Bukhara

Bukhara. Just the name evokes images of trade, knowledge, culture, and religion. For as long as historians recorded history, this dry land flanked by rivers welcomed those from far lands to offer something new. From the Persian Empire to the Golden Age of Islam even to the Russian Revolution, Bukhara grew in fame and fortune. Walking around the old streets of Bukhara today is one of the closest you can feel to living in medieval times. The ancient trading domes are still full of textiles and trinkets to dazzle foreigners, madrassas are still operated as places of Islamic study, and the untouched squares are still the focal point of leisure in evenings.

Merchants would stop in Bukhara along the arduous overland Silk Road, both to trade their wares and to rest from their travels. Luxury goods like silk, spices, ivory, and precious metals passed through Bukhara on caravans of camels, where in exchange Bukharians traded textiles, horses, and agricultural goods. Beginning in the 2nd century BCE, Bukhara also became an important center of Buddhism where monks and pilgrims transmitted Buddhist teachings and culture. The Buddhism later gave way to Islam, where magnificent mosques, madrassas, and bazaars of Bukhara still stand tall as they have for centuries. For those merchants or explorers, a welcome sight Bukhara must have been, an architectural masterpiece displaying centuries of craftsmanship in the heart of town. Everything necessary for the journey onward is found here as well, with numerous caravansaries and bazaars filled to the brim with colorful goods. It truly is a miracle among the heart of the Silk Roads, one of the wonders of the world.