Introduction
Bukhara is the capital of its province, an ancient oasis city on the southern edge of the Kyzylkum desert that was for centuries one of the great holy and trading centres of the Islamic world. Beyond the walled old town at its heart, the province spreads across the irrigated oasis and out toward the desert, holding the summer retreat of its former emirs, a living pottery tradition and some of the most revered Sufi shrines in Central Asia.
Overview
Bukhara is a place to stay inside rather than pass through, and its old town rewards more than a single day. The medieval ensemble — Po-i-Kalyan, the Ark, Lyab-i-Hauz and the trading domes — belongs to Bukhara's old town; this page is the province and the quieter life around it. Base yourself in one of the old town's converted merchant houses and the rhythm reveals itself: mornings before the day-trippers arrive, the lanes of the old Jewish quarter, artisans still working brass and miniatures in the domed bazaars, and long evenings around the Lyab-i-Hauz pool. Beyond the centre the oasis holds Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa, the last emir's gaudy summer palace on the northern edge of town; the potters' town of Gijduvan, where one family keeps the region's distinctive green-and-brown glaze alive; and, ringing the city, the Sufi shrines of Bahauddin Naqshband and the Chor-Bakr necropolis. Together they turn Bukhara from a day's sightseeing into a place worth settling into.
Discover Bukhara
Bukhara is at its best for travellers who base themselves inside the old town and give it time. Many of the historic merchant houses and madrasas have been converted into small guesthouses, and staying among them means having the monuments on the doorstep at dawn and dusk, when the day-trip coaches have gone and the lanes belong to residents again. Away from the main sights, the old Jewish quarter — Bukhara had one of Central Asia's oldest Jewish communities — is a quiet warren of lanes and courtyards worth wandering, and the domed bazaars still shelter working artisans, from brassworkers and miniature painters to knife-makers, whose trade is genuine rather than staged. The pleasure of Bukhara is as much this atmosphere as any single building.
Ways to Experience This Destination
Converted merchant-house guesthouses, the old Jewish quarter, and working brass and miniature artisans in the domed bazaars.
The emirs' Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa palace and the pilgrimage shrines of Naqshband and the Chor-Bakr necropolis.
The green-and-brown ceramic tradition kept alive by a family of master potters north of the city.
Frequently asked questions
Visaja keeps this page's contact details and visa guidance under continuous review — still, requirements can change at short notice, so confirm the essentials with the mission or the official government portal before you travel.