For a look at the lifestyle of the last emir, Alim Khan, go to his summer palace (1912–18), 6km north of Bukhara. The three-building compound mixes Russian architecture with Central Asian design in an explosion of kitsch. A 50-watt Russian generator provided the first electricity the emirate had ever seen. In front of the harem is a pool where the women frolicked, overlooked by a wooden pavilion from which the emir supposedly tossed an apple to his chosen bedmate.
To get here from Bukhara take bus 7 or 33 from the Vokzal stop east of the old town. The palace is at the end of the line, past the Karvon Bazaar. A taxi costs around 7000S.