Aerial view with Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum
and Kalta Minor Minaret. Khiva, Uzbekistan.

 

 

Monuments were continually erected in Khiva, a testimony to its artistic genius. Between 1804 and 1812, the Hodjam-berdi-biya Madrasah and the Kutlug Murad Inak Madrasah were built. In 1806, a long gallery to the Palvan-Darvaza gates was realised, sheltering the commercial places under its numerous cupolas. In the middle of the 19th century, that was the beating heart of the city.

 

Islam Khoja erected the highest minaret in Khiva. Fifty meters tall, it entirely dominated Itchan Kala, its numerous monumental buildings and its isolated edifices. This architectural unity gives it an archaeological status practically unique in the art of Central Asia. Other parts of Khiva, such as Disham-Kala, are embellished by pools and greenery. Private constructions, reinforced by a long tradition, retain their characteristics: columns, struts, doors, and other pieces of wood are often decorated with magnificent sculpture. Anxious to develop the ability of their ancestors, craftsmen and artists of Khiva carried on to make it useful and to perpetuate it.