THE POY KALON SET. POY KALON, OR "FOOT OF THE GREAT"

It is probably the most beautiful place in the city, and in any case the most monumental. The Mir-i-Arab madrasas faces the immense Kalon mosque and its terrible minaret, «the tower of death». Many historical films have been filmed in these places, and even if the cavaliers of Mohamed Chaybani Khan are not there every day, the students of la and pilgrims who go to the mosque take charge of the atmosphere.

Kalon minaret. Five times a day, four muezzin grimpaient the 105 steps of its inner staircase to call for prayer. Their voices were over 8 km and the other minarets would catch the call within a radius of 16 km. Nicknamed «the tower of death», this minaret built in 1127 by the Karakhanide Arslan Khan was not only used to call the faithful to prayer. In the th century, it was its summit that prisoners of death and other impure people were thrown. The minaret also served as a point of observation during the day and a lighthouse at night. Every evening, a water-filled basin was lit in the centre of the rotunda located at the top. The caravans arriving from the desert could thus find themselves, such as the vessels approaching the ports. Genghis Khan, who had quickly appreciated his strategic importance, spared the minaret while no other monument in Bukhara survived his passage. 48 m high, with foundations set to several metres in the ground, the minaret carries its name well, Kalon meaning "large". With a slightly conical shape, it is decorated with a succession of brick rings with different geometric motifs. These bricks were made with camel milk and bull blood! However, this terrible beauty did not prevent General Frounze from firing the barrel on the symbol of the power of Saint Bukhara. Severely damaged, the minaret was restored in the s. In the 1970 s, an earthquake was no more lenient and lost his head, restored since the care of UNESCO.

Kalon Mosque. This imposing Jami mosque, the largest after Bibi Khanoum, was rebuilt several times. It is reported that a first raw brick mosque was built in 713, probably at the location of a Buddhist temple or fire, a frequent appropriation in this century of religious conquest. The mihrab of the Kalon mosque would have been located more in the east, at Ark's level. In the 2nd century, the mosque, with an area of ha, was rebuilt according to new plans. The many pillars supporting the structure were wood, a rare commodity that forced to reduce the surface to one hectare. It was reported that a fire was killed in the 1220 th century, or even that the minaret was écroulant the détruisit almost completely, in any case, it was rebuilt in the XII by Arslan Khan and destroyed again when Genghis Khan passed away in. In 1514, chaybanide Khan, Abdullah Khan, built a new mosque whose dimensions (130 m out of 80) responded to "gold number"; in 1545, his successor made the mosaic of mosaics decorate. The huge inner courtyard and the galleries covered by the 288 domes could accommodate more than 10 000 worshippers. The mosque has seven doors, one facing sunrise, two face to bedtime and two on each side of the side. In the right wing, a deep sink passes to contain holy water; It is paid in a huge stone cut that keeps it fresh. Pilgrims drink it by making a vow. In the centre, a rotunda to the eight doors - symbolizing the gates of paradise - was built by the last Khan in Bukhara in memory of the martyrs who perished on this site during the destruction of the mosque by Genghis Khan. During the Soviet period, from 1924 to 1989, the mosque remained closed and was transformed into a warehouse and planting during World war II. The blue dome, Kok Goumbaz, dominating the mihrab, and its portal were restored through funding from UNESCO, told us a man who was meditator in the shadow of a cupola, and it is also for that, he added, that she was not made to worship, and that non-believers can still admire the culte. more beautiful mosques.

Madrasas Mir-i-Arab. It was built in 1535 by Sheikh Abdullah, the Yemeni religious leader and the spiritual guide of Ubaydullah Khan. The Khan was subsidised by the sale of 3 000 Persian prisoners, Shi'a Muslims who were considered infidels and could therefore be sold as slaves. In Soviet times, this madrasas was the only one authorized to provide religious teaching in Central Asia. Today, it has a considerable reputation and there are many students there. Access is forbidden to visitors. From the outside, its appearance is impressive and its two blue domes echo Kok Goumbaz from the Kalian mosque. Khan Khan and Sheik Abdullah Mir-i-Arab were buried there.