Viewing platform
Khiva's highest point.
Fabio Achilli from Milano, Italy — CC BY 2.0 · Bgag — CC0 · LBM1948 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Patrickringgenberg — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Panpanchik — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Davide Mauro — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Fulvio — CC BY 2.0 · Nassima Chahboun — CC BY-SA 4.0
Khiva's tallest minaret, about 57 metres including its base, built in 1908-1910 on the orders of Islam Khoja, grand vizier of the Khiva Khanate under Muhammad Rakhim Khan II and his son Isfandiyar Khan. The ensemble pairs Khiva's smallest madrasa with its tallest minaret, a deliberate architectural contrast. The minaret is wrapped in alternating bands of brick and turquoise and white tiles, tapering as it rises to its lantern. Visitors climb a narrow, steep spiral stair to the viewing platform at about 45 metres, the highest viewpoint in Khiva, where all of Itchan Kala spreads out, walls, domes and minarets, with the desert beyond. The climb costs about 100,000 som extra on top of the combined ticket, per visitor guides. The stair is narrow and dark, not for the claustrophobic, and late afternoon is the best time.
Khiva's highest point.
Turquoise and white.
Desert beyond.
Southeast Itchan Kala, Khiva
Pahlavan Mahmud MausoleumThe tomb of Khiva's patron saint and its most sacred place for locals: Pahlavan 1 minute walk4.6
Juma Mosque, KhivaOne of Itchan Kala's principal monuments, in its middle on the road between the 1 minute walk4.6
Ak Mosque (Khiva)The Ak Mosque (Oq masjid in Uzbek, the White Mosque) is a small neighbourhood mo2 minutes walk
Itchan Kala, Khiva's walled cityThe walled inner town of Khiva, a World Heritage Site since 1990. It holds more 2 minutes walk4.8
Sayid Allauddin Mausoleum (Khiva)The mausoleum of Sayid Allauddin, a Sufi sheikh of Khorezm who died in 1303, is 2 minutes walkYes, for about 100,000 som extra per visitor guides, up a narrow spiral stair to a platform about 45 metres up.