Details In Bukhara

The amazing mosques, madrasas, mausoleums, and minarets are great. Sometimes smaller things are also great.

Dress up Silk Road photo op. C'mon, be a ruthless ruler for a few minutes.

A humble neighborhood seafood shop, complete with rough cut-out hanging fish. Little library of holy books in a mosque.

Old Soviet pins are around, so many choices, impossible to collect them all.

Ahh, the doors of Bukhara. An iconic old door. And then not so iconic doors, collected and cobbled together to form your compound.

Craftsman and plastic muse, busy making Suzani clothing.

The Unrestored Husayni Madrasa In Bukhara

There are probably more unrestored monuments in Bukhara than restored sites. You just need to know where to look. And sneak in. Shhh.

Front entrance of the small, neighborhood Husayni madrasa. A wire lock on the front door is not going to get it done.

Inside, a madrasa of a different design. No rows of little dorm rooms. It's a later period, small, madrasa, dating from the 18th century. Must have been adorable.

Details. How old could the front door be? Inside, a double barrel domed room, impressive.

Back outside, one of the alcoves still has its various layers, including paint. Putting the P in patina.

Restoration is a long way off. Glad we saw it when.

Hoja Zayniddin Mosque In Bukhara

Sometimes an old mosque site in Bukhara is open and being restored. Hoja Zayniddin is a mid-1500s building that features a nice portico around half of the place, complete with soaring wood columns and intricate paintwork on the underside of the roof.

The exterior, tucked into the fabric of the neighborhood.

Through a door in a wall, the big portico and a side entrance are revealed. Old window detail.

A peek inside. Definitely not restored to showroom new condition. Nice.

Restoration in progress. A crew was busy making new brick sections. Probably not much different from during original construction.

Across from the mosque, the communal reservoir. The big empty.

 

The Kalyon Mosque And Minaret In Bukhara

The main landmark in the center of Bukhara is the Kalyon complex, an impressive 12th century brick minaret next to an expansive 16th century mosque. They make a nice couple.

Entrance is through a plaza.

Grand tile work on one of the side doorways of the mosque. The mosque is well preserved, including the quiet, sheltered border area, consisting of 288 domes in a sea of whitewashed columns.

The courtyard area of the Kalyon mosque, room for 10,000 worshippers.

Big boy. Are minarets boys? Should be, right? Genghis Khan razed the city, kept the minaret. Tucking into another corner of the cool, sheltered dome area. 

Entrance to the actual mosque section, at the far end of the courtyard.

The Fayzulla Khodjaev House Museum

How did the 1% live in the late 19th century in Bukhara? No surprise: well. Fayzulla's daddy, Ubaydullokhoja, made the money for the family, doing an, ahem, killing in karakul (sheep) pelts that were sold in Russia, Germany, and other places that needed warm wraps. The Bukharan provides.

Main house front facade. A classic example of Bukhara architecture of that period.

Facade detail. It takes an army of carvers and painters. Re-created kitchen in an outbuilding. No sense burning down the main house when toast blows up. 

One of the main reception rooms. Ikea need not apply.

Getting personal. The family did well as Bolshevik buddies until Stalin canceled them and they lost the house. Inevitable.

The history lives. The house is now a favorite for photo shoots, especially wedding portraits, engagements. Be the 1% for a day.

An Unrestored Madrasa In Bukhara

So many of the Silk Road sites in Uzbekistan are superbly restored, glimmering monuments to a long ago age. Friendly for tour groups. It was refreshing to happen upon an unrestored madrasa, a great example of what's really been left behind from history. Dig it.

Here's the Ghoziyan madrasa. Closed and being slowly preserved. Must be a way in....

Hey, a loose panel in the metal fence and an open door (policy?). James is in. Through the front entranceway, the courtyard comes into focus.

Wow, a nice change from the squeaky clean restored madrasas around town. The gravitas of history seems more present.

Inside and out, a definite sense of a past period piled up, now ruins, at least for the time being.

One of the madrasa's dorm rooms. Bringing the reality of having the bare essentials.

The Jewish Cemetery In Bukhara

Bukhara has/had the largest population of Jews in Uzbekistan and the Jewish cemetery reflects that fact. Which means, it's kind of big.

Front entrance.

Somewhat un-Jewish style grave markers. Uzbeks love the busts, the black granite picture etchings. Jews, they go for simple headstones. Sometimes, Uzbek style wins.

A look at the cemetery. This view is only of a small section, as the place kind of meanders around a corner and also has different sections divided by, oh, let's say, centuries?

Yes, centuries. Many graves have turned to rubble or are sadly on their way to rubble. A noble program of mounting these old markers onto new graves is underway. A successful, ahem, undertaking.

Old gravestones are strewn all over the place, waiting for their day of restoration. Hang on, history!

The Extravagant Life At Sitorai Mokhi Khosa

Where can an emir from Bukhara go to get away from the bustle and dust of the big city? How about a snazzy summer palace. Alim Khan, the last emir, had a complex built in 1911, a big mashup of traditional and Russian styles. With some cupcake decoration elements in the fun mix.

Exterior of the main house. "No, find me some paint that feels more turquoise."

Inside, go full bling. The only question: do you want a white or darker base for the walls?

The sun porch made for a sun king.

One of the modestly tiled heaters. Staircase, looking modern.

How understated and classic, white walls, red carpet. It's the scale that goes big.