Promise me, when you go to Bukhara, you must set aside 2h for this stunning summer palace

The Emir's Summer Palace is the only attraction in Bukhara that requires a taxi ride, but it's not far, just over 10 minutes by car. After getting tired of the monotonous style of Uzbekistan's mosques, coming here will feel like a breath of fresh air. However, at first glance, the courtyard of the summer palace still looks somewhat dilapidated, probably due to the lack of management funds, but this last Emir's summer palace still has a gorgeous exterior.

It is said that before building the palace, the Emir of Bukhara racked his brains over the choice of location. Following the advice of an elder, the Emir ordered the killing of four sheep and hung the meat in four different directions of the city. After a while, the meat in the other directions had rotted, but the meat hung in the north of the city remained fresh. The Emir believed that the air was fresher there, and thus chose the north of the city as the site for the palace.

The Emir's Summer Palace is divided into two parts, the old palace is called the Abdulla Khan Palace, built in 1892 in the traditional Bukhara architectural style. The new palace is called the Said Alim Khan Palace, which combines European and Central Asian styles, built in 1917, including some lavishly decorated living rooms and halls, built by the best craftsmen of Bukhara.

Overall, after visiting the Emir's Summer Palace, I still feel that both the old and new palaces are relatively small in scale, and not at all comparable to the Summer Palace in Saint Petersburg. The interior decoration blends traditional YSL religious patterns with European court decoration styles, with a lot of colorful glass decorations on the ceilings and walls, but it looks rather vulgar and is far from the splendor of Russia.

Apart from the palace building itself, the summer palace also includes a large garden with fountains and ponds, which I think is the best spot for taking photos at the Emir's Summer Palace.

Lastly, some details: inside the summer palace, I also found some 19th-century porcelain from China and Japan, along with peacocks strolling around the garden, which is quite a mix. But it also highlights Bukhara's once important position on the Silk Road, a shining pearl on the trade route that connected Eastern and Western civilizations.

🏞️Name | Emir's Summer Palace Sitorai Mahi Khosa
🎫Ticket | 40000 Sum
⛳Address | Buxoro shahri, Moxi Xosa daxasi, shifokorlar ko’chasi 1-uy, Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Post by caeryn_6476 | Apr 10, 2024