On our journey around Central Asia, we visited Kokand, one of Uzbekistan’s most ancient cities. It was an important trade center on the Silk Road until the 13th century when it was destroyed by the Mongols, but then in the 18th century, it became the capital of the wealthy Kokand Khanate.
We visited several sites.
Khudoyar-Khan Palace was the residence of the last and most famous Kokand Khan. It was a grand affair and built in the Central Asian traditional architectural style with a high portal in the middle and a large entrance arch. There were four minarets: two flanking the arch and two at the outer ends which had different shapes and designs as they had been built by two separate craftsman. The entire front was adorned with colourful tiling covering every inch, whilst inside we found similarly ornate painted ceilings and walls. Now housing the Kokand Regional Studies Museum, there was an eclectic collection of artifacts tracing the city’s history.
We delayed our sightseeing with lunch as Friday prayers were about to take place when many roads are closed temporarily because the mosques cannot cope with the volume of worshippers, and prayer mats are put down in the road. Having enjoyed a light bite and respite from the heat, we found the non-functioning Jami Mosque with its forest of 98 wooden columns, some topped with ornate muqarnas decoration, also known as stalactites because of their distinctive design. The landscaped gardens and lawns had a free-standing 22m tall minaret in the middle.
Confusion then set in: maybe it was due to temperatures of 35 degrees plus, which was even making our local guide flag, or perhaps it was because by this stage in our trip, we’d already visited several Silk Road cities with their various mosques, mausoleums minarets and madrassas. Or maybe it was due to the more legitimate reason that the next few sites were closely located.
However, we think this is what we visited:
The Narbu-Tabey Madrassa with two turquoise domes either side of the tiled and brick arch, which in the 19th century was one of the largest educational centres in Kokand, and still has around 80 students.
The Madari Khan Mausoleum, with similar tile work and a single turquoise dome, built for the mother of Umar, the Khan of Kokand from 1810 which had a cemetery behind.
The Damoi Shakhon Burial Vault with the graves of the various Kokand Khans.
Hopefully, you can see why we were confused, and we couldn’t wait to arrive at our hotel and enjoy a cold beer.
