Bukhara stands on an oasis at the edge of the Kyzylkum desert in southwestern Uzbekistan and has been settled for more than two thousand years. It was one of the principal stops on the Silk Road, and as the capital of the Samanid state in the 9th and 10th centuries it became a leading centre of learning in the Islamic world, where Ibn Sina was educated. Its historic centre still largely stands and is on the UNESCO list as a whole, with more than two hundred preserved monuments, meaning it is the fabric itself that is protected rather than individual buildings. Its architecture of mud and fired brick sets it clearly apart from the tile heavy look of Samarkand.
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See flights to Bukhara →When to visit Bukhara
April to May and September to October are the easiest windows, with daytime temperatures between 22C and 28C, which is what makes the shadeless courtyards walkable. July and August bring desert edge heat above 40C in the shade, and because the humidity is low the heat creeps up unnoticed. December to February is cold with nights below freezing, though the city is almost empty in those months.
Things to do in Bukhara
The Kalon Minaret
Raised in 1127 by the Karakhanid ruler Arslan Khan, the minaret is 45.6 metres tall and its shaft carries fourteen separate bands of brickwork, no two patterned alike. When Genghis Khan destroyed the city in 1220 he left this minaret standing, and it has held the same spot for eight hundred years. With the Kalon Mosque and the Mir-i Arab Madrasa facing it, it forms the Poi Kalyan square.
The Ark of Bukhara
The citadel northwest of the centre is a settlement mound whose foundations reach back to the 5th century and which housed the emirs of Bukhara until 1920. Its sloping mud brick walls come close to twenty metres, and inside are the throne courtyard, the Friday mosque, the mint and the prison. Much of it was shelled in 1920, and the surviving portion is now visited as a museum.
The Samanid Mausoleum
Built between 892 and 943, the mausoleum is the oldest surviving Islamic building in Central Asia. It is raised entirely in fired brick, and its ornament is not a separate material but the way the bricks are laid, so the pattern on the wall shifts through the day as the angle of the light changes. Buried under sand for centuries, it escaped the Mongol destruction and was uncovered in the 1930s.
Lyabi Hauz
The square laid out around a pool dug in 1620 is the shaded meeting place of the city, and some of the mulberry trees at its edge are as old as the water. Three sides are closed by the Kukeldash Madrasa, the Nadir Divan-Begi Madrasa and a khanaka. The two simurgh birds on the facade of the Nadir Divan-Begi are a well known instance of how the ban on living figures was bent in this region.
Chor Minor
Built in 1807 by Khalif Niyazkul, the building takes its name from the Persian for four minarets, and all four carry turquoise domes. What stands alone today was the gatehouse of a madrasa that has since vanished, so what is seen is the entrance to something larger. It appears without warning among narrow lanes, and its four towers are not identical to one another.
Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum
The building whose name means the spring of Job grew in layers between the 12th and 16th centuries, and its most striking part is the conical dome added by Khwarezm craftsmen in the Timurid period, a form found on no other building in Bukhara. The spring inside still runs. The building now holds a small museum on the water history of the region.
Flights from Turkey to Bukhara
Direct flights to Bukhara from Turkey leave from Istanbul Airport, operated by Turkish Airlines three days a week, and take about 4 hours 10 minutes. The services mostly depart at night and land early in the morning. Bukhara International Airport is about 5 kilometres east of the centre, 15 minutes by taxi. The alternative is to fly to Tashkent and take the high speed Afrosiyob train, three and a half hours to Bukhara, stopping at Samarkand on the way.
Bukhara FAQ
How many days do you need in Bukhara?
The historic centre is walkable and two days cover it. A third suits the Sitorai Mohi Hosa summer palace outside the city and the Bahauddin Naqshband complex. Adding Samarkand and Khiva makes an Uzbekistan trip of seven to ten days.
How far is the airport from the city centre?
Bukhara International Airport is about 5 kilometres from the centre, so it is very close in. The terminal is small and public transport is sparse, but a taxi reaches the historic centre in 15 minutes. The railway station is further out, at Kagan about 12 kilometres away.
Do you need a visa for Uzbekistan?
Turkish passport holders enter Uzbekistan without a visa and may stay up to thirty days. The passport must be valid for at least three months from the date of entry. Hotels register each stay, and since those registrations are occasionally asked for on departure it is worth keeping the hotel slips.
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