Khiva Travel Guide

Khiva is a unique desert city in western Uzbekistan, near Turkmenistan, on a desert oasis. It was the center of Khorezm and the Khanate of Khiva, famous for its perfectly preserved inner town enclosed by earthen walls, like time frozen — the most legendary and photogenic destination on the Silk Road, with its inner town listed as a World Heritage Site. The climate is most pleasant in spring (Apr–May) and autumn (Sep–Oct), while the desert summer is scorching. Its most unique feature is the perfectly preserved medieval inner town of Itchan Kala — embraced by a ring of rammed-earth walls about 10 m high, continuous and majestic; within stand dozens of ancient buildings: minarets (especially the Kalta Minaret, covered in turquoise tiles, short, stout and famously unfinished), madrasahs, the Juma Mosque with its many carved wooden columns, the Kunya-Ark Fortress and the Tash Khauli Palace and other khan's palaces and mausoleums — unified earthen tones, like a journey back to the ancient Silk Road era. Khiva is also renowned for its exquisite woodcarving. Mosques are solemn, so dress modestly.