Ichan-Kala
Ichan-Kala is a historical, walled inner part of the city of Khiva in Uzbekistan, which is more than 2,500 years old. In 1990, it was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List, and now it is under special protection.
The history of Ichan-Kala in Khiva
The historical part of Khiva — Ichan-Kala, surrounded by a fortress, includes buildings erected in the XVI century. It is not for nothing that it is called the "museum city". The outer part of the city (outside Ichan-Kala) is called Dishan-Kala. There are about 400 residential buildings and about 60 architectural monuments located behind the defensive structures. For example, the Kalta Minaret (or Kalta Minor), the Juma Mosque, Islam Khoja Mosque, the mausoleum of Uch Ovlia, the Muhammad Amin Khan Madrasah, and others.
The first settlements on the territory of modern Khiva appeared in the IV–III centuries BC. Later, this area became an important transit point on the Great Silk Road. In 1598, the Amu Darya River changed its course due to natural disasters. The city began to grow and transform. At the same time, fortress walls appeared, and behind them — palaces, minarets, madrassas, baths and other structures.
Architecture of Ichan-Kala
The outer and inner defensive walls of Khiva are built of adobe (bricks made from clay soil with the addition of straw), with projecting towers every 30 meters. Previously, there were moats filled with water in front of the Ichan-Kala fortress, but now there is practically nothing left of them. As for the external appearance of the Ichan-Kala fortress, it has been preserved almost in its original form, even the gates remain: the northern ones are Bagcha—darvaza, the southern ones are Tash-darvaza, the eastern ones are Palvan-darvaza and the western ones are Ata-darvaza. But only the gate remains of the external defensive structure of Dishan-Kala.
The top of the fortress is jagged, with narrow embrasures. Above the gate there were special viewing galleries and small towers from which it was possible to repel an enemy strike. By the way, the Ichan-Kala fortifications can be reached by stairs.
Place on the map
Tours where you can visit this place:
Ichan-Kala
Khiva — Khorezm — Bukhara — Samarkand — Tashkent
- 730$
- 7d.
Ichan-Kala
Tashkent — Samarkand — Bukhara — Khiva
- 590$
- 6d.
Ichan-Kala
Samarkand — Bukhara — Khiva
- 440$
- 5d.
Ichan-Kala
Khiva — Bukhara — Gizhduvan — Samarkand — Shakhrisabz — Tashkent
- 1200$
- 10d.
Ichan-Kala
Samarkand — Bukhara — Khiva — Khorezm — Nukus
- 635$
- 6d.
Ichan-Kala
Khiva — Tashkent — Samarkand — Bukhara — Ferghana
- 640$
- 7d.
Ichan-Kala
Tashkent — Nukus — Khorezm — Urgench — Khiva — Bukhara — Samarkand — Ferghana — Kokand — Rishtan — Chimgan
- 1340$
- 11d.
Ichan-Kala
Chimgan — Tashkent — Samarkand — Konigil — Shakhrisabz — Bukhara — Kagan — Khiva — Khorezm
- 1150$
- 11d.
