Getting Blue At The Tash Khauli Palace In Khiva

The Tash Khauli Palace is a nice break from the parade of minarets, madrasas, mosques and mausoleums that are common in the Itchan Kala, the old section of Khiva. It's definitely a palace, a maze full of reception areas, rooms, courtyards, and amazing tile work.

A Khan has to live somewhere. Tash Khauli was built in the 1830s and its first host was Allahuli-khan.

You gotta have space for your harem. Plenty of room in this courtyard, each wife getting a separate area on the left.

Crazy blue tile work, both inside, detailing a bookcase full of display nooks and outside, acting as wallpaper in one of the areas for one of the wives. Ba-bling!

Another area of the palace was reserved for receiving envoys, important guests. No yurt, no problem, there's one on site. Yes, it snows in Khiva.

A peek inside the yurt. Door and window detail, looking like Wedgewood gone wild.

The khan slept well.