Music
v/o: The city of Khiva has seen conquerors come and go for about two thousand years.Khiva's fortunes have waxed and waned over the centuries.
PTC: It was never on the main silk road, but it was an important location in and out of Russia. It never enjoyed the fame and wealth of say, Samarkand, but now it's position is secure because it's the best preserved city of its type anywhere in Central Asia.
v/o: Khiva owes it modern day reputation largely to luck. It was the last in a line an for that reason has suffered less degradation. It was a final architectural gasp of the Khans who rule this area for about 400 years.
Sabirov: This was built in the middle of the 19th Century when Mohammed Rahim Khan ruled. He was on the throne for 47 years and during this time there wasn't a single war, that's why it's in such good condition.
v/o: But Khiva has been here much longer than many of its buildings. Athanazar Sabirov is a researcher at the Khiva museum.
Sabirov: If we carried out excavations I think we'd find that Khiva's much older than two and a half thousand years. At the moment we only have proof of two an a half thousand years of history.
v/o: There were grand plans for this place. This half built minaret might have been the tallest building in the Muslim world but for the death of the Khan during construction in the middle of the last century.
His successor lost interest so it stands now like a fat brightly coloured chimney - still one of the city's distinguishing features.
Khiva's fortunes rose as those of other cities fell but it finally became the regional capital late in the 16th Century. But it wasn't until nearly two centuries later that Khiva had the wealth and confidence to begin building the city which is still largely intact today.
Khiva is in effect one large museum with lots of smaller museums and oddities within, like the replica prison.
Here you can ponder the various discomforts devised for the Khan's enemies.
Russia long had designs on the region and made numerous attempts at controlling Khiva but it remained outside the Tsar's grasp until a hundred and twenty years ago - pipping the British at the post as they pushed north from India.
The city's history and beauty makes it a must for newlyweds. The streets are packed with them around lunchtime, one after the other they pay their respects at a shrine to one of the more notable rulers of the past.
Belying its skyline Khiva doesn't actually have many mosques. The only functioning mosque is just outside the city walls and it's packed. But Khiva has plenty of Madrasas, Islamic seminaries, a sign of its past wealth an importance.
Rakhmatullieyev: According to Islamic law whoever builds a Madrasa has done a noble deed. For that man there'll be no hell.
v/o: Imam Rakhmatulla Rakhmatullieyev strikes an optimistic note for the future.
Rakhmatullieyev: Khiva has a great future. Our younger generation are striving to understand Islam.
v/o: Khiva is unquestionably a tourist town and likely to remain so. The old city could never house all the people who now live around the area and restoration work is a continual process.
Music
Khiva's charm is in its looks, a city deceptively young but with links to an ancient past.
v/o: The city of Khiva has seen conquerors come and go for about two thousand years.Khiva's fortunes have waxed and waned over the centuries.
PTC: It was never on the main silk road, but it was an important location in and out of Russia. It never enjoyed the fame and wealth of say, Samarkand, but now it's position is secure because it's the best preserved city of its type anywhere in Central Asia.
v/o: Khiva owes it modern day reputation largely to luck. It was the last in a line an for that reason has suffered less degradation. It was a final architectural gasp of the Khans who rule this area for about 400 years.
Sabirov: This was built in the middle of the 19th Century when Mohammed Rahim Khan ruled. He was on the throne for 47 years and during this time there wasn't a single war, that's why it's in such good condition.
v/o: But Khiva has been here much longer than many of its buildings. Athanazar Sabirov is a researcher at the Khiva museum.
Sabirov: If we carried out excavations I think we'd find that Khiva's much older than two and a half thousand years. At the moment we only have proof of two an a half thousand years of history.
v/o: There were grand plans for this place. This half built minaret might have been the tallest building in the Muslim world but for the death of the Khan during construction in the middle of the last century.
His successor lost interest so it stands now like a fat brightly coloured chimney - still one of the city's distinguishing features.
Khiva's fortunes rose as those of other cities fell but it finally became the regional capital late in the 16th Century. But it wasn't until nearly two centuries later that Khiva had the wealth and confidence to begin building the city which is still largely intact today.
Khiva is in effect one large museum with lots of smaller museums and oddities within, like the replica prison.
Here you can ponder the various discomforts devised for the Khan's enemies.
Russia long had designs on the region and made numerous attempts at controlling Khiva but it remained outside the Tsar's grasp until a hundred and twenty years ago - pipping the British at the post as they pushed north from India.
The city's history and beauty makes it a must for newlyweds. The streets are packed with them around lunchtime, one after the other they pay their respects at a shrine to one of the more notable rulers of the past.
Belying its skyline Khiva doesn't actually have many mosques. The only functioning mosque is just outside the city walls and it's packed. But Khiva has plenty of Madrasas, Islamic seminaries, a sign of its past wealth an importance.
Rakhmatullieyev: According to Islamic law whoever builds a Madrasa has done a noble deed. For that man there'll be no hell.
v/o: Imam Rakhmatulla Rakhmatullieyev strikes an optimistic note for the future.
Rakhmatullieyev: Khiva has a great future. Our younger generation are striving to understand Islam.
v/o: Khiva is unquestionably a tourist town and likely to remain so. The old city could never house all the people who now live around the area and restoration work is a continual process.
Music
Khiva's charm is in its looks, a city deceptively young but with links to an ancient past.