A holy Silk Road city of mosques and madrasas
Bukhara was for centuries a great centre of Islamic learning and trade, and its old town is still a living city of mosques, madrasas and covered bazaars. The Kalyan Minaret, built in 1127, so impressed Genghis Khan that he is said to have spared it. The Ark, a massive fortress, was home to the emirs, and the Samanid Mausoleum is a small masterpiece of patterned brick more than a thousand years old. In the evening, life gathers around Lyab-i Hauz, a pool shaded by mulberry trees.