Shahr-e-kuhna

Tajikistan

The old town is an intriguing maze of mudbrick lanes with water channels running along the centre of the thoroughfare. Houses are tantalisingly hidden from view behind straw-and-wattle plastered walls, but occasionally an open doorway allows for a glimpse into the central courtyard decorated inevitably with roses. Access is via Krupskoe or Tursunzoda streets heading west from 102 or 98 Lenin respectively, either side of the Hazrat-i-Shah Mosque.

Marshrutka 3A links the old town with the bazaar near Chor Gumbaz.

Suggest an edit to this attraction

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Sary Mazar

0.1 MILES

Shaded by ancient chinar (plane) trees, a pair of small but ornately stucco-fronted 17th-century tombs are set beside a fine old mosque with tapering…
Mug Teppe

0.5 MILES

In the northeast of the city, rising above low-level housing, this grassy, flat-topped hill once boasted a fine citadel. Stormed by Alexander the Great in…
Abdullatif Sultan Medressa

0.33 MILES

The 15th-century Abdullatif Sultan Medressa is also known as the Kök Gumbaz (Blue Dome) after its turquoise Timurid dome. Closed in Soviet times, the…
Bazaar

0.66 MILES

The vast and colourful central bazaar is a town unto itself. A three-storey, triple arched building indicates the main hub but stalls selling everything…
Hauz-i-Sangin

0.32 MILES

Tucked behind the site of a giant new mosque, the 1910 Hauz-i-Sangin Mosque has fine ceiling paintings and a dry octagonal hauz (pool) flanked by…
Bunjikath

14.5 MILES

The Sogdian site of Bunjikath, near Shakhristan, was the 8th-century capital of the kingdom of Ushrushana. It is noteworthy for a famous Sogdian mural…
Hazrat-i-Shah Mosque

0.09 MILES

Half-hidden behind Soviet apartment blocks at Lenin 100-102, the modern Hazrat-i-Shah Mosque is tucked behind a poets' garden full of scented roses…
Chor Gumbaz

0.58 MILES

In the northwest corner of town is the one-room Mazar-i-Chor Gumbaz whose four tin cupolas conceal some of Tajikistan’s most impressive old painted…

View more attractions

Nearby Tajikistan attractions

1. Hazrat-i-Shah Mosque

0.09 MILES

Half-hidden behind Soviet apartment blocks at Lenin 100-102, the modern Hazrat-i-Shah Mosque is tucked behind a poets' garden full of scented roses…

2. Sary Mazar

0.1 MILES

Shaded by ancient chinar (plane) trees, a pair of small but ornately stucco-fronted 17th-century tombs are set beside a fine old mosque with tapering…

3. Hauz-i-Sangin

0.32 MILES

Tucked behind the site of a giant new mosque, the 1910 Hauz-i-Sangin Mosque has fine ceiling paintings and a dry octagonal hauz (pool) flanked by…

4. Abdullatif Sultan Medressa

0.33 MILES

The 15th-century Abdullatif Sultan Medressa is also known as the Kök Gumbaz (Blue Dome) after its turquoise Timurid dome. Closed in Soviet times, the…

5. Mug Teppe

0.5 MILES

In the northeast of the city, rising above low-level housing, this grassy, flat-topped hill once boasted a fine citadel. Stormed by Alexander the Great in…

6. Chor Gumbaz

0.58 MILES

In the northwest corner of town is the one-room Mazar-i-Chor Gumbaz whose four tin cupolas conceal some of Tajikistan’s most impressive old painted…

7. Bazaar

0.66 MILES

The vast and colourful central bazaar is a town unto itself. A three-storey, triple arched building indicates the main hub but stalls selling everything…

8. Bunjikath

14.5 MILES

The Sogdian site of Bunjikath, near Shakhristan, was the 8th-century capital of the kingdom of Ushrushana. It is noteworthy for a famous Sogdian mural…

View more attractions