Up early today to see a lot more sites in Bukhara (and maybe beat the heat – NOT).  AC in the room didn’t work last night – I think we got the room cooled down to 85 degrees.  We were ready to face the 104 degree day today!

First stop was the the Ark of Bukhara.  The Ark was initially built and occupied around the 5th century AD. In addition to being a military structure, the Ark was essentially a town that, during much of the fortress’s history, was inhabited by the various royal courts that ruled over the region surrounding Bukhara. The Ark was used as a fortress until it fell to Russia in 1920.  It currently houses museums covering the Ark’s history. The museums and other restored areas include an archaeological museum, the throne room, the reception and coronation court, a local history museum, and the court mosque.

Just across the street from the Ark is the Bukhara Tower (originally named the Shukhov Tower) and the beautiful Bolo Hauz Mosque.  The Bukhara Tower was originally built as a water tower in 1929.  The water tower burned in 1968, was abandoned, but an elevator was added the 1990’s and it became an observation tower until the elevator failed.  In 2018 the tower was reopened with the help of some French investments and was renamed the Bukhara Tower.

The Bolo Hauz Mosque was built in 1712 and was used as a Friday mosque when the Emir of Bukhara was subjugated under Bolshevik rule in the 1920s.  The columns made of painted wood were added to the frontal part of the entrance in 1917, supporting the bulged roof of summer prayer room.