Bukhara
This sprawling converted house on the southern edge of the old town is the best shoestring option and particularly popular with overlanders (there's plenty of parking outside). The mother and son owners are super-friendly and English-speaking son Bek is full of great travel advice. The house itself is a bit ramshackle, but it's a great place to meet other travellers.
There are also three-, four- and six-bed family rooms. Rates are flexible.
0.78 MILES
The spectacular-looking Ark, a royal town-within-a-town, is Bukhara’s oldest structure, occupied from the 5th century right up until 1920, when it was…
0.51 MILES
When it was built by the Karakhanid ruler Arslan Khan in 1127, the Kalon Minaret was probably the tallest building in Central Asia – kalon means…
0.43 MILES
Photogenic little Char Minar, in a maze of alleys between Pushkin and Hoja Nurabad, bears more relation to Indian styles than to anything Bukharan. This…
0.57 MILES
At the foot of the minaret, on the site of an earlier mosque destroyed by Chinggis Khan, is the 16th-century congregational Kalon Mosque, big enough for…
0.28 MILES
Between the two covered bazaars, in what was the old herb-and-spice bazaar, is Central Asia’s oldest surviving mosque, the Maghoki-Attar, a lovely…
0.21 MILES
Lyabi-Hauz, a plaza built around a pool in 1620 (the name is Tajik for ‘around the pool’), is the most peaceful and interesting spot in town – shaded…
1.22 MILES
This mausoleum in Samani Park, completed in 905, is the town's oldest Muslim monument and one of its most architecturally interesting. Built for Ismail…
0.47 MILES
This wealthy merchant's house, built in 1892, was once home to one of Bukhara’s many infamous personalities, the man who plotted with the Bolsheviks to…
1. Jewish Community Centre & Synagogue
0.16 MILES
Bukhara's main synagogue is in the old town. It holds regular services and also sponsors a functioning Jewish school just around the corner. Look for the…
0.19 MILES
The displays here on the history and manufacture of Bukhara's famous puppets are worth a quick visit, especially if you have kids in tow.
0.2 MILES
The Nadir Divanbegi Medressa was built as a caravanserai, but was converted in 1622 after the khan mistook it for a medressa (the khan was considered…
0.2 MILES
On the eastern side of Lyabi-Hauz is a statue of Hoja Nasruddin, a semi-mythical ‘wise fool’ who appears in Sufi teaching-tales around the world.
0.21 MILES
Lyabi-Hauz, a plaza built around a pool in 1620 (the name is Tajik for ‘around the pool’), is the most peaceful and interesting spot in town – shaded…
0.23 MILES
On the western side of the Lyabi-Hauz is the Nadir Divanbegi Khanaka, a Sufi cloister used for religious ceremonies, debates and instruction. Both this…
0.23 MILES
The Moneychangers' Bazaar is a typically domed bazaar straddling one of Bukhara's main street junctions. It contains several souvenir stalls and a…
0.26 MILES
The Kukeldash Medressa, built in 1569 by Abdullah II, was at the time the biggest Islamic school in Central Asia. It now hosts the occasional evening…