Bukhara--a legend of a city

gorgeously tiled doorway to mosque

I've been really excited about seeing Bukhara since it is such a legendary city of great historical significance.  It was a key city along one branch of the Silk Road, but also a real center of learning for centuries and a crossroads for the many migrations to and fro across Central Asia.  Even though its old city walls have been mostly destroyed thanks to the Soviets who wanted to build roads in their place, it has so much history and so much to see.

what remains of the city walls

Today, Bukhara has a population of 300,000 people, mostly Uzbeks, but also Tajiks, Russians, Kazachs and others.  While Muslim, it is also secular.  I'll write about its economy and political status later, but for now, I'd like to focus on its past and its monuments.

Unlike Khiva, which is concentrated within the old city walls and very walkable, the great monuments of Bukhara are more scattered.  We drove to some of them and walked through the rest of the beautiful mosques, tombs, bazaars and madrassas which are not far from our hotel.

16th century madrassa

Mulberry trees are a very interesting feature of Bukhara.  They are, of course, critical to the silk industry since silk worms feed on mulberry trees.  The manufacture of silk was a mainstay of Bukhara's economy for many hundreds of years.   Here, there are gigantic, twisted trunks of trees dating back 700 years, most with only wisps of greenery still growing from the ancient trunks.  They are everywhere, lining the many reservoirs and most of the streets. 

700 year old mulberry tree

There are a few remaining remnants of Bukhara's city wall and a couple of the 12 original gates being restored.  But, it's all pretty fragmented, unfortunately.  Many of the city's most wonderful monuments have been cleaned and rebuilt where needed.  Salt creeps into foundations here just as it does in Khiva, a feature of alkaline and shallow groundwater and the surrounding desert.

Bukhara was one of the great centers of Islamic scholarship with many madrassas attracting students from all over the Muslim world.  It was also a center of Sufi Islam, the mystical and ascetic manifestation of Islam that both created animosity among traditional Sunni Muslims and guided the growth and development of the religion in Central Asia.

Bukhara's arg or fortress, mostly destroyed by Russian bombs

The Sufis believe in inner spirituality and reject material wealth.  They also accommodated the underlying religions of the region in their version of Islam, notably the Zoroastrian and even animist beliefs of the Central Asian tribes.  You can see elements of Zoroastrian (a very important religion in Central Asia), Buddhist and animist beliefs incorporated into the practice of Islam today, from the lighting of candles (Zoroastrians worshipped fire and light) to prayer flags to animist symbols.

The Sufis are probably a big reason for the rapid expansion of Islam in Central Asia because of their willingness to make the indigenous tribes comfortable with this new religion by incorporating parts of their traditional beliefs into the practice of Islam.  At least, this is what our guides told us.  Sufi scholars are revered, with many pilgrims visiting their tombs (no doubt more opulent than the ascetic Sufis would have wanted).

tile panel from madrassa

Bukhara was probably occupied as long ago as the third millennium BC and later was an important trading and religious center, with periods of destruction and decline, until the era of the Great Game between Britain and Russia in the 18th and 19th centuries.  It was a prominent Silk Road trading center in the early centuries AD, but fell into decline until the Samanid Empire (Persian) in 850 AD.  It had previously adopted Islam, but became a real center for Islamic scholarship in the 16th and 17th centuries, the period when many of its most beautiful monuments were built.

10th century Sasanid tomb

The city and the name continue to be a lure for those romantics among us who picture the great caravans of thousands of camels, loaded with silks, spices, carpets, foods, metal goods of all kinds, gems and more.  But, its history also included plenty of mayhem, brutality, slaughter and slavery.  The stories of this region cross back and forth between beauty and learning and pure savagery.