A small portion of the wall surrounding the main fortress of Bukhara (called an "ark" in Uzbek). This portion of the wall has been restored to the configuration it had in the mid-1850s. The site has been part of fortified Bukhara for more than 1,000 years.

Inside the Ark, the ground level is about 4 to 6 feet below the top of the wall, making it much easier for the defenders to take their positions. The Ark covers more than 20 acres, enclosing the palace, a mosque, workshops, quarters for soldiers and their horses, and still leaving many open courtyards.

During the mid-19th Century (1840s - 1860s) all of Central Asia was the prize of a relatively quiet imperialist struggle between Great Britain and Russia (later to be named "The Great Game). During that struggle two British military officers (one sent to spy and the other sent to learn what happened to the first) were captured and imprisoned in Bukhara. Both were eventually executed in one of the traditional manners - by throwing them off the Ark wall in a place where it is vertical (just to the right of the far wall in this photo). Great Britain eventually lost the Great Game to Russia, except it did manage to control what is now Afghanistan into the 20th Century.