Uz-Khiva

Khiva is currently celebrating its "2,500th Anniversary" as a city. While it has had its highs and lows, archeological evidence supports the city's claim. Khiva is in the lower basin of the Syr Darya river - one of the largest in Central Asia, flowing from the mountains in Tajikistan to the Aral Sea. Over the centuries, the river's waters have been diverted into a network of irrigation canals. The area around Khiva and along the river is literally an extended oasis in the middle of the desert that runs from the Mediterranean Sea into western China and Mongolia. The area has been relatively densely populated for thousands of years.

The photo above shows one of the main gates into the walled "old city" of Khiva, and a courtyard just outside the walls dedicated to Al-Khorezmi (a pseudonym), a local, but well-known, poet who was born about the time of the American Revolution and therefore relatively modern.
Due to its location and abundant water, Khiva has been both a trading center along the ancient "Silk Road" between China and Europe, and a key site in the periodic invasions rolling across Asia from prehistoric times. Both the trade and the wars were facilitated by the camel, like the one on the right. Note that the Central Asian camel has two humps. The more-familiar one-humped found in the Middle East and Africa is really a "dromedary".

As with any city, there must be some burial place. At times it was considered a great honor to be entombed inside the city's walls. The tombs of Khiva are quite different than a U.S. cemetary. A rather large area is covered (not a surprise considering the city's age), but the area does not look much different than other parts of the city.

During one period of history (late 10th Century through 11th Century) Khiva was a center of learning unrivaled in the world. One Khiva scholar from that time, Abu ali Hussein ibn Abdullah ibn Sino, came to be known in Europe as "Avicenna". His books on natural sciences, medicine, and other subjects were major resources for the new learning that lifted Europe out of its centuries-long "Dark Ages".
Some of the columns in the picture to the rights have been scientifically determined to be around 1000 years old - perhaps they were decorating a gallery where Avicenna studied.

The towers that decorate many walls, or cap buildings in Khiva are constructed and decorated in styles typical in Islamic Central Asia and the Middle East. Though the city is thousands of years old, it has been destroyed, in whole or part, many times. Almost all the the buildings currently standing were constructed in the past 300 - 500 years, thus the Islamic influence.

Every Islamic city has at least one minaret. It is a source of pride to have a very tall, and very ornate one, such as this. Most larger towns and cities have many. Some are mostly functional, intended to allow the call to prayer to be heard across the city (before the age of electronic speakers). But sometimes there are a number that were built more to demonstrate the builder's wealth and artistic taste. On Khiva ruler started a minaret that would have been much taller and more ornate than this, but he died too soon and his successors were not interested in finishing it. It now looks mostly like a big, blue-tiled storage silo.

Of course no matter where one lives, eating is necessary. Bread is common throughout the world, although in many different shapes and tastes. This is a traditional bread oven in this part of the world. If one looks closely, one can see that this one is not just for looks. Many houses in Khiva have a similar oven - usually in front near the street. The bread produced is quite good.

Khiva is currently celebrating its "2,500th Anniversary" as a city. While it has had its highs and lows, archeological evidence supports the city's claim. Khiva is in the lower basin of the Syr Darya river - one of the largest in Central Asia, flowing from the mountains in Tajikistan to the Aral Sea. Over the centuries, the river's waters have been diverted into a network of irrigation canals. The area around Khiva and along the river is literally an extended oasis in the middle of the desert that runs from the Mediterranean Sea into western China and Mongolia. The area has been relatively densely populated for thousands of years.

The photo above shows one of the main gates into the walled "old city" of Khiva, and a courtyard just outside the walls dedicated to Al-Khorezmi (a pseudonym), a local, but well-known, poet who was born about the time of the American Revolution and therefore relatively modern. Due to its location and abundant water, Khiva has been both a trading center along the ancient "Silk Road" between China and Europe, and a key site in the periodic invasions rolling across Asia from prehistoric times. Both the trade and the wars were facilitated by the camel, like the one on the right. Note that the Central Asian camel has two humps. The more-familiar one-humped found in the Middle East and Africa is really a "dromedary".
	As with any city, there must be some burial place. At times it was considered a great honor to be entombed inside the city's walls. The tombs of Khiva are quite different than a U.S. cemetary. A rather large area is covered (not a surprise considering the city's age), but the area does not look much different than other parts of the city.
During one period of history (late 10th Century through 11th Century) Khiva was a center of learning unrivaled in the world. One Khiva scholar from that time, Abu ali Hussein ibn Abdullah ibn Sino, came to be known in Europe as "Avicenna". His books on natural sciences, medicine, and other subjects were major resources for the new learning that lifted Europe out of its centuries-long "Dark Ages". Some of the columns in the picture to the rights have been scientifically determined to be around 1000 years old - perhaps they were decorating a gallery where Avicenna studied.
The towers that decorate many walls, or cap buildings in Khiva are constructed and decorated in styles typical in Islamic Central Asia and the Middle East. Though the city is thousands of years old, it has been destroyed, in whole or part, many times. Almost all the the buildings currently standing were constructed in the past 300 - 500 years, thus the Islamic influence. Every Islamic city has at least one minaret. It is a source of pride to have a very tall, and very ornate one, such as this. Most larger towns and cities have many. Some are mostly functional, intended to allow the call to prayer to be heard across the city (before the age of electronic speakers). But sometimes there are a number that were built more to demonstrate the builder's wealth and artistic taste. On Khiva ruler started a minaret that would have been much taller and more ornate than this, but he died too soon and his successors were not interested in finishing it. It now looks mostly like a big, blue-tiled storage silo.

	Of course no matter where one lives, eating is necessary. Bread is common throughout the world, although in many different shapes and tastes. This is a traditional bread oven in this part of the world. If one looks closely, one can see that this one is not just for looks. Many houses in Khiva have a similar oven - usually in front near the street. The bread produced is quite good.