Khiva
General view of rectangular courtyard, Harem, Tash Khauli Palace, 1830-38, Khiva, Uzbekistan, Khiva, Uzbekistan, pictured on July 7, 2010, in the afternoon. Commissioned by Allah Kuli Khan the Tash Kauli palace is a huge complex containing 163 rooms which took its architects, Tajiddin and Kalandar, 10 years to build. The harem, occupying about half of the palace has 5 aiwan terraces, with delicately carved wooden pillars, behind which were the quarters for the khan and his wives. Across the courtyard were the concubines apartments. The facades and walls around the courtyards were decorated with traditional blue, ultramarine and white colours majolica made by Abdullah. Khiva, ancient and remote, is the most intact Silk Road city. Ichan Kala, its old town, was the first site in Uzbekistan to become a World Heritage Site(1991). Picture by Manuel Cohen
