SITORI-I-MOKHI KHOSA, "THE PALACE OF THE MOON AND THE STARS"

The summer residence of the Bukhara/is located in a huge park of over 6 ha, 5 km from the city. A first palace surrounded by gardens was built by the Amir Akhad Khan at the end of the th century. Alim Khan, his son, added a new building in 1914. The last episode of Bukhara was educated in St. Petersburg, and his way of life was felt. He commanded a palace that was probably at the forefront of modernity, mixing Russian architecture with the decorative style of Central Asia. The result is surprising. The visit consists of three different bodies of buildings, transformed into museums: the Appartements Khan apartments and reception rooms, the octagonal palace and the harem. The reception Pieces of the Amir Alim Khan, built in thread, are an input from Russian architects working in the courtyard of the Amir. The white room is a unique work, its walls are entirely covered with finely ciselé white gantch on a background of mirrors. The construction of this glass palace boukhare lasted three years, during which the architect rejected the entrance of the site. When Alim Khan finally saw the result, he was captivated and, taking into account the old ancestral habits, decided to kill the architect so that he could not bring his art to others. Fortunately, Chirin Muradov, the architect of the white room, was warned in time and managed to escape. At the entrance, a high boudoir is decorated with niches niches, which are painted with unusual and beautiful bouquets of colorful flowers. The walls and ceiling of the games room and the waiting room are entirely decorated with gilded panels, covered with an extraordinary and a somewhat oppressive mosaic of mirrors. The banquet room is the most original and sumptuous, it consisted of four sets of decorative walls, one for each season, that one changes thanks to a mechanism no one remembers but, in any case, the other three sets disappeared after the revolution. In these rooms there are various gifts offered to the Amir, including an original glass-free refrigerator. The mirzo-khona, or the secretaries room, is the most sober of pieces, its three-door mirror is, it seems, magic. By looking at it, we must make a vow, which takes place within 40 days… At the end of the building, the veranda displays a beautiful collection of antique vases from all sources. The octagonal palace is a museum dedicated to national costume, where apparat, colourful khalat or dark parandja are displayed in the middle of photos of the princely family. The garments were usually made by women, but the patterns of gold yarns were embroidered only by men. The octahedra room for guests was originally decorated with the gold leaf; after the revolution, gold was replaced by bronze and won in Russia. The harem houses the museum of embroidery. The different decorative techniques are illustrated by one of the finest collections of suzani in Uzbekistan. Before the harem is a large water plan. It was reported that the Amir would set up himself in the dome dome that borders this basin to watch his wife bathing, and chose the elected man from his heart by launching an apple.