MADRASA MUHAMAD RAKHIM KHAN (1871)

The Mukhammad Rakhime-khan medersa was one of Khiva's most famous. It was built between 1871 and 1876, opposite the Kounya-Ark citadel, on the orders of Moukhammad Rakhime-khan II (1863-1910), a learned sovereign and patron of scientists and poets.

At each corner of the madrassa, turrets or gouldasta (meaning bouquet), crowned with domes covered in green mosaics, stand majestically. A huge portal, closed by wooden doors decorated with plants, opens onto a first courtyard, which was intended for merchants. The building, which follows a square plan measuring 62 m x 50 m, features an 8-domed vaulted passageway, the largest in Khiva. A second portal leads to the main building at the far end of the courtyard, which houses a museum dedicated to Ferouz, the khan's nom de plume (black-and-white photos of the last ruling khans, Chinese and Russian porcelain, paintings and everyday objects).

Mukhammad Rakhime-khan was a great patron of the arts, allocating 2941 tanobs (2.5 tanobs = 1 hectare) of land to finance the madrassa. As a result, the building boasted numerous study rooms, a spacious and rich library, and two mosques (winter and summer). The inner courtyard, with its four iwans, included a floor of 70 cells called khoudjras that could accommodate 152 students. Each included a soberly furnished bedroom plus a small room for toilets and ablutions.