Destination 》Asia 》Central Asia 》Uzbekistan 》Khiva
Year Visited: 2019 – September
I visited Khiva during my 3+ weeks backpacking trip across Uzbekistan. After wandering around in narrow streets of Bukhara old town for 4 days, I took a train to arrive in Khiva. I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time! Raqs Sehri (Magic of Dance), The 4th International Dance Festival was happening the same time I was in Khiva.
Khiva was famous for its long and brutal history as a slave trading post along the Silk Road. You will find the walled old city (Itchan Kala) is an open-air living museum of Islamic architecture, delightful labyrinth of narrow mud-walled alleyways and spectacular blue mosaics built over the span of 600 year. Khiva is one of the three iconic Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan, other two must visit ancient cities are Samarkand and Bukhara.
Kalta Minor, this unfinished minaret is an iconic symbol of Khiva, mainly because of it’s exquisite blue, green, and turquoise tile work. It was commissioned in 1851 by the ruler of Khiva, as an architectural marvel intended to rise over 70 meters, supposedly high enough to see Bukhara, 400 km east.
Islam Khoja Minaret, was built in 1908 using the same methods as the much older Kalyan minarets of Bukhara. Its height of 45 m meant, it could be used as a military watchtower as well as a guide, like a lighthouse for caravans crossing the Kyzyl Kum desert in search of their next stopping place.
I was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time! Raqs Sehri (Magic of Dance), The 4th International Dance Festival was happening the same time I was in Khiva. Enjoy stunning photos of Raqs Sehri (Magic of Dance), the 4th International Dance Festival
After wandering around labyrinth of narrow mud-walled alleyways of ancient town of Khiva (Itchan Kala) for 4 days and experiencing festive atmosphere during Raqs Sehri, I took an overnight train to the capital city of Tashkent.
Window on the World 