Khiva

Why Khiva works

Khiva's Itchan Kala is unusual among Silk Road cities in being preserved almost in its entirety rather than as scattered monuments within a modern town — the whole walled inner city, ringed by earthen ramparts up to 10 metres high, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990 and functions as a single continuous open-air museum. The Kalta Minor minaret, its intended 70-metre height cut short at 29 metres when its patron khan died in 1855, is wrapped entirely in turquoise, blue and white glazed tile and remains Khiva's most photographed landmark. The Kunya-Ark citadel held the khan's throne room, mint and harem, while the Tosh-Hovli palace's courtyards showcase some of the finest surviving Khorezm-style majolica tilework in Central Asia. Islam Khodja's minaret, the tallest in Uzbekistan at 57 metres, offers a rooftop panorama across the entire walled city — a view of stacked domes and minarets with almost no modern intrusion. Because Itchan Kala is so compact, most of it walkable in half a day, Khiva rewards an overnight stay so the walls can be seen lit at dusk, when the desert town empties of day-trippers from Urgench airport and the alleys briefly belong to residents again. Khiva sits further from Tashkent than Samarkand or Bukhara, making it the most rewarding stop for travellers with time for the full Silk Road route.

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