Islam Khoja: minaret and madrasah

This almost modern complex, dating back to the beginning of the XX century, includes a minaret and madrasahs, united under the name of Islam Khoja - Prime Minister of Khiva Khan Isfandiyar. The minaret of Islam Khoja is called the symbol of Khiva.

Its shape, narrowed to the top, dates back to early examples of architecture (XIV century). On the minaret, brickwork alternates with stripes of glazed patterns. The height of the minaret is 56.6 meters, the diameter of the base is 9.5 meters.

Islam Khoja Madrasah is located behind the minaret. It consists of 42 hujras and a large dome hall. The mastery of architects can be seen in contrasting combinations of architectural forms skillfully used in a confined space. Nisha mihrab is decorated with majolica and ganch carvings. The facade is icing.

But in 1598 Khiva became the capital of the Khiva Khanate, because the Amu Darya River changed its course, and destroyed the former capital of Kunya-Urgench. Khiva gradually became a small but well-fortified city, which also became the spiritual center of the Islamic world. However, the slave trade flourished in Khiva for a long time - Khiva raiders stole people into slavery from the regions of southern Russia and Persia. This led the Russian Empire to organize a military campaign in 1873 that ended the slave trade in Central Asia. However, as a consequence, the Khiva Khanate was included in the Turkestan General-Government.

In 1919, the Red Army, the newly formed Soviet Union, overthrew the power of the last Khiva Khan, and in 1920 Khiva became the capital of the Khorezm Soviet People's Republic. And in 1924 the city became the administrative center of the Khorezm region in the Uzbek SSR. In 1991, Uzbekistan gained independence, and Khiva became one of the main tourist centers of the republic. Indeed, today there is hardly a place in Uzbekistan where there would be such a concentration of various architectural monuments.