Things to Do in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

1. Ark of Bukhara

Bukhara

Walk through the same gate where emirs passed judgment for over a thousand years. You will wander crumbling throne rooms, a 19th century mosque, and eerie dungeon cells inside a living fortress museum.

Quick facts: The fortress rises 20 meters high with walls made of packed earth, covering roughly 4 hectares of central Bukhara. After Russian forces bombarded the stronghold in 1920, only about 20 percent of the original structures survived.

Highlights: The Registan square directly in front of the fortress once hosted public executions every Friday, with condemned prisoners thrown from the elevated gate ramp. A little-known fact: the last emir escaped through a secret underground tunnel when the Red Army breached the walls in 1920, leaving behind his harem and treasury.