The raised palace
Over the town.
Bruce Allardice — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Berdiniyaz — CC BY 4.0 · Bgag — CC0 · Bgag — CC0 · dalbera from Paris, France — CC BY 2.0 · Bgag — CC0 · Stephanieadams99 — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hergit — CC BY-SA 3.0
The ruins of a palace city that was the capital of Khorezm in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE, probably founded by the Khorezmian king Artav in the 1st or 2nd century and lived in from the 1st to the 5th century CE. It belongs to the «oasis of fifty fortresses» of ancient Khorezm. A palace on a raised platform tops the city, with halls, storerooms and corridors of mudbrick still clearly traced around it, and views from the top over the walled town and the surrounding plain. The Chorasmian Expedition led by the archaeologist Sergey Tolstov excavated it from 1938, finding wall paintings of Zoroastrian deities, coins of the Kushan kings Vima Kadphises and Kanishka and of the Khorezmian king Artav, written archives, and statues now kept in the Hermitage. Visitors report a ticket of about 20,000 som, per visitor guides. There is no shade, so go in the morning; it is usually combined with Ayaz Kala on a day trip from Khiva.
Over the town.
And corridors.
From the top.
Ellikqala district, north of Khiva
Wall paintings of Zoroastrian deities, Kushan and Khorezmian coins, written archives and statues now in the Hermitage.