Bukhara

"Sacred Bukhara", "Noble Bukhara", "Dome of Islam", "Feet of the Islamic religion", "City of poetry and fairy tales" – that is how travelers, poets and scientists called this city. Bukhara is one of the four sacred cities of Islam, along with Mecca, Medina and Jerusalem. Muslims believe that three pilgrimages to Bukhara are equivalent to one pilgrimage to Mecca.

Bukhara arose in the 6th century BC, and for 25 centuries long remained the political, economic, cultural and religious center of Central Asia. Bukhara was part of Achaemenid empire in V-IV centuries BC, was taken by Alexander the Great in 329 BC, and was part of the Kushan Empire in the I-IV centuries. BC.

In 709, Bukhara was taken by the Arabs and was subjected to many destruction.

The city reached its highest prosperity during the reign of the Samanid dynasty (mid-9^th - late 10^th centuries). The Mausoleum of the Samanids is an eloquent testimony of this prosperity.

The heyday of Bukhara continued in the X-XI centuries during the Turkic dynasty of the Karakhanids. The masterpieces of that period architecture have survived – they are the Kalyan minaret (1127) and the Magoki-Attari mosque (XII-XVI centuries).

The capture of Bukhara by the troops of Genghis Khan in February 1220 turned the city into ruins. The city was revived as part of the empire of Amir Timur and city development continued under the Uzbek dynasties of Sheibanids, Ashtarkhanids and Mangyts.

After the capture of a part of Central Asia by Russian troops, the Bukhara Emirate becomes a vassal of Tsarist Russia, while maintaining some internal autonomy.

After the 1920 revolution and the national demarcation of Central Asia, the Bukhara region became part of the Uz SSR.

Today Bukhara is a large (270,000 inhabitants) economic, cultural and scientific center of Uzbekistan with a well-developed urban infrastructure.

Thanks to the preserved traditional way of life, rich architectural heritage (over 160 architectural monuments) and folk crafts, Bukhara became a “Mecca” for tourists, and in 1993 the historical center of the city was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.