dc.description | 1) "The old town of Khiva in which is sited the Ichan-Kala (a medieval fortress with palaces, mosques, madrasas, mausoleums, trading places, and hammams) was declared a historic reserve in 1967. Since then it has been the subject of a restoration campaign. The 10th Century town, when Khiva was a flourishing caravan stop on the route between Gurganch and Merv, was almost completely razed by the Mongols in 1226. The new political capital of the 15th and 16th Centuries was largely destroyed by Nadir Shah of Iran. What we see today is the rebuilt 18th and 19th Century version of the Ichan-Kala. Its splendid monuments, built in the classic style, have been restored to their original pristine state
The objective of the Institute of Restoration of the Ministry of Culture in Tashkent was to revitalise the historic centres of the old towns by restoring, reconstructing or upgrading the monuments. The Ichan-Kala differed from Bukhara in that the whole area within the walls was declared a cultural reserve, to be preserved as a walk-in, open-air museum. In this context, the original role of a building was of secondary importance - the look of the whole was what mattered. Detailed drawings and project outlines were made for all the buildings, and included everything from wall-construction methods, protection against earthquakes, and limited adaptive re-use.
The citadel of Ichan-Kala is rectangular in shape and measures 650 by 400 metres (26 hectares), its long axis running in a North to South direction. There are 54 historical monuments within its walls. These include 23 madrasas, 6 mosques, 1 caravanserai, 6 mausoleums, 1 trading dome, 1 working hammam, 290 listed old houses, and other varia that include the Kunya Ark citadel, the city walls and gates, and cemeteries. The monument that greets the visitor on entry into the town is the truncated but impressive Kalta Minar, a tall, fat minaret that is entirely covered in blue glazed tiles. The Kunya Ark takes up the central portion, its citadel towering over the rest of the town. The restoration programme concentrated on the major monuments of the town and the areas immediately around them. The buildings have been restored to their original forms, using traditional decorative features and motifs. Enough was preserved of each monument and its decorative treatment (glazed tiles, paintings, or carved brick) to be able to reconstruct the rest. The streets and the pavements of Ichan-Kala are all paved, the former with asphalt, and the latter with poured concrete slabs. Open spaces around some of the monuments and mosques are paved with baked bricks. Paving has made it a more attractive place to walk in, and has also reduced the dust. Some trees had been planted in the squares and open areas."
2) "City on the west bank of the Amu River in the Khwarazm district of Uzbekistan. A town named Khiva was mentioned by the 10th-century Muslim geographers al-Istakhri and al-Maqdisi as lying on the route from Merv to Urgench, and wooden columns (10th century and later) reused in the hypostyle Friday Mosque (rebuilt 1788–9) are some of the oldest remains in the city. The mausoleum and tiled cenotaph of Sayyid 'Ala’ al-Din (Seida Alauddina; see Central asia, fig. 15) date from the early 14th century when the region came under the control of the Golden Horde (reg 1226–1502). In 1643 the town became the capital city of the Khans of Khiva, and it reached its apogee in the 19th century, when it was an important stage on the trade route between the expanding Russian empire and Iran and India. Although Russia annexed Khiva in 1873, this traditional centre of Muslim theology has survived largely intact.
The town (650˙400 m) follows the traditional tripartite plan of cities in the region, with a citadel (Kunya Ark; 1686–19th century) in the west, the town (Ichan-kala) and suburbs (Dishan-kala). These three parts were surrounded by fortified walls with four gates leading to two roads that quarter the town. The dozens of monuments surviving in Khiva present a picturesque ensemble of architecture in the region with its decoration in tile and carved stone, wood and plaster, repeating types of madrasas, mausolea and minarets traditional in the area for centuries. One of the most important buildings is the tomb of the popular poet Pahlavan Mahmud (1247–1325), which was repeatedly restored and enlarged (1810) to serve as the dynastic tomb; it has fine polychrome tile decoration. The khans traditionally resided in the citadel, but a new palace, the Tash Hawli (now housing the Museum of Local Lore, History and Economy), was built in 1830–38 with reception halls, harems, a court of justice and other living and administrative units (see Islamic art, fig. 74). To the south of the citadel is a square on which military reviews and executions took place: it is bordered by two madrasas, that of Muhammad Amin Khan (1851–5), the largest (72˙60 m) in Khiva, with cells arranged on two floors around a central court, and that of Muhammad Rahim Khan (1871). The 70 m minaret planned for the madrasa of Muhammad Amin Khan, the tallest in Central Asia, was left unfinished.
Excavations carried out by the archaeologists M. Mambetullayer and M. Mirzamuratov at the base of the south face of the Akshikh-bobo Hill, at the north-east corner and at the east face of Ican-kala walls have revealed layers in the rock, indicating that building and culture existed there in the 4th century BC." | en_US |