Varakhsha: an ancient palace in the desert near Bukhara

Before the Arab conquest of the early 8th century, the Bukhara oasis was part of Sogdiana, a land of trading cities and princely courts. Its rulers bore the title Bukhar Khudat, “lord of Bukhara”. They minted coins, maintained fortified residences and patronised artists who decorated their palaces with paintings in a distinctive Sogdian style.

Varakhsha was one of their residences and the centre of a flourishing agricultural district at the western edge of the oasis, watered by canals. The 10th-century historian Narshakhi, in his History of Bukhara, described a magnificent palace there and the town that surrounded it. As the canals failed and the desert advanced, probably over the following centuries, the site was abandoned and covered by sand.

Soviet archaeologists led by Vasily Shishkin, who also studied the Magoki-Attori mosque and the Samanid mausoleum, excavated Varakhsha from the late 1930s into the mid-20th century. They uncovered a citadel, a palace with several halls and parts of the surrounding town.

The great discovery was the wall paintings and carved stucco of the palace halls. In the so-called Red Hall, a frieze shows riders mounted on elephants fighting tigers, leopards and fantastic beasts, set against a red background. Other halls had scenes of processions, hunts, a ruler on a throne and figures of animals and birds. The paintings, along with similar ones found at Afrasiyab in Samarkand and at Penjikent in Tajikistan, are among the most important evidence of Sogdian art. The best fragments were removed for conservation and are displayed in museums, so they cannot be seen on site.

The carved stucco panels of the palace, with plant ornaments, animals and figures, show a rich decorative tradition that later influenced the ornament of Islamic buildings in Bukhara.

Today Varakhsha is a group of large, weathered mud-brick mounds rising from the flat desert, with the outlines of walls, rooms and the citadel visible in places. There are no reconstructions and few signs. Its interest lies in its atmosphere and setting: the silence of the desert, the sense of a lost civilisation, and the views over the edge of the oasis where fields give way to sand. With a guide who knows the history, and some imagination, the visit is evocative. Without it, many travellers will find little to see.

To see the art of Varakhsha and its context, visit museums: Bukhara’s local history museum in the Ark has displays on the archaeology of the oasis, and the Afrasiyab museum in Samarkand shows the closely related Sogdian paintings of the Ambassadors’ Hall.

Location: about 40 km north-west of Bukhara, in the desert beyond the villages of the oasis.

How to go: by car with a driver, ideally with a guide. The last stretch may be on rough tracks; ask your driver to check the condition. There is no public transport to the site.

Time needed: a half day for the drive and the visit.

What to bring: water, a hat, sunscreen and sturdy shoes. There is no shade, café or toilet on site. In summer go early in the morning; spring and autumn are the most pleasant seasons.

Varakhsha suits travellers with a strong interest in archaeology and the Sogdians, photographers who enjoy desert landscapes, and repeat visitors to Bukhara who have already seen the old city. If you have only two days in Bukhara, spend them on the old city and the sights just outside it, such as Sitorai Mohi-Hosa and the Bahauddin Naqshband complex.