Bukhara Beckons: Part II

May Ha Li
6 hours ago
9 min read

The Jews of Bukhara

Unbeknownst to us then, our hotel was also located in the old Jewish area of Bukhara. Just two doors down was a little Jewish museum housed in what seemed like a crumbling old wooden building. Since we were right there, we thought we might as well have a look.

Bukharan Jews migrated to this part of the world around the 6th century BC, fleeing persecution from the Babylonians and the Assyrians. They were considered one of the oldest ethno-religious groups in Central Asia. Many of them settled within the Bukharian Emirate, an independent territory then, ruled by the Bukharian Emir. They assimilated into the local Persian culture and their language, Bukhori or Bukharian, was a hybrid of Tajik (a local dialect), Persian and Hebrew. They were one of the world’s most isolated Jewish communities that is now facing a very real threat of extinction. Once home to more than 230,000 Jews, only about 200 remain in Bukhara today. Thousands have migrated to Israel and the USA. There are about 50,000 Bukharan Jews in New York alone.

Many of the Jewish artefacts on display in the small museum had a strong Uzbek influence - the rugs, carpets and wall mosaic. The Old Jewish Summer Hall was a highlight. The walls were decorated with large pieces of colourful mosaic and some had carved niches for displaying ornaments. Even though chairs and tables were set up for visitors to congregate, no food was served. We entered another hall filled with souvenirs, mainly Uzbek robes such as the chapan and khan altas, for sale.

The museum led us directly into the courtyard of the Grand Nodirbek Hotel, surrounded by trees, plants and vines. The two-storey hotel had its rooms built around the courtyard.

Uzbekistan Puppet Workshop-Museum

We chanced upon the Uzbek Puppet Workshop Museum. Puppet performances were recorded as early as the first century A.D. in Uzbekistan. When Islam conquered the region, puppet performances were banned, but thankfully in the 9th century, the Samanid rulers promoted the arts once more, including the resurgence of the ancient puppet theatre. After 1991, there has been a significant revival in Central Asian puppetry. Bukhara’s Workshop-Museum, founded by Iskandar Khakimov, was an excellent place to see how puppets were made.

The museum consisted of a compact display space featuring a wide variety of colourful, exquisitely crafted figures. Standing at a height of 40-50 cm, each Papier-mâché puppet, beautifully and meticulously painted with oil paint and adorned with a brightly-coloured, hand-stitched traditional costume and matching headgear, accessories and jewellery, possessed their own unique facial expression and emotions. Understandably, these puppets were popular souvenir items purchased by visitors, especially when they spotted one with facial features that resembled themselves.

I thought the puppets were simply delightful to behold and a great testament to the centuries-old skill of puppet-making in Central Asia.

Lyab-i-Hauz Ensemble

Our next stop was the Lyab-i-hauz Ensemble. In the major cities of Uzbekistan, many well-known historical squares were presented as an ensemble or a complex. It usually comprised a huge square with three prominent buildings facing visitors as they entered the square – one to the left, one to the right and one in the centre. The buildings to the right and the left often mirrored and squared off each other. This type of architectural layout was known as a ‘kosh’ in Central Asia.

Lyab-i-Hauz was just a stone’s throw from our hotel. It was a spacious square with a large pool in the centre, known as the ‘hauz’. 'Lyab-i-Hauz' was translated as 'by the edge of the pool'. Right up until the 20th century, there were many pools/ponds/reservoirs like the hauz here in Bukhara. It was the city’s principal source of water for daily consumption. After all, they were in desert land. The water was used not only for drinking but also for bathing. As a result, they were notorious for spreading diseases, so the Soviets got rid of them in the 1920s and 30s.

The hauz here was one of the few that survived, chiefly because it was the centrepiece of a magnificent architectural ensemble constructed during the 16th and 17th centuries, and has remained almost the same since then. The three buildings that made up the ensemble were:

Nadir Divan Beghi Madrasah (built in 1622-23 on the east side)
Nadir Divan Beghi Khanqah (built in 1620 on the west side)
Kukeldash Madrasah (built in 1568-69 on the north side)

Nadir Divan Beghi was a vizier and also an uncle of the Emir Imam Quli Khan, who ruled from 1611 to 1642. 'Divan Beghi’ was his title, indicating a rank below the ‘khan’ (king). He built the madrasah and the khanqah. After building the Khanqah, he eyed a piece of land next to it. He envisaged that it would be perfect to construct a pool. However, a Jewish widow owned this plot of land and she refused to sell it to Nadir Divan Beghi. After some scheming on the part of Nadir Divan Beghi (you can read all about it on Wikipedia), she finally agreed to give up her land but she refused money for it. Instead, she struck a deal to swap her land with a plot belonging to Nadir with the promise that the Emir would allow her to build a synagogue there.

Nadir Divan Beghi agreed and gave the widow his plot of land located in a residential area, which later became known as the Jewish Quarter. Bukhara’s first synagogue was constructed there. This large pool was also built simultaneously. Locals had another name for it – 'hauz-i-bazur', meaning 'pool made with force'.

We walked to Lyab-i-Hauz. We saw the hauz filled with turquoise water. Beside the distinct religious buildings forming the ensemble, there were heaps of cafes and eateries situated along the edge of the pool. There were limestone steps leading to the bottom of the pool at a depth of five meters. This area was also surrounded by mulberry trees that dated back to 1477! They provided respite from the sun around the hauz area. In the middle of the pool, there were two simurgh statues facing each other. A simurgh was a mythical Persian bird resembling a peacock.

To endow this area with a bygone sense of the Silk Road journeys, a trail of camel statues (some sitting, some standing), together with some travelling merchants, were erected all along the edge of the pool. The tables and benches of the cafes were set up among the caravan statues, so it looked as though the customers were eating and drinking amongst the resting camels. This whole scenario was also meant to resemble an oasis where tired caravan trails stopped for water and rest.

Cultural Performance at the Nadir Divan Beghi Madrasah

Having completed our tour of the Lyab-i-Hauz Ensemble, we went back to Nadir Divan Beghi Madrasah to take photos of its exterior walls. The little square tiled patterns of dark blue and turquoise that adorned the walls were utterly captivating. They complemented the arched areas decorated with floral majolica tiles of blue, green, yellow, ochre and white.

It was almost show time. We sat at a table for two. I ordered a semi sweet red wine and Simon had a pot of chai. The performances consisted of instrumental folk music, traditional Uzbek dancing, singing and a fashion show too! One dance showcased a solo female performer dancing with castanets. Well, they weren’t exactly the Spanish castanets but they were very similar to it. They were known as kairak or qairaq in Uzbekistan. Needless to say, all the costumes were tantalizingly colourful and captivating. A man and a woman, clad in their khan atlas robes, sang to us Uzbek folk songs. The fashion show highlighted the gorgeous and intricate khan atlas silk robes and headgear (tubeteikas) that Uzbekistan was so well-reputed for. Simon thought it was weird combining a fashion show with a cultural performance but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

By the time the performance finished, the sun had set. We saw Lyab-i-Hauz in all its night time glory. Nadir Divan Beghi Madrasah was lit up and looked luminous. In the middle of the pool, the two simurghs were also lit up, one in blue and pink lights, the other in green. We wandered around the Old Town of Bukhara and strolled through Naseruddin Hodja Street.

The 16th Century Trading Domes

As we meandered along, we soon set our eyes upon the medieval version of Chadstone Shopping Mall in Melbourne or the TRX ( Tun Razak Exchange ) of KL. These were the covered trading domes which gathered merchants from all over the world to trade under amazingly structured and designed roofs and domes which offered protection from the desert heat and the shivering cold in winter. They represented the core shopping and trading centres of bygone Silk Road days in the distant past.

Today, four out of the five domes remain relatively intact. In their heyday, they were all connected to each other via long passages punctuated with archways. Each trading dome sold a specific kind of merchandise.

Toki Sarrofon: The Dome of the Money Changers

‘Toki’ was the word for ‘dome’ and Toki Sarrofon was simply the money changers’ Dome. Imagine an entire dome devoted to just currency exchange back in the 16th century! Obviously it was no longer a money changers’ dome in present day. When we walked through it, we saw an endless array of souvenir stalls and handicraft workshops.

Toki Telpak Furushon: The Dome of the Headwear Sellers

This dome was constructed from adobe (dried mud brick), timber, stone and clay. It had a unique hexagonal structure with a diameter of 40 meters. Its central dome was 38 meters in diameter and rested on a drum-like structure with arched windows all around it so that light could penetrate into the bazaar. In medieval times, the main item traded here was initially books, hence the name Kitab (‘book’) Furushon, but later the merchandise changed to headgear.

Tim Abdullakhan: The Dome of Fabrics and Carpets

The third dome was located on a quiet street. Similar to Toki Telpak Furushon, its central dome also had small arched windows and holes all around it to allow light to enter the bazaar. The inside temperature of this dome was always cool regardless of the outside temperature due to the way it was built. From the 16th century until today, this dome specialised in selling silk and woollen fabrics as well as beautifully woven carpets.

Toki Zaragon: The Dome of Jewellery

It had the reputation of being the largest trading dome of Bukhara. There were 36 workshops and stores belonging to jewellers in this dome. A special feature of Toki Zargaron was the shape of its central dome with a diameter of 14 metres. From the exterior, this dome was extended, stretched upwards and strengthened with ribs. These bulging ribs, apparently a Persian architectural feature, formed the vertical edges of the dome, which protruded prominenty.

Po-i-Kalyan Ensemble

From Toki Zargaron, we emerged at yet another historical ensemble called Po-i-Kalyan - 'at the foot of the Great One'. The three parts of this ensemble were the Kalyan Mosque, the Kalyan Minaret, and Mir-i-Arab Madrasah. The mosque and the madrasah mirrored each other, forming a kosh. As it was night by now, we couldn’t explore this square properly. However, what really stood out in the night lights was the resplendent Kalyan Minaret!

Both the Kalyan Mosque and Minaret were initially commissioned by Arslan Khan in 1121. The minaret was completed in 1127. When Genghis Khan conquered Bukhara in 1220, he destroyed the original mosque, but he couldn’t bring himself to demolish the minaret because it was well and truly an outstanding work of art!

The entire minaret was constructed from high quality fired bricks mixed with gypsum mortar, creating a monolithic mass that withstood earthquakes and erosion. The credit for this tower’s survival goes to Bako, the master architect. He dug the foundation for it to a depth of more than 10 meters. Apparently, the excavation team dug to a depth of 13 meters but they still couldn’t locate its base. The mortar that Bako used was supposedly mixed with alabaster and camel milk! It was poured into the foundation and left to settle for two years before the building of the actual tower commenced. Legend has it that Bako hid himself for two years and only reappeared in Bukhara when the foundation had set. It was believed that he used reeds to earthquake-proof it. Bako also requested to be buried 47 meters away from the minaret so that if it ever collapsed, then the 46.5-metre tower would crush his skull!

The Russian Bolsheviks fired some shots into the crown when they besieged the city. Although these bullet holes were subsequently repaired, the minaret’s shaft still bore some faint scars of them. The brickwork patterns were interrupted by occasional bands inscribed with Kufic calligraphy and these were still legible. On them were inscribed the date and the year in which the minaret was built, the name of Arslan Khan as the initiator and Bako as the master Architect. The intricate design of its brickwork was well and truly astounding. It looked as if it was carved or stuccoed but it simply wasn’t! We took lots of photos of this gorgeous 900-year-old tower worthy of much admiration for the skills involved in its construction.

It had been a day full of sightseeing in the ancient spiritual capital of Uzbekistan and it was time for dinner. We selected a restaurant called Chinor Terrace, which was not far from Toki Zargaron. We ordered a mastava soup (similar to a Russian type soup) with carrots, capsicum and sour cream. Shashlik was our next choice, one with mixed vegetables (zucchini, corn, capsicum and mushroom), one with chicken pieces and one with a rack of lamb on the metal stick. We ate our dinner in the open air. It was getting cold! We got a rather inefficient waiter that night, but we still enjoyed our dinner.