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Bukhara

Oasis in the desert of Uzbekistan, Bukhara is a city that currently has about a quarter of a million inhabitants.

Bukhara is a very old city since it was already prosperous long before the 6th century before Jesus Christ and already at this distant time, it stoked the lusts of its neighbors.

The kings of Persia have invaded Bukhara several times since the 6th century BCE and the conquest by Darius is one of the most famous.

Bukhara became Greek following the invasion of Persia by Alexander the Great in 329 BC and would remain so for a good hundred years.

After the Greeks, Bukhara was part of the kingdom of Kushan for about 500 years, an Indo-European people centered around Afghanistan, Pakistan and northern India.

This period also marks the beginnings of trade between Asian and European countries. And in the 5th century, Bukhara was integrated into the kingdom of the Huns.

Then, the Umayyads took over, when the Arab-Muslim troops set out to conquer Central Asia.

Bukhara, capital of the Samanids

The Umayyads succeeded the Samanids during the 8th century. They made it their capital.

A Samanid mausoleum in Bukhara is also the oldest monument of Muslim architecture known in Central Asia. This building is also remarkable for the fact that it combines Zorastrian architecture with that of the Muslims. Many mosques and mausoleums were built at this time.

Bukhara had become the cultural center of the region and many scholars, poets and artists were born there or came to settle there.

Genghis khan

This Muslim period where the Qarakhanids succeeded the Samanids would last until the arrival of the Mongols of Genghis Khan in 1220. This new era marked the decline of Bukhara in favor of Samarkand.

But later, in the middle of the 16th centuries, Bukhara was again chosen to be the capital of a new empire, named the Khanate of Bukhara which would last from 1599 to 1920.

Bukhara and the Soviet Union.

Russia established a protectorate over these regions of Central Asia from the second half of the 19th century, and Bukhara was taken by the Red Army on September 2, 1920.

Bukhara has always been recognized more by its religious character whereas Samarkand had taken a more scientific orientation.

Bukhara today

What strikes tourists passing by Bukhara is the remarkable state of conservation of its historic buildings. This is also the case for other cities in Uzbekistan. Buildings that are hundreds of years old look new. This is part of the charm of these cities, even if it is regrettable that all traces of history have been erased there. There are no ruins in Bukhara, or they are being restored. It is a policy of restoration and town planning launched in 1975 during the time of the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan which is at the origin of this phenomenon.

about the place, Bukhara:

The Bukhara region has been inhabited for over 5000 years and the city was founded in the 6th century BCE. The city center is on the Unesco World Heritage List.

Bukhara has many mosques, minarets and madrassas.

The city has a little less than 250,000 inhabitants.

Spoken comments in the film: 

- The Mausoleum of the Samanids was built during the 9th century by Ismaïl Samani founder of the Samanid dynasty (875 to 999).

This mausoleum which is the oldest monument of Muslim architecture in Central Asia is remarkable for its Zoroastrian-inspired architecture. Indeed, Islam prohibits covered constructions and this mausoleum is the first to depart from this rule.

The mausoleum has escaped destruction by invaders over the ages because it has been covered with several feet of earth over time.

It was not rediscovered until 1930 by the Russian archaeologist Shishkin.

The monument consists of a cube covered with a sphere. The cube represents the earth and fertility and the spherical dome the sky.

The monument has been nicknamed "the pearl of the Orient".

- Bakhouddin Muhammad Naqshbandi Bukhari is the Patron Saint of Bukhara. Born in 1314, he became one of the seven preachers of Sufism.

The complex was built in 1544 and revolves around the mausoleum of the great Sufi. It is a very important holy place in Central Asia and is nicknamed "The Mecca of Central Asia".

Abandoned under Soviet domination, this monument owed to its remoteness from the center of Bukhara, the fact of not having been desecrated and transformed into a hotel complex or a restaurant.

- Sitori- i-Mokhi Khosa means "the palace of the moon and the stars" and was the summer residence of the last emirs of Bukhara.

Its construction dates from the end of the 19th century and the palace was enlarged by Alim Khan with the support of the Russians. This is what explains the Russian influences in this construction.

The last emir was overthrown and exiled in 1920 by the Soviets.