Bukhara Completed by: Mirzoyev Ashurmuhammad Group

Independent work
Bukhara


Completed by: Mirzoyev Ashurmuhammad
Group: EconomyS4
2023

Bukhara: “lucky place” and fifth largest city of Uzbekistan
Bukhara is one of the most ancient cities of Uzbekistan, situated on a sacred hill, the place where sacrifices were made by fire-worshippers in springtime. This city was mentioned in a holy book "Avesto". Bukhara city is supposed to be founded in the 13th cent. B.C. during the reign of Siyavushids who came to power 980 years before Alexander the Great. The name of Bukhara originates from the word "vihara" which means "monastery" in Sanskrit. The city was once a large commercial center on the Great Silk Road. The scientists say that the place around modern territory of Bukhara had been inhabited for about 5 millennia, and the time of existing of this city is about 2,5 millennia. The meaning of the city name is “lucky place” or “the place of good fortune” and for a long time this lucky place had been the center of trade and culture, religion and scholarship on the way of the Great Silk Road. Bukhara, like Samarkand, is listed as World Heritage Site by UNESCO, because of its beautiful old minarets and madrassas standing in the historic center of this ancient city. The changes in Bukhara are not such big like in Tashkent or Samarkand – it’s almost the same as before. The streets are the same and the architecture the same. You have to visit this place because it will show you the best how the ancient city of Uzbekistan looked centuries ago.
Bukhara history: stretched back in centuries
The official time of founding of Bukhara is 500 BCE. It was a center of trade during the rise of the Great Silk Road; also the center of Islamic World in the prosperity age of Samanids dynasty; also it was marked as one of the centers of Persian Civilization (this event related to the early days of the city about 6th century BC).
But not only being the center of culture, trade and science glorified Bukhara in the centuries, but also its important role in administrative life of Turkestan. Once it had been the capital of very ancient state called also Bukhara (6th to 8th cent AD). From 9th to 10th century the city of Bukhara had been the capital of Samanids, then in 16th century the capital of Sheybanids Great Empire, and also from 18th to 20th century it was famous as the capital of Bukhara Emirate. Finally, from 1920 to 1924 this city had been the administrative center of Bukhara People’s Soviet Republic.

Many of the most important events of Uzbekistan history took place in Bukhara, but unfortunately there are almost no documental records left. Ancient sources of course mention the city, but not the whole city, only the part that had been connected to ancient Sogdiana. Chinese sources of the early Middle Ages mention Bukhara too, but the information is really poor. So no one knows and can tell exactly how old the city known in Muslim world as "Bukhara-i-Sharif" is. The scientists only can guess. Best guide to the history of this mysterious city is surely translated into Persian (and originally written in Arabic) the book “History of Bukhara” written by Mukhammad Narshakhi.

Modern Bukhara: what really changed?
Nowadays Bukhara city inhabited by 90% Tajiks (Persian-speaking) and 10% of Uzbeks. Bukharan Jews (most of them) left the city to live in the USA and Israel. Bukhara hasn’t changed its look much, so the ancient atmosphere of the city will take you by surprise.
Visit Bukhara State Museum to know more about the history and architecture of this city (it’s opened from 09 am to 04:30 pm, Wednesday is day off); there is also Gijduvan Museum of Ceramics (great collection of ceramics made by modern masters). And of course you should pay your attention to Bukhara cafes and restaurants (especially if you call yourself gourmet): among them are Lyab-I Hauz Tea Houses, Silk Road Spices Tea house (one of the most popular tea houses in the city), Nodir Devonbegi Madrassah (it’s a restaurant with national dishes).
Bukhara, the holy city, will surprise you with the spirit and the atmosphere of past. Visit this city, order the tour to Uzbekistan by Peopletravel! And you will never forget this exiting journey!
Bukhara lies west of Samarkand and was once a center of learning renowned throughout the Islamic world. It is the hometown of the great Sheikh Bakhouddin Nakshbandi. He was a central figure in the development of the mystical Sufi approach to philosophy, religion and Islam. In Bukhara there are more than 350 mosques and 100 religious colleges. Its fortunes waxed and waned through succeeding empires until it became one of the great Central Asian Khanates in the 17th century.
Bukhara with more than 140 architectural monuments is a "town museum" dating back to the Middle Ages. 2,300 years later, ensembles like Poi-Kalyan, Ismail Samani Mausoleum, Ark, Lyabi-Khauz are attracting a lot of attention. The city consists of narrow streets, green parks and gardens, historical and architectural monuments belong to the different epochs, but locate very close to each other.