Ancient and Unique Uzbekistan: The Fergana Region I

The welcome courtyard is an integral part of the complex. In this courtyard, the ceremony of greeting the Bukharian rulers took place. Until the beginning of 1920, visitors entered the welcome courtyard through the throne room. Entering the courtyard, those who introduced themselves to the emir stopped in anticipation of the reception. Every day, 300-400 people came to the greeting ceremony.
The Stable Yard is also part of the complex. In this courtyard there were 15-20 horses, 4 of them were riding horses, which were ridden by the emir, 8 racehorses, and 8 pack horses for transporting camping luggage. It was a train of horses that constantly accompanied the emir on the way, which belonged to his rikob. “Ricob” is the immediate retinue that accompanied the emir during his travels. In this courtyard there was a two-story building “mirzakhona”, that is, the office, there was also a storeroom basement where all kinds of valuables and carpets, various palace utensils were kept, as well as a “nagarakhona” where the drummers of the palace were located. At the right time, they gathered people in the main square of the city in front of the palace.

The Museum of the History of Carpet Weaving. This photo is courtesy of the Head Department of Tourism and Sports of Bukhara Region of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The Museum of the History of Carpet Weaving was opened in 1991 on the territory of the ancient mosque of Bukhara Magoki Attori (XII-XVI centuries).
The Museum of the History of Carpet Weaving was opened in 1991 on the territory of the most ancient mosque in Bukhara, Magoki Attori (XII-XVI centuries), which is located in the center of Bukhara to the west of the famous Lyabi Hauz square.
Its construction in 714 is associated with the name of the Arab sheik, governor of Khorasan, Kuteiba ibn Muslim – one of the first who brought Islam to the territory of Central Asia. Even before the arrival of the Arabs in Bukhara, a bazaar was located on the site of the mosque, where, before the establishment of Islam here, they sold Zoroastrian idols, medicinal herbs, and spices – attoron. And that’s why in the beginning this place was called Bozori Attoron. The cult Zoroastrian temple of the Moon was also located here.
So as not to drown out the history of the area, the mosque built on the site of the destroyed Zoroastrian temple was named Magoki Attori.
During its long history, the Magoki Mosque has experienced several major fires and has been reconstructed more than once. The last construction took place at the beginning of the 12th century.
In 1541, the Bukhara khan Abdulazizkhan wanted to demolish the mosque, since by that time it was heavily sunk into the ground, and the front part of the portal was partially destroyed. But this was prevented by the leader of the Naqshbandi Sufi order, Sheikh Mahmudi Azam.

The Museum of the History of Carpet Weaving in the Magoki Attori Mosque. This photo is courtesy of the Head Department of Tourism and Sports of Bukhara Region of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
In the early Middle Ages, the ancient Moh bazaar was also located here. In the 1930s, scientists excavated and discovered the remains of carved decor and foundations from the 10th century. The southern portal of the mosque with unique blue ornaments and carved majolica was dug under a layer of soil.
Later, during the late Middle Ages, Magoki Attori served as a quarter mosque with an entrance facing Lyabi Khauz. Today, the lower portal in the form of an arch, decorated with stalactites, has survived from the facade of the ancient mosque.

The Magoki Attori Mosque. This photo is courtesy of the Head Department of Tourism and Sports of Bukhara Region of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan.
The double quarter columns on the sides of the portal are an echo of the pre-Islamic era, and the decorative trim of five carved clay slabs with exquisite compositions in the form of graceful ornamentation speaks of the power and grandeur of the Islamic world on this land.
Today, the Magoki Attori Mosque is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the historical center of Bukhara and keeps in its depths the beauty of carpet products, which this ancient city is happy to show to anyone who wishes.
The exposition presents all types of traditional carpet weaving, as well as the kilim and shirdak rugs of the Central Asian peoples.
In the 19th-20th centuries, carpet products of the Uzbek tribes Mitan, Yuz, Kurama, and Naiman gained great popularity in Central Asia.
The origins of carpet weaving in Central Asia date back to about the III-II centuries BC. The traditions of carpet weaving in the Bukhara oasis have been passed down from generation to generation and have been improved over the centuries.
The museum collection consists of more than a hundred samples of carpet products used in the everyday life of the peoples of Uzbekistan. The collection is subdivided into carpet types: pile carpets – “gilam”, high-pile carpets – “julhirs” and felt carpet products, various in technique and color.
The collection of carpets of the Bukhara Museum-Reserve is represented by the schools Bashir, Kizil-Shchek, Tekke, Yomud, Salor, Ersari, which are replete with Bukhara motives. Carpets, rugs, saddlebags, prayer carpets, grain storage bags, and other items of the museum collection are woven from woolen and cotton fabrics. Art traditions influenced the style of products, and this was manifested in the construction of ornamental patterns. This includes tribal symbols, heraldic compositions of animals and birds, geometric motifs of “girih”, which includes such elements as hexagons, circular rosettes, and lattice patterns.
If our travelers are interested in the life of the native Bukhara people, we can invite them to visit the House of a Bukhara merchant of the late 19th – early 20th centuries.
The house, built in the traditional Bukhara style, is a wonderful example of urban residential architecture of the 19th century with a unique design – magnificent carvings and paintings on wood and alabaster.
At present, the house is a museum, on the territory of which there is a beautiful garden complex, as well as the male and female parts of the house, where the color of the interior of the rich houses of Bukhara of the late 19th and early 20th centuries is recreated.
The following exhibitions are located in the house museum:
– “Life and traditions of the Bukhara home. Life of the Bukhara merchants of the XIX-XX centuries.” In this composition, the flavor of the merchant life of Bukhara is recreated, the clothes of wealthy citizens, furniture, dishes, and other household items of a rich house are presented.
– “The life and work of F. Khodzhaev (1896-1938) – statesman and public figure”
– “Kitchen of the House of a Rich Merchant”, “Tea Ceremony”
– “The fate of women in the house of the Khodjaevs”
The expositions include porcelain from the Russian factories of Gardner and Kuznetsov (XIX century), copper and silver dishes, oriental musical instruments, silk, and velvet clothing (XIX-XX centuries), watches of the famous watch brands “Pavel Bure”, “Mauser”, “Becker”, “L. H. Lodz”, “M. P. Kalashnikov and Son”, “Zim” of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The House of a Bukhara merchanti. This photo is courtesy of the Head Department of Tourism and Sports of Bukhara Region of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Uzbekistan.