Jim Schroder's Travel

Home
Trips

Select Page

Uzbekistan

The mosque was known also as Jamia, Friday, mosque because all male inhabitants of the city were expected to attend the Friday prayer in this mosque. The courtyard was very large. When Genghis Khan conquered Bukhara and went inside the mosque he thought he was entering the ,local, royal palace. He was impressed by the tall minaret which flanked the mosque.

Local students taking a tour of the Mir-i-Arab religious school.

Built in 1534 1539, its name, Mir-i Arab, literally means "Prince of the Arabs" and refers to Sheikh Abdullah Yamani of Yemen who rose to fame as head of Bukhara's Muslim community during the reign of Muhammad Shaybani, the founder of the short-lived Shaibanid dynasty. Sheikh Yamani served as the spiritual adviser of several Khans and was ultimately laid to rest within the madrasa that now bears his name.

Nearly all central Asian madrasas, religious schools, follow a similar layout. Their basic elements comprise a rectangular plan, a spacious open-air courtyard, one or two stories of cells for students, and one or more monumental entrances marked by a large hall open on one side. First, the main entrance leads to a small antechamber that branches off in three directions to provide access to the courtyard as well as a mosque and lecture hall on either side.

Second, a covered ambulatory runs around the interior of the ground floor level, providing a continuous passageway for the occupants. Finally, the rear hall, a large hall or audience chamber often open on one side, is built with a deep protrusion that extends north from the building, forming a large shaded area which was likely used for outdoor classes. Additional indoor classrooms are found at the northwest and northeast corners of the building.

Myself standing with two mannequins dressed in the time period.

The Ark is a large earthen fortification located in the northwestern part of contemporary Bukhara.

The entrance to the Ark of Bukhara is a massive fortress located in the city of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, that was initially built and occupied around the 5th century AD. The ceremonial entrance into the citadel is architecturally framed by two 18th-century towers. The upper parts of the towers are connected by a gallery, rooms, and terraces.

This bronze statue of Nasiruddin Khoja on his donkey is located in the Lyabi-Hauz, Lake House, complex of central Bukhara. This semi-mythical ‘wise fool’ appears in all folklore of Central Asia and middle east countries – the cunning old man with his faithful donkey companion moving around cities . He is supposed to have tactfully ridiculed greedy rulers, hypocrites.

Beautiful and unusual dining room in the Lyabi, Lake, House Hotel in central Bukhara.

Children coming out of their classroom in a local school as we walked by.

We stopped and walked through the Grand Nodirbek Hotel gardens as we strolled through the old town area.

We stopped at a small business that make puppets. He we are being shown some of them.

[Show slideshow]

◄ 1 ... 9 10 11 ... 14 ►

© 2025 Jim Schroder