KHIVA: A CONSERVED HERITAGE WITHIN THE SANDS - Tourism in Central Asia: Cultural Potential and Challenges - page 116

bin Kushmuhammed Khivaki, Allah Kuli Khan bazaar was created in
1832 by filling the lake to the east of the city in 45 days (Akhmedov,
1997). This bazaar, also known as the “palace bazaar,” connects the city
to the great bazaar and to Allah Kuli Han Cervanserai, again dated 1832.
It is possible to see the wooden columns, which are named after the city
and present a high wood craftsmanship, in the dwellings, the palaces and
the mosques in Khiva. The Khiva column (Fig. 18), one of the most strik-
ing features of local architecture, with its unique color and decorations all
around, gets thinner as it goes down, and appears ready to snap lands on
its wooden, stone or marble base. Despite the waist, which bends carrying
the whole weight of the building, it dazzles the watchers with the charm
of an old lady aware of her beauty, defying the years that have passed. The
same kind of craftsmanship is observed on the wooden doors, which with
their complex decorations turn the entrance of even the simplest homes
into palaces (Fig. 19). When it comes to tile crafting, the color and design
of the high quality tiles maintain the tradition of the Timur period (Uzbeki-
stan, 1997). The 18th century tiles are especially elegant with a common
appearance of blue-white floral. On the glazed bricks which decorate the
facades of minarets and buildings one can see small amounts of Kufic
writing, which when in sequence result in decorative shapes (Esin, 1997).
FIGURE 18 Typical Khiva Column (flickr.com, Photo by dalbera / CC BY 2.0).
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