facade and twin blue domes of a Bukhara madrasah sightsKukeldash Madrasah, Bukhara: the largest school of the old cityThe Kukeldash madrasah at Lyabi-Hauz, one of the largest madrasahs in Central Asia, built in the 1560s, its founder, its architecture and what you can see today. Stone pool and minaret in Bukhara old town sightsLyabi-Hauz, Bukhara: the pool at the heart of the old cityLyabi-Hauz, the shaded pool square of Bukhara with its 17th-century madrasah and khanaka, old mulberry trees, the Nasreddin statue, teahouses and evening life. A carved wooden door opening onto a tiled madrasah courtyard sightsMagoki-Attori Mosque, Bukhara: one of Central Asia’s oldestThe Magoki-Attori mosque, sunk below street level with a 12th-century carved facade, its layers of history from temples to the carpet museum, and how to visit. Arched facade and twin blue domes of a Bukhara madrasah sightsMir-i-Arab Madrasah, Bukhara: the school that never closedThe Mir-i-Arab madrasah on Poi Kalyan square, its twin blue domes, its founder, its unusual history as a working school through the Soviet era, and what visitors can see. Arched facade and twin blue domes of a Bukhara madrasah sightsModari Khan and Abdullah Khan madrasahs, BukharaThe paired Modari Khan and Abdullah Khan madrasahs in the south-west of Bukhara’s old city, built by Abdullah Khan II for his mother and himself, their history and architecture. Poi Kalyan ensemble in Bukhara lit up at night sightsNadir Divan-Begi Madrasah, Bukhara: the portal of the simurghThe Nadir Divan-Begi madrasah at Lyabi-Hauz, its famous portal with birds, deer and a human-faced sun, the khanaka opposite, their history and the evening folk shows. sightsNamazgokh Mosque, Bukhara: the festival mosque of the 12th centuryThe Namazgokh, Bukhara’s 12th-century open-air festival mosque outside the old city, what a namazgokh was, its carved brick wall and how to combine it with other sights. Kalyan minaret and the domed bazaars of Bukhara sightsPoi Kalyan, Bukhara: minaret, mosque and madrasahThe Poi Kalyan ensemble in Bukhara, with the Kalyan minaret, the Kalyan mosque and the Mir-i-Arab madrasah, their history, what to see and the best light. sightsSamanid Mausoleum, Bukhara: a thousand-year-old masterpiece in brickThe 10th-century Samanid mausoleum in Bukhara, one of the oldest and finest buildings in Central Asia, its brickwork, symbolism, survival and the park around it. sightsSitorai Mohi-Hosa, Bukhara: the last emir’s summer palaceSitorai Mohi-Hosa, the summer palace of the last emir of Bukhara north of the city, its mix of Bukharan and Russian styles, the White Hall, the harem pool and the museums. A carved wooden door opening onto a tiled madrasah courtyard sightsThe Jewish quarter of Bukhara: synagogues, houses and historyThe old Jewish quarter of Bukhara, the history of the Bukharan Jews, the synagogue that is still in use, merchants’ houses, the cemetery and how to visit respectfully. Arched facade and twin blue domes of a Bukhara madrasah sightsUlugbek Madrasah, Bukhara: the astronomer-prince’s schoolThe Ulugbek madrasah of Bukhara, built in 1417 and the oldest surviving madrasah in Central Asia, its founder, its inscriptions and its pairing with the Abdulaziz Khan madrasah. sightsVarakhsha, near Bukhara: the desert palace of the Bukhar KhudatsVarakhsha, the ruined residence of the pre-Islamic rulers of Bukhara on the edge of the desert, its famous wall paintings, what remains on site and how to visit. sightsZindan, Bukhara: the emir’s prison and the bug pitThe Zindan, the prison of the emirs of Bukhara behind the Ark, its cells and the notorious bug pit, the story of Stoddart and Conolly, and what the small museum shows.

Plan your visit

Bukhara guides

Don’t miss

What to see in Bukhara

  1. 01

    Poi Kalyan

    The Kalyan minaret, Kalyan Mosque and Mir-i-Arab madrasah around one square.

  2. 02

    The Ark

    The fortress-residence of the emirs of Bukhara.

  3. 03

    Samanid Mausoleum

    A 10th-century masterpiece in patterned baked brick.

  4. 04

    Lyabi-Hauz

    A shaded pool ringed by madrasahs, and the heart of the evening.

  5. 05

    Trading domes

    Toki Zargaron, Toki Telpak Furushon and Toki Sarrafon, still full of craftsmen.

  6. 06

    Chor Minor

    A small gatehouse with four turquoise-capped towers.

  7. 07

    Sitorai Mohi-Xosa

    The summer palace of the last emir, on the edge of town.

In this region

Places in Bukhara

UzbekistanGijduvanA small town near Bukhara with a famous ceramics school and one of Ulugbek’s three madrasahs. Half a day

Photos of Bukhara

Kalyan minaret and the domed bazaars of Bukhara
Kalyan minaret above the rooftops of Bukhara at sunset
Poi Kalyan ensemble in Bukhara lit up at night
Chor Minor, the four-minaret gatehouse in Bukhara
Arched facade and twin blue domes of a Bukhara madrasah
Stone pool and minaret in Bukhara old town

Tours

Tours that include Bukhara

All Bukhara tours

Things to do

Experiences in Bukhara

2–4 hours · Tashkent, SamarkandHigh-speed train across UzbekistanRide the Afrosiyob between Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara.

Nearby

Continue your journey

All of Uzbekistan
UzbekistanGijduvanA small town near Bukhara with a famous ceramics school and one of Ulugbek’s three madrasahs. Half a day UzbekistanNavoiA modern city between Samarkand and Bukhara, and the starting point for petroglyphs, caravanserais and the Nurata mountains. Half a day to one day UzbekistanKarshiThe capital of Kashkadarya, with a 16th-century brick bridge and mosques from the age of Abdullah Khan. Half a day UzbekistanNurata & Lake AydarkulA night in a desert yurt camp between Bukhara and Samarkand. 1 night

Tour to Uzbekistan · Koshona street 75/1, Khiva, Uzbekistan · WhatsApp +998 91 920 94 20 · tours.uzbekistan@gmail.com · tourtouzbekistan.com/destinations/uzbekistan/bukhara/

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