The Ark is Bukhara's oldest structure and its original core: archaeologists have found layers more than fifteen hundred years old beneath its walls. For most of its history the fortress was a city within a city: emirs lived here with courts of up to three thousand people, alongside a mint, an arsenal, a prison and a chancellery — while an ordinary Bukharan might never once set foot inside.
Residence of the Emirs of Bukhara
The ramp through the entrance gate leads up to the Kurinysh-khana coronation courtyard, where new emirs were raised on white felt. The Friday mosque, the stable yard and the royal quarters survive, now housing museums that range from archaeology to calligraphy. The viewing platform on the wall offers the best panorama of the Po-i-Kalyan ensemble.
The present walls are only part of the former stronghold: in 1920 the Ark was badly damaged in the Red Army assault, and its western half remains an archaeological field to this day.
Guide's tip: buy the ticket that covers all the museums and step out onto the wall towards sunset, when the clay city below turns honey-gold. Costumed photographers work by the gate with vintage props — bargain boldly.