Khiva see · Khiva attractions
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Khiva attractions
Khiva attractions
Kutli Murad Inak Medressa. The medressah was built in the beginning of the 18th cent. It has 81 pupils' cells. It was one of the wealthiest schools in Khiva and possessed a lot of lands. It corresponds the traditional type of medressahs of the 17th and 18th cent. The galleries with arcades, the round towers at the corners and the economical use of glazed tiles remember the traditions of architecture in Khorezm. It has a beautiful carved wooden door with floral and geometric ornaments. The cells are vaulted, have a fire place and are lighted by a window in or above the door. �
Khan Anush Mohammed's Bath, (beside Ak Mosque). The building with a dome beside Ak Mosque is called Khan Anush Mohammed's Bath. The main part of it is subterranean in order th keep the walls steadily warm. It has all the comforts of an oriental bath: vestibule, dressing room, lavatory, basin, well with cold water and floor heating. It is considered as one of the most interesting secular buildings of the 17th cent. in Central Asia. �
Uc Avlija Mausoleum, (east of Itchan Kala, beside Tash Chauli). Uc Avlija is called the mausoleum of the three holy men or mausoleum of three great dervishs. Portal and dome provide a rather medieval impression. The masuoleum is thought to date to the 16th cent. �
Tash Chauli. This is the new palace of the rulers of Khiva. Tash Chauli means "palace of stones". It was built in the first half of the 19th cent. during the reign of Khan Allakuli. The palace has more than 160 rooms, 5 courtyards and a strong wall with many round towers. The Harem's Courtyard is also surrounded by high brick walls with towers. It is the oldest part of the building and is rectangular in plan. It is paved and has a well. The door to the palace and the entrance are very narrow. It is easy to get lost in the labyrinth of corridors. Today it accomodates a permanent exhibition of the museum of Khiva. The khan's wives lived in the southern part of the harem, whereas his relatives on his mother's side lived in the less favourable parts of the harem. The courtyard is ornamented by 5 high Aiwans. Carved wooden columns on marble bases carry the ceiling whichn is decorated with paintings and the walls are masked with blue tiles. Even the righful wives of the khan lived like slaves. They weaved carpets, made embroideries and sewed. They could leaved the palace at rare occasions only and then they went in a car covered by felt and their companions with their white sticks removed everybody who came into their way. Ishrat Chauli or Mikhman Chauli means "courtyard of guests" and was the place where receptions were held. The throne room was in the first floor and the guets' rooms in the ground and in the first floor. The building is ornamented with a frieze of blue tiles with verses of the poet Agekhi. In the center of the courtyard are two brick fundations, about 20 cm high, for the khan's winter yurts. Ars Chauli. the courtyard of justice is similar to Ishrat Chauli, but its square base has twice its size. The towers at the corners and the aiwans are rather high. The Ars Chauli has tweo doors, the main entrance and the door of the condemned through which the prisoners sentenced to death went to their execution. Acoording to the traditions of Khiva every nobleman, governour and also the khan himself had to devote at least 4 hours per day to the administration of justice. He had to deal with all kinds of cases from theft of chicken to capital crimes. The khan usually went to the court of justice after the prayer at noontime. �
Khan Allakuli Medressah, (between the bazaar and Palwan Darvasa). The Hungarian traveller Vambery reports thatit was the second biggest medressah in the city. It had 99 cells and the pupils were well taken care of. It has the biggest and most beautiful facade and the biggest and most beautiful portal of Khiva. The high Pishtak with deep portal niche is decorated with finely ornamented blue tiles and decorative white inscriptions. The lecture rooms (dershane), the mosque and the library (kitab khana) are situated in the first floor. The courtyard ist surrounded by pupils' cells in two stories. �
Tim, (near Palwan Darvase). Bukhara, Persia and Russia were Khiva's most important trade partners. The Arab chronicler Mervasi reports that a caravan from Urgench came to Russia in the 11th cent, that they discussed the islam with prince Vladimir and that they bough furs, leather and swords from the Russians. In the time of tsar Peter the Great envoys of Khiva visited Petersburg every 4 or 5 years. They brought silk, cotton, spices, leather, copper table-ware, linnen and melons from Turkestan to Russia. The caravans were made up of up to two thousand camels and bought cloth, sugar, iron tea kettles and rifles in Russia. The trade recahed its apex around 1830. Khan Allakuli decided to build a new caravanseray and a new tim. Parts of the city walls had to be pulled down for the new caravanseray. Like in a medressah the rooms of the merchants are arranged around a square courtyard. Soon the caravanseray became too small and the tim, a new open market was built. It is one of the most beautiful buildings of the end of the khanat. It consisted of a long covered corridor with 14 domes in the vicinity of the ancient slave market. �
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Khiva Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.