Kunya Ark (17th to 19th centuries) - [ Ichan-Kala ][ PHOTO ]

The old fortress is adjoins the western side of Ichan-Kala city walls with hermit Ak-shikh-bobo cell in one of its sections. Ichan-Kala barrow got its name in the 30's of the 19th century after the construction of the "new palace" Tash Khauli. Construction of Kunya Ark was initiated in 1686-1688 by Anushakhan's son Aranghkhan. By the end of the 18th century Kunya Ark became "a town within a town" and was separated from Ichan-Kala with a high wall. It housed a fortress, khan's residence, supreme court, powder factory, arsenal, mint, kurinyshkhana (khan's reception office), winter and summer mosques, divan registry, harem, kitchens, stables, guardroom, arena for ram fights, etc. The now existing Kunya Ark complex was rebuilt at the beginning of the 19th century. There was a single gate giving access to Kunya Ark placed in the eastern wall. The gate is 13 by 8.5 meters and 5.8 meters high (the remaining part). The square near the entrance to Kunya Ark was used for military parades and field training. There was also a special place for executing criminals and a zindan (prison) adjoining the eastern walls of Kunya Ark. Copper cannons guarded the entrance to the palace. Only a few groups of structures are left from the densely placed build-ings in the Kunya Ark territory: the eastern gate with guardrooms; Aq shikh Bobo ayvan; kurinyshkhana - a yard for honorable receptions and registry; the mint with the summer and winter mosques, and the harem. Aq Shikh Bobo or Aq Sheikd Bobo ayvan initially served as a hujra where saint Aq Shikh Bobo, sheikh Mukhtar Vali's mentor, lived, and was used later as a watchtower and storage place for powder. The barrow foundation is about 60 by 40 meters. The first kurinyshkhana building was constructed in 1686-1688 by Aranghkhan and destroyed in the middle of the l8th century during Iranian invasion. The modern building was erected in 1804-1806 by Iltuzarkhan. Kurinyshkhana ayvan was tiled with majolica during the rule of Allah Kuli Khan. The kurinyshkhana includes an open space of the yard, semi-open ayvan and enclosed rooms of the throne hall and side rooms as well as structures in the western part of the yard (the khan's treasury, manuscripts storage room, recreation rooms). In the middle of the yard is a round elevation where a yurt was set up for the khan to receive envoys of nomadic neighbors. The khan's throne stood at the southern wall of the throne hall; the throne is now exhibited in the Armory Museum in Moscow. It was made of wood and covered with sheet silver with delicate engraved ornament in 1816 by Khiva's craftsman Muhammad. Dimensions: total: 28 x 27 m; yard: 13.5 x 17.5 m; ayvan: 5 x 10 m; throne hall: 4 x 10 m; suga: 6.3 m. Kunya Ark harem was built during the rule of Muhammad Rahimkhan II after the kurinyshkhana and mint were completed. It is located in the northern part of Kunya Ark. The yard is strongly elongated from the west to the east and built up with residential structures in the south consisting of a one-column couplet ayvan and one- or two-storey rooms behind it, the rooms adjoining the ayvan back wall with their long sides. The khan's residence is larger than the three rooms for his wives. Total dimen-sions are 33 x 62 m; yard: 14.5 x 50 m. The Mint was established during the rule of Muhammad Rahimkhan I. It was built together with the summer and winter mosques grouped around a small yard. Dimensions: total: 34 x 23 m; yard: 16 x 13 m; summer mosque: 7.4 x 13 m; winter mosque: 12.5 x 12.5 m; mint: 14 x 17 m.

Tash Khauli Palace (1830-1838) - [ Ichan-Kala ][ PHOTO ]

The Palace is located in the eastern part of Khiva and was built by Allah Kuli Khan. Construction of the palace took about eight years from 1830 till 1838. First, harem living quarters - was built, then the mikhmankhana - a place for official receptions followed, and the last to be erected was the arzkhona, the courtroom. Munis wrote a story telling that the best architect of those times was impaled because he refused to finish the construction within two years. It took Usta Kalandar Khivaqi another 8 years to complete the palace after that. One can get to the spacious harem yard through a small tambour. The yard is a rectangle elongated from the west to the east. Its southern side is occupied with small ayvans four of which were given to the khan's wives (according to Shariat, a man could not have more than four wives) while the fifth, eastern and more richly decorated ayvan served as the living residence for the Khan himself. There is a living room (saray) in every ayvan with a room for servants provided. The rest of the yard territory is divided into two floors and belonged to the khan's relatives and the servants. The harem is organized in accordance with the traditional design of the women's half (ichan-khauli) of an old Khorezm manor. Some features of a defensive fortress can also be found in the complicated design of the palace, as if reflecting secluded character of the harem inhabitants. At the second stage of the construction, the mikhmankhana (ishrat khauli) was built. One can get to it from the harem passing a long corridor and small auxiliary structures. A square yard with a round sufa for the yurt is completely surrounded by rooms and ayvans. The southern ayvan where the court ceremonies and reception of envoys took place occupies the prime place in the yard. The majolica-decorated mikhmankhana ayvans with bright painted ceilings and small towers on the sides resemble a theatre interior full of ceremonial character and solemnity. The arzkhana (courtroom) is located in the southwestern part of Tash Khauli. It is twice as large as the mikhmankhana. The reason is that two gates in the western wall were erected as a single complex as well as yards with angular passages and auxiliary rooms. Like the mikhmankhana, the arzkhana is decorated with majolica tiles. The work had been done by a famous craftsman Abdullah the Genius, who got this nickname for his magic art. This craftsman decorated all yards of Tash Khauli. The period of Allah Kuli Khan is characterized with the khan's strong power, successful international policy, and progress in trade with Russia. As a result, it became possible to give the building a richer decoration. The residential palace of Allah Kuli Khan, one of Khiva khans, is the most out-standing architectural object of the 19th century. Little restoration work did not alter its peculiar character, and it is duly considered to be a museum of Khiva's monumental architecture of those times. Dimensions: total: 80 x 80 m; harem: 80 x 42 m; harem yard: 49 x 15 m; mikhmankhana: 43 x 36.5 m; arzkhana: 35 x 40 m.

The Khan's summer residence located in the northern part of Khiva was built by Yafandiyarkhan at the beginning of the 20th century. To build this residence, Yafandiyarkhan bought 30 tanaps of land from Abdukadyr Tura, 11 tanaps of Safarbergan Palace lands as well as gardens of Yakhshimuradbay and Rahmanbergen palaces. At present the building houses a medical center owned by Khiva Guilami joint-stock Company.

The House was built by the first Uzbek cameraman and photographer Khudaybergan Divanov. The house consists of several rooms with three big and one small ayvans. One of the rooms was used as a photo laboratory. Khudaybergan Devanov and his family lived in this house. There was a small garden in the house north-western part. Presently it is Khudaybergan Devanov's museum.

Summer residence of Muhammad Rahimkhan II, was built in 1897. The palace complex is located 2 kilometers south-west of the city and occupies the territory within residential area of 0.5 hectares. Kibla Tozabag consists of three differently sized yards with two-storey living houses behind tall ayvans and services built around the perimeter. The front yard in a single complex with a big khauz (presently, a fountain) in the middle and flowerbeds includes reception halls with large European-style windows. Besides, the summer residence comprises winter and summer mosques, madrasah, school, stable and mill. Kibla Tozabag is completely surrounded by a garden. Next to it (in the southern part) is another summer residence built by Yafandiyarkhan's prime-minister Sayyid Islam Khodja. Both complexes are made of baked bricks in European style, the walls are decorated with gilded and painted ganch carvings. Wide and convenient doors were made by the German Mennonites craftsmen that arrived to Khiva from Russia. Total dimensions are 50 by 123 m.

Karvanbashi (Bakkalov) had two houses - summer and winter residences, both built in 1910. During Isfandiyarkhan's rule Matvafo Karvanbashi served as karvanbashi and later became the minister of trade. The winter house was in Kalantarov Street, north of Bikasjan Bika Madrasah. Matvafo Karvanbashi spent winter time in this two-storied carcass-type house. During the summer he stayed in the summerhouse located in N.Kurbo Street. In 1920-1924 the Embassy of RSFSR in Khorezm was residing in Matvafo Karvanbashi's summer house. In the other part of the summer house the first pedagogical institution for women in Khiva was opened in 1922. Presently the house is occupied by the Kamolot Youth Association.

The palace is located in Mustakillik Street. Khiva's Khan Muhammad Rahimkhan (Feruz) who visited Saint-Petersburg few times to be received by the Russian Tzar, started in 1906 the construction of a big palace in semi-European style for his son Isfandiyar Tura in the garden bearing his name. The palace consists of four parts; there are more than 100 rooms, galleries, guardrooms, stables, rooms for servants and a harem. The entire palace is surrounded with a fortress-like dead-brick wall with teeth and buttresses; the entrance portal is located in the southern part. Isfandiyarkhan who occupied the throne (1910-1918) after the death of Muhammad Rahimknam (Feruz) gave an order to build a reception office next to Nurullabay Palace but the chief vizier opposed the construction because at that time, due to the shortage of money in the treasury, the construction of hospital, post office and telegraph were delayed. Nevertheless, the khan assigned his alumnus Rahmanbergam Mahram with the construction supervision, and the building was completed in the shortest terms possible - by the year 1912. 70,000 tillo from the treasury were spent on construction work. Isfandiyarkhan's reception office consists of seven rooms: waiting room, reception, throne room, banquet room and three living rooms. On palace completion Tzar Nikolay II of Russia presented two chandeliers and a small power station. Seven fireplaces were built to heat the palace. Parquet boards covering the reception floor were delivered from Saint-Petersburg. The arzkhana is located in the southeastern corner of the complex; unlike the palace, it has no regular geometric shape and is built as a one-sided terraced pavilion, which sets off a corner of the city streets crossing. Auxiliary rooms, mostly two-sided, are interconnected with inner corridors and separated from the street with simple walls with window openings; the facades facing the inner yard formed by the reception building and Nurullabay Palace are hidden by a long corner ayvan with carved columns characteristic for Khiva. Dimensions: total: 186 x 143 m; reception: 27 x 32 m; arzkhana: 82 x 71 m; palace: 87 x 65 m; palace walls height: 7.5 m.

The complex is located in the kishlak Angarik, Khiva district; it was built by Allah Kuli Khan in 1842. The palace consisted of several houses and was surrounded by gardens. Russian Ambassador Danilevsky who visited Khiva in 1842 lived in this house together with his escort; here they signed an agreement on trade relations between Russia and the Khiva Khanate. The garden was preserved till the present; there is also a khauz and a few restored houses.

Built in 18th and 19th centuries is considered to be one of the country palaces of Khiva Khans. Chadra Khauli is the unique sample of the lost type of mono-chamber construction with the tower made from clay blocks. The stable and storage rooms are on the 1st floor, on the 2nd and 3rd floors lay lodgings, each with their own ayvans, partitioned off from the lady's lodgings on the 4th floor. Chadira Khauli is surrounded with gardens. Dimensions: total: 16.5 x 7.7 m.; height: up to 30 m.

The residence was built in 1910 in semi-European style as a summer house for Isfandiyarkhan's prime-minister. Islam Khodja received ambassadors from Russia and other countries in this residence. Presently it houses Museum of the History of Agriculture and Health Center for college students. Islam Khodja residence occupied the territory of 1.24 acres next to Kibla Tozabag.