The Zindan of Bukhara: the emir’s prison

Until 1920 Bukhara was an absolute monarchy ruled by the emir according to his own will and to Islamic law as interpreted by the court’s judges. Punishments were harsh and public. Prisoners might be held for debt, theft, religious offences, political suspicion or simply the ruler’s displeasure, often for indefinite periods. The Zindan, whose name simply means “prison”, held those awaiting judgement or serving sentences. It was built in the 18th century and used until the fall of the emirate.

The prison stands at the edge of the old Registan square, behind the Ark, close enough for the emir’s officials to control it and for the townspeople to know what awaited those who displeased the ruler.

A gate in a high mud-brick wall leads to a small courtyard surrounded by cells. The museum is modest but evocative:

• The cells, dark rooms with heavy wooden doors, some with life-size figures of prisoners in chains and stocks.
• Chains and collars, wooden stocks for neck and hands, and other instruments, with explanations of the punishments of the time.
• Documents and photographs of the prison and of executions on the square in front of the Ark in the late 19th and early 20th century.
• The bug pit, the most famous part, described below.

The museum is small, so the visit is short. Labels are partly in English.

The kanakhona, or “bug house”, was a deep pit, around 6 metres deep, into which prisoners were lowered by rope. There was no door and no light except from the opening above. According to accounts, the pit was deliberately stocked with lice, ticks and other insects, and also with scorpions and rats, which lived on the prisoners and the refuse thrown in with them. Some prisoners spent months or years there; many died.

Today you can look down into the pit from above and see figures representing prisoners at the bottom. It is not a pleasant sight, but it is a powerful reminder of how the emirate dealt with its enemies.

The most famous prisoners of the Zindan were two British officers. In 1838 Colonel Charles Stoddart came to Bukhara on a mission from British India to reassure the emir, Nasrullah, about British intentions in Afghanistan and to seek the release of Russian slaves. He offended the emir by failing to follow court etiquette and was thrown into the bug pit. In 1841 Captain Arthur Conolly arrived to try to free him and was imprisoned too.

After Britain’s disastrous retreat from Kabul in 1842, the emir no longer feared British power. In June 1842 both men were taken out, made to dig their own graves on the square in front of the Ark, and beheaded. Their fate became famous in Britain when the eccentric clergyman Joseph Wolff travelled to Bukhara in 1843–1844 to discover what had happened to them, narrowly escaping the same end. The episode is one of the best-known stories of the “Great Game”, the rivalry between Britain and Russia for influence in Central Asia.

Location: just north-east of the Ark, a few minutes’ walk from its main gate and from the Bolo-Hauz mosque.

Tickets: a small entrance fee.

Time needed: 20–30 minutes.

Who it suits: travellers interested in history and the Great Game. Some of the displays may be disturbing for young children.

Combine with: the Ark, the Bolo-Hauz mosque and Samanid Park with the Samanid mausoleum, all on the western side of the old city.