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Khiva is a contemporary of Babylon. It is one of the
capitals of ancient Khorezm. The father of history,
Herodotus, wrote about Khorezm. The greatest property of the
mankind – “AVESTA” – was written here. It is the holy book
of Zoroastrianism, the statute of rules and legal norms.
Along with Samarkand and Bukhara, Khiva was one of the
greatest centers on the Great Silk Road. Trade and crafts
had flourished here. Significant and active mutual influence
occurred between the cultures of the West and East, North
and South. Time and wars destructed the walls and
constructions secured by them. However, regardless of its
venerable age – 2 and half thousand years old – the city
still preserved the masterpieces of its architecture. |
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Khiva is divided into two parts – “Ichan-Kala”,
which
literally means “Inner Fortress”, with citadel called
Kunya-Arc and with “Dishan-Kala” outer fortress in the
suburbs.
“Ichan-Kala” is a quarter million square meters of
antiquity. Its protective walls are 10 meters high. There
are four gates in the city, looking at four parts of the
world.
Minarets, mosques, mausoleums of the saints and
burial-vaults of former rulers constructed at different
times by various architects gradually sink from one into
another. |
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Pakhlavan Mahmud (13-14th Centuries) – an epic hero,
philosopher and poet – deserved a merited authority in the
town and was canonized as the patron of Khiva.
They say that no one was as good as Pakhlavan in
hand-to-hand fight. According to the legend, upon his
triumphal return from one of the fights in India, he brought
2 large logs. Two carved columns were produced out of these
logs for Djuma-Mosque.
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In total there are 213 columns in this extraordinary mosque.
They are all different in shape and pattern of carving. A
flat roof is supported by all those columns, and there is an
outlet for light and ventilation in the roof. Regardless of
enormous dimensions of the premises, it was never stuffy or
dark during the prayer. In the 18th Century after a fire,
the mosque was restored and some columns were replaced. |
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