BUKHARA: THE PRINCESS OF CITIES - Tourism in Central Asia: Cultural Potential and Challenges - page 78

FIGURE 14 Varakhsha Palace Mural Painting (Belenitsky, 1968).

Until the Arab invasion in the early eighth century, in the center of
Bukhara, there was a bazaar (Babaev, 2008; Frumkin, 1970). This bazaar,
in which there were markets and shops, was covered in time. A bigger part
of the covered bazaar was destroyed during the Mongol invasion in 1220.
The remaining part of the bazaar took its final form in the sixteenth cen-
tury (Fig. 15). One of the major factors leading Bukhara to be a center of
trade throughout history is that money was widely used in Bukhara since
early second century B.C. (Frumkin, 1970). Central Asian rulers knowing
that money was a sure sign of power and prestige, minted coins bearing
their names. A variety of symbols depicted on the coins are noteworthy.
Bugra (Male camels), crescent and star, the portraits of the qaghans and
khatuns are the most common symbols (Simirnova, 1981).

FIGURE 15 Grand Pazar (www.trekearth.com).