The pool
Under mulberries.
Arina Pan — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Dave Proffer — CC BY 2.0 · Myu471 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Mario J. Schwaiger — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Spartak22 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Allan Grey — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Faqscl — CC BY-SA 3.0
The square around one of Bukhara's few surviving pools, whose name means «by the pool». Such pools were the city's main water supply until the Soviet period, but they spread disease and most were filled in during the 1920s and 1930s. This one survived because it is the centrepiece of a magnificent 16th-17th-century ensemble that has hardly changed since. It is framed on three sides by the Kukeldash Madrasa (1568-1569), the city's largest, to the north, and by a khanaqah (1620) and madrasa (1622) built by Nadir Divan-Beghi to the west and east. Old mulberry trees shade the pool, and cafés and restaurants line it under the trees, making it where locals and visitors meet in the evening, with the madrasas' lights reflected in the water. The Nadir Divan-Beghi Madrasa's portal shows two mythical simurgh birds carrying white deer. Walking the square is free; some madrasas open for a small fee or hold craft shops. It is close to the old trading domes and at its best in the evening.
Under mulberries.
Bukhara's largest madrasa.
Cafés by the water.
Centre of old Bukhara
Nadir Divan-Begi Madrasa (Bukhara)A madrasa on the east side of Lyabi-Hauz in old Bukhara, built in 1622–1623 by N1 minute walk
Kukeldash Madrasa (Bukhara)Bukhara's largest madrasa, often called the largest in Central Asia, fills the n1 minute walk
Magoki Attari MosqueOne of the oldest surviving mosques in Central Asia and one of the few buildings3 minutes walk4.1
Abdulaziz Khan MadrasaA madrasa built by Abdulaziz Khan (1614-1683) in 1652-1654, facing the Ulugbek M5 minutes walk4.5
Ulugbek Madrasa, BukharaThe oldest surviving madrasa in Central Asia, built by Timur's grandson Ulugh Be6 minutes walk4.5A square around a historic pool in central Bukhara, framed by the Kukeldash Madrasa and Nadir Divan-Beghi's khanaqah and madrasa, the city's evening meeting place.