Historic Sights of Tashkent

The Aksaray mausoleum
The Aksaray mausoleum (15th c.), unrestored, is located on a quiet street behind Gur-Amir.The Ak-Sarai Mausoleum of the 1470's is located to the southeast of Gur-Emir. It is deemed a male necropolis of the last Samarkand Temurids. The mausoleum was built under the order of the Temurid governor Abu Sa'id (1451-1468/9). In 1457 Abu Sa'id conquered Khurasan and moved the capital to Herat. In 1468/9 he was killed in Azerbaijan fighting against the Turkmen. The mausoleum has an underground octahedral crypt. Some headless person is buried in a special niche by the eastern wall. It might be a tomb of Ulugbeg's son Abdullatif (1449-1450) who was executed for murdering his father.

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   General information about Bukhara
   

The time of construction of this monument is thought to be the beginning of the 1st millennium A.D., but it is also possible that some sort of fort or temple stood on this site even earlier.
According to the legend recorded in Narshahi’s History of Bukhara, after Bukhar-khudat Bidun built up and fortified the walls of the fortress, he began to build a palace, but his attempt was unsuccessful: the building suddenly collapsed when it was almost completed. The conqueror of Bukhara, and likewise the court sages, long pondered over the reason for the failure, and at last decided to build the palace in the shape of the (Great Bear) on the seven stone pillars.
The overall area of the fortress with all palaces, buildings, and fortifications is 34,675 square meters. Before there were two gates, at present time, only the western gate, which was restored in 1921-1923, remains.
From the most ancient times the Ark was the fortified residence of the rulers of Bukhara. Everything could be found there - palaces, temples, barracks, offices, the mint, warehouses, workshops, stables, an arsenal, and even a prison. Nowadays there is a museum inside.
During the history of existence of the city, the Ark was repeatedly destroyed, but it was invariably restored by the new ruler. In the 16 century under the Shaibanids, the citadel was restored to the form in which it has come down to us. All the buildings on the territory of the Ark were built for the most part from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
You will pass a long covered corridor with 12 niches in the left wall and thirteen in the right. Some of the ones on the left were a special type of prison. Here “Criminals” who did not agree with the rulers of the emirate and dangerous free thinkers were kept.
A huge leather whip - the symbol of the absolute power of the emir - is hung by the entrance to the citadel. During the storming of the Ark in September 1920, this whip was torn down by the insurgents. Today it can be seen in the Bukhara Local History Museum which is situated in one of the buildings of the Ark.
At the place where the covered corridor ends, stands the office of the commandant, who was in charge of the guards.
Coming out of the corridor and turning to the right you will see Juma Mosque, which was built at the end of the 18 century.

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