STATE ARCHITECTURE AND ART MUSEUM

2 years after the establishment of Soviet power on the territory of the Turkestan region, in 1922, the State Architectural and Art Museum began its work in Bukhara. Previously, its exhibits were located in a separate building, but in 1945 it found its new home on the territory of the Ark fortress. Exactly 40 years later, the museum received a new status - a museum-reserve. Today the museum has 6 more branches and 18 areas of exhibitions. And they continue to replenish.

In the Arch itself, among the museum’s exhibitions, travelers can see manuscripts, coins, and natural treasures of Bukhara. The summer residence of the emirs of Bukhara, located in the Sitorai Mohi-Khosa Palace, is today one of the branches of the State Architectural and Art Museum. Here travelers will find elements of applied art, dishes and household items of the Bukhara nobility. You can learn about the life, work and leisure of Bukharians of a later period - the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries - in the memorial house-museum of Fayzulla Khodjaev.

Literary exhibitions are presented in the Kukeldash madrasah - a rich collection of works by Aini, D. Ikrami and other writers of that time. On the territory of Nodir Devan-Begi, works of modern artisans of Bukhara are exhibited. In addition, you can also be present at their work and personally see the birth of another masterpiece of chased painting on dishes. You can also purchase these products directly at the museum.

The pride of the East, carpets, are exhibited in the Magoki-Attori Mosque. It contains works by masters of different times from the 18th to the 20th centuries. The unique products amaze the imagination, because the culture of weavers from Kazakhstan, Iran, Armenia, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan is collected here. Despite the similar oriental style of artisans, all carpets are unique. The different piles, patterns, and paints used conveyed to us the peculiarities of the craftsmen’s work.

Chashma-Ayub, a mausoleum in the old part of Bukhara, keeps within its walls the history of the city's water supply. The entire history of the region's water supply is presented in the exhibition of this branch; it tells about the difficulties that had to be overcome in order to obtain and preserve water, and how people solved this. Leather waterskins for transporting water, copper utensils, ceramic plumbing - all this is the historical heritage of Bukhara.

Madrasah of Ibrahim Okhund will shed light on the history of the city of Varakhsha, one of the richest cities of the period of the 16th-14th centuries BC. Fifty kilometers from Bukhara is the ancient settlement of Paikend. This place also hosts one of the branches of the Bukhara Museum, which tells the history of this ancient city. An iconic place known throughout the world as the birthplace of Avicenna, the village of Afshona, preserves the life story of the great scientist. In 1980, the Abu Ali ibn Sino Museum was opened here.

Zindan, a former prison of the 18th century, became a stronghold of legal proceedings in the 19th and 20th centuries. This part of history is also preserved in the museum. Not far from Chashma Ayub there is a modern museum building dedicated to the history of Imam al-Bukhari. In the Abdulazizkhan madrasah you can get acquainted with the creativity of artisans of the past. In the Ulugbek madrasah there is another part of the museum, telling about the history of restoration work of the city’s architectural monuments. For the most part it covers the period after the 20s of the last century. The history of blacksmithing can be seen in the Kulyut caravanserai museum, where you can even take part in the manufacture of products under the guidance of local blacksmiths.

All departments of the history museum help not only tourists, but also historians to study the peculiarities of everyday life, the lives of people in different time periods. Each branch is located where attractions related to the direction of the museum branch are located as close as possible. This allows you to plunge deeper into that era and get maximum information. However, to complete the picture, you will have to set aside a whole day to visit the Museum of the History of Bukhara.

However, the Canaan Travel team strongly recommends that you take your time on this excursion. What Bukhara will reveal to you is worth any time.