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| It is unique city-museum under the open sky in Central Asia. | |||
Among all the ancient cities of Uzbekistan, Khiva can be called one of the brightest pearls in the necklace of cities. Therefore, when traveling in Uzbekistan, it is impossible to miss a visit to Khiva, a city under the open sky. This amazing city is located on the Great Silk Road, between the two endless deserts of Karakum and Kyzylkum.
The name of the city comes from the word "Heywah", which means "tasty water". In the old days travelers who walked along the Great Silk Road and had a rest in the Khiva oasis found water here and drank it. After drinking tasty cool water, they also pronounced "Havah".
According to one of the legends Sim, son of the biblical Noah, dug a well of Haywak on the place where the delicious water flowed. The city grew up around the well. The well is preserved, and today it can be seen in the old part of Khiva Ichan-Kala. Local residents believe that water from a well in Ichan-Kala brings good luck.
Khiva is one of the few cities that has retained its originality. The appearance of modern Khiva mainly forms the architecture of the period of the Khiva Khanate of the late 18th and early 20th centuries. But the archeological excavations conducted here show that at the base of a number of relatively "young" remains of buildings lie ancient layers dating back to the III and even earlier centuries B.C.
The most interesting part of Khiva - the so-called Ichan-Kala - is an inner ancient city, founded about 2500 years ago. It is quite large, and occupies one tenth of the territory from all Khiva. The city is surrounded by a fortified wall with a gate. In the past, besides the inner wall, there was also an outer, simpler one. But it is poorly preserved.
The fortified structures and palaces, mosques and madrassas, mausoleums and minarets, caravan-sarai and bath-houses turned Ichan-Kalu into a kind of monument-city, the city which it officially became a reserve since 1968 (the most ancient architectural monuments date back to the 14th century) of the year. Ichan-Kala is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
On the territory of Ichan-kala and Dishan-kala (rabad) there is a citadel of Kunya-ark with buildings of the 19th century, Juma mosque (carved wooden columns of 11-19 centuries, mausoleum of Seid-Allauddin (1303, majolica tombstone), fortress gates, ensembles religious and secular buildings, including the palaces of Tash-Hauli (1830-1838) and Nurullabai (1904-1912), the complex of Allakuli-khan (Madrasah 1834, the market and the caravan-saray, 1830's) ensemble of Mohammed Amin Khan (1851-1852, madrasah, minaret of CelteMinar), numerous madrassas (Mohammed Rahim Khan, 1871), mausoleums (Pakhlavan Mahmud - tomb of Kung Hell Khans, 19 in., at the grave Pakhlavan Mahmoud, 14 in.), baths, caravanserais, markets, traditional houses.
Woodcarving is one of the arts of Khorezm. Everywhere in Khiva you can see amazing wooden columns and doors, decorated with carvings. The city of Khiva is an eastern fairy tale that begins with the sounds of the past.
Useful links:
Tours includes visiting of Khiva
Khiva Hotels
Khiva Restaurantes