Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa Palace in Bukhara: The Last Emir's Summer Residence

Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa is the summer residence of the last emir of Bukhara: a white palace with carved verandas, tiled stoves shipped in from St. Petersburg, and a hall of mirrors. It was finished just eight years before the emirate vanished from the map.

White tower of Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa palace with crescent moon at sunset — The tower above the palace is the main landmark — visible from a distance, especially during golden hour

About Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa — "stars and moon"

The name translates as “the palace that resembles the stars and the moon.” People had been building in this garden since the eighteenth century, but the complex tourists see today is the work of the last emir, Sayyid Mir Muhammad Alim Khan, between 1912 and 1918.

Main gate of Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa with mosaic tilework — The main gate — the mosaic is laid out exactly like the madrasas in central Bukhara, only the proportions feel "domestic" rather than grand and civic

The Bukharan craftsmen the emir sent to study in St. Petersburg and Yalta came home with European skills. The result: walls and ceilings inside the palace were done in the traditional ganch technique (carved plaster), while the tiled stoves, cast-iron balcony railings, and crystal chandeliers all arrived from Russia by rail.

The emir himself didn’t get to enjoy it for long. In 1920, the Bukharan emirate fell, Alim Khan fled to Afghanistan, and by 1927 the palace had already been turned into a museum. Since then it has housed a collection of decorative arts — suzanis, costumes, ceramics, miniatures — everything that survived from the court and from Bukhara’s craft workshops.

What greets you at the entrance: the wooden iwan and the stalls

Just past the main gate is a small inner courtyard with a wooden pavilion-iwan. It’s the first thing you see once you walk in. To either side stand a few stalls where local women sell robes, ikat fabric, suzanis, and embroidered bags. You can browse, or you can buy something straight away — the prices aren’t tourist-trap-level, especially if you arrive in the morning.

Carved wooden pavilion in the courtyard of Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa — The wooden iwan by the entrance — it's hard to walk past without stopping

Souvenir stall with traditional clothing near the palace

Souvenir shop with suzanis and embroidery

The stalls right by the gate: ikat robes, suzanis, hand-embroidered bags. Most of the women sew right there — you can watch them work

The main courtyard: lions, arcade, and a fountain

After the gate you step straight into a large ceremonial courtyard — a white arcade, a fountain in the middle, and two stone lions guarding the entrance to one of the pavilions. This is the part of the palace where the emir received guests and held official ceremonies.

Main courtyard of Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa with arcade and round fountain — The main courtyard: arcade, fountain, and almost no tourists before 11 a.m.

Stone lions at the entrance of a Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa pavilion

Carved window with wooden frame on white facade

Lions and a carved window: Eastern decoration over a European structural shell — the signature trick of this palace

Arcade of the main courtyard at Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa

White facade with delicate ganch carving

Ganch carving — white plaster with a recessed pattern. A photo can't really do it justice: up close you realize the lines are finer than a pencil tip

The White Hall: throne room and the work of Shirin Muradov

The main reason people come here is the White Hall. Long, light-filled, with tall windows and a crystal chandelier in the middle. It’s the former throne room, and the ganch work is by Usto Shirin Muradov, a Bukharan master considered one of the finest ganch carvers in the entire history of Uzbekistan.

The White Hall — throne room of Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa with crystal chandelier — The White Hall: long, bright, with a crystal chandelier dead center. It feels like the palace's "formal living room"

What made Shirin Muradov special is that he came up with the idea of laying white ganch over a mirrored surface. So behind every piece of lacework carving sits a mirror that lights the pattern from within. If you arrive on a sunny day around noon, the effect is at its peak: the walls genuinely start to glow.

Corner of the White Hall with carved ganch on a mirrored backing — A corner of the White Hall. If you look closely, you can see the mirror behind the carving. That's the Shirin Muradov technique

Niches with painted vases and ganch carving

Ceilings and niches: every pattern is hand-done. There aren't two identical elements anywhere in the room

Painted vase with flowers on the wall of the White Hall

Wall painting with yellow flowers at Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa

The painted vases on the walls are a genre of their own. Each one is composed like a standalone painting

Detail of a carved column in the White Hall — A column up close — five or six layers of pattern stacked on top of each other. Every centimeter equals hours of work

Carved wooden screen inside the palace — A carved wooden door panel — there are dozens of these in the White Hall. All made by a single team of craftsmen over five years

Painted vase with white flowers on the wall — Another motif: white flowers in a blue vase. The blue here is a natural pigment made from lapis lazuli

The room with carpets and decorative pieces

Right after the White Hall is a smaller room with a carpet on the floor, displaying the small objects from the emir’s daily life: bronze trays, colored stained-glass set into the niches, velvet curtains, a silver barometer. You don’t need to linger, but it’s worth walking through.

Honeycomb stained-glass window in the exhibition room

Stained glass and a bronze tray with Arabic script: both came from the emir's dining room

Antique red velvet textile with silver embroidery — Velvet curtains — the original fabric, more than a hundred years old. The silver embroidery has worn through in places, but the pattern still reads

Vintage thermometer-barometer with silver trim — A thermometer-barometer in a silver casing — the emir liked to keep an eye on the weather

The Hall of Mirrors: gold and portraits of emirs

The walls and ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors are covered with hundreds of small mirrors set into carved frames. Between them sit portraits of emirs, colored stained glass, and gilding. As you walk through, the reflections move with you, and the room feels almost alive on its own.

Hall of Mirrors at Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa with gilded trim — The Hall of Mirrors: every centimeter of wall is a mosaic of mirrors and gold. This is where the most important guests were received

Ceiling of the Hall of Mirrors with carved details

Crystal chandelier in the dim light of the Hall of Mirrors

The ceiling and the chandelier — the crystal was custom-ordered in Europe specifically for this room's dimensions

Portraits of the emirs of Bukhara in mirrored frames — Portraits of emirs — the two main ones are Abdulahad Khan and his son Alim Khan, the last emir of Bukhara

The Russian inheritance: tiled stoves and crystal chandeliers

This is probably the most surprising part. The emir ordered everything from Russia — furniture, dishes, porcelain, and most importantly, the tiled stoves. Every room has a large ceramic-tile stove brought in from St. Petersburg or Moscow. And they actually worked: the emir and his family lived in the palace year-round, not just in summer.

Russian tiled stove in a palace hall — A Russian tiled stove from St. Petersburg. The Uzbek side built the foundation and the surround, while the body of the stove arrived by rail

Detail of ceramic tiles on the stove — The tiles up close — a relief pattern from the nineteenth century. The stove is old, but it has been carefully restored

Blue room with a crystal chandelier — The Blue Room: a chandelier, velvet curtains, and again that hybrid aesthetic — European volumes with Eastern ornamentation

Blue lattice wall with a geometric pattern — A close-up of the Blue Room wall: a geometric ganch lattice, hand-painted. The color is the most distinctive feature of this room

Crystal chandelier close-up — Detail of the chandelier: real crystal — in sunlight it casts rainbows across every wall

The Blue Room also still has its carved furniture — a chest of drawers, a cabinet covered in Arabic calligraphy, and a display case of dishes. This is essentially the “lived-in” part of the room: things the emir and his family actually used.

The chest and the calligraphy cabinet: the cabinet doors carry verses in Old Uzbek (Chagatai). The master carver did them all by hand

The glass veranda — the last room of the main palace

The very last space in the main wing is a wooden glass extension painted blue, opening onto the courtyard. Essentially a veranda-greenhouse: tall windows on every side, a stained-glass ceiling, a display case of dishes, and large floor vases. When I was there, daylight was pouring in from every direction at once — tricky to photograph, but beautiful.

Glass wooden veranda of the main palace — The glass extension with its blue wooden trim. From outside it looks like a separate pavilion, but it's actually part of the main palace

Stained-glass ceiling of the glass veranda — The stained-glass ceiling: red and orange panes. In summer, when the sun is high, colored patches drift across the floor

The veranda inside and out: the wood and glass are original, late nineteenth–early twentieth century

Glass display cabinet with Eastern dishes — A display cabinet of dishes in the corner of the veranda: bowls, plates and tea sets — some Chinese, some made in Bukhara

The Costume Museum: emirs' robes and embroidered slippers

A separate building on the grounds houses the Costume Museum. It’s a freestanding structure with a carved blue iwan over the entrance. Inside is a collection of court costume: emirs’ robes, women’s dresses, shoes, headwear. Some pieces are behind glass, others on mannequins. If you love textiles and embroidery, give yourself at least half an hour here.

Blue carved iwan of the Costume Museum — The iwan of the Costume Museum. The color is natural verdigris, a pigment used in Bukhara since the Middle Ages

Carved ceiling under the entrance canopy of the Costume Museum — Under the entrance canopy is a painted wooden ceiling. You walk in and immediately tilt your head back

Costume Museum hall with three emirs' robes — The main display: three emir's robes for different occasions. The gold one is ceremonial, the striped one is everyday wear, the dark one is also ceremonial but "evening"

Ceremonial gold robe of the emir of Bukhara

The ceremonial gold robe and the everyday striped one. Silk, gold thread, around five kilograms each

Embroidered emir's boots with golden pattern

Embroidered slippers with floral pattern

Boots and slippers — all hand-embroidered. The boots are men's, ceremonial. The slippers are women's, for indoors

Detail of an embroidered vest with ornament — The embroidery on the collar is called "zarbof" — gold thread on velvet. It was only ever made at court

Display cases of court dresses in the museum — The hall of women's costume: ikat, silk, brocade. Some dresses belonged to the emir's wives, others to the court ladies

Painted octagonal ceiling in a Costume Museum hall — An octagonal ceiling in one of the halls: gold, green pigment, an opening-flower motif

Star-shaped geometric ceiling above the exhibit — A geometric ceiling: a star inside a star — classic Uzbek mathematics, referencing cosmogony and astronomy. This one is over one of the costume halls

The harem: a white pavilion by the pond — museum of suzanis and ceramics

A little off to the side of the main complex stands a separate white pavilion with a pond in front of it. This is the former harem of the emir. Alim Khan had several wives, and each lived in her own section of the house. According to a popular Bukharan legend, the emir chose one of them after seeing her bathing in this pond — which is why the pond was kept right next to her quarters.

Today the harem houses the palace’s second large museum: a collection of suzanis (Bukharan hand embroidery), floor vases, tiled stoves, ceramic panels, and reconstructed living rooms.

White harem pavilion by the pond at Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa — The harem: a white "European pavilion" style building with a pond. The best angle is from the opposite side of the water, to catch the reflection

Carved wooden iwan over the harem entrance — The carved iwan over the harem entrance. The wood carving is fully original

Painted ceiling of the pavilion by the harem

A column by the pond and the painted ceiling above the entrance. The pattern is just like a miniature, blown up ten times in scale

Harem facade with a cast-iron balcony — The cast-iron balcony — Russian foundry work. The grille is identical to the ones on St. Petersburg apartment buildings of the same era

Detail of the carved iwan canopy of the harem — The carved iwan over the entrance — that's the work of local Bukharan masters

Suzanis and reconstructed rooms

Reconstructed room with suzanis and textiles — One of the halls is set up as a reconstructed bedroom: red suzanis on the walls, a low table, a kerosene lamp

Large suzani with round medallions in the museum

Suzanis with medallions: a typical Bukharan pattern. Each circle is its own motif, symbolizing the sun or a flower

Suzani hall in the Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa museum

Display cases of embroidery and fabric samples

The whole suzani hall: large nineteenth- and early twentieth-century panels on the walls, with thread and needle samples in the cases

Large suzani with floral medallions — The largest suzani in the collection — about two meters tall. It took roughly six years to embroider

Large peacock floor vase in the museum — A Japanese painted vase from the early twentieth century. It once stood in the emir's personal sitting room — now it's been moved here, into the harem-museum

Tiled stoves and ceramic panels

The same halls also display tiled stoves, ceramic panels, and dinnerware. It’s essentially a reconstruction of the lived-in interiors: what the sitting room and dining room looked like in the early twentieth century.

The stoves: the cream-colored one is late Art Nouveau, with dishes from the same period arranged beside it

Suzani and tiled stove in a museum display — Suzani plus stove plus a set table — an attempt to show what an early-twentieth-century sitting room looked like

Tiles up close: relief Art Nouveau, early twentieth century. You can see small chips — the stove is old, but the restoration was done gently

Stucco and medallions: all of it from Russia, but the subjects were chosen for local taste — no figures, just flowers and geometry

Suzani next to a large tiled stove — The two main cultural threads in one frame: a Bukharan suzani and a Russian tiled stove

The summer mosque in the garden — the emir's carved pavilion

The most unusual building in the complex stands in the garden: a two-story carved wooden pavilion on a small rise. According to local sources, this was the emir’s personal summer mosque — a place for prayer in the warm months. A wooden staircase leads up to the second tier, which is open on all sides with arches.

Embroiderer at work on a suzani — Right by the summer mosque, under a canopy, sits a woman embroidering a suzani: outline first, then fill in the color. Behind her — baskets of silk thread

Two-story carved pavilion — the emir's summer mosque

Pavilion with a tower in the palace garden

The summer mosque on its hill: a wooden staircase leads up to the second floor. From the top you get the best view of the garden

The pavilion in golden hour among the trees — The same pavilion, but in golden hour. This is the best time to shoot here — the wood turns warm-toned, and the arches glow from inside

The emir's pavilion with palms and trees — View of the pavilion through the garden: someone's always resting on the benches here. Locals come just to sit

The palace tower: the main landmark

A white tower with a dome and a crescent moon rises above the roof of the main building — the most recognizable detail of the palace. The emir is said to have looked over his garden from up there. You can’t go up anymore, but the tower is visible from everywhere outside.

Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa tower close-up — The tower up close: dome, arcade, crescent moon. The architecture is late Eastern Art Nouveau, very rare for the region

The garden: autumn light, peacocks and roses

In the palace garden grow old sophora trees, apple trees, and pomegranate trees. The autumn light here is soft, without that midday contrast, and October–November is the best time to photograph the architecture. The palace also has its own large aviary of peacocks, dating back to the emir’s time.

Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa palace from the garden side — The main facade from the garden side. You can see the tower, and you really get a sense of how big the building is

Palace dome through branches at sunset — The palace dome through the branches, about fifteen minutes before sunset

Grape leaves in the garden, backlit — Grapevines in the garden, backlit — an ordinary detail. But in October they turn properly gold

Sophora tree with autumn fruit in the palace garden — A sophora tree in fruit — a typical tree in Bukharan gardens. Botanists say this one is at least eighty years old

Autumn leaves backlit in the garden — Autumn light under an old tree. Tip — come after 4 p.m., when the shadows get long and the whole garden is side-lit

Roses in the palace garden — Roses in the garden — they bloom from May through October, different varieties at different times. These are November ones, the last of the season

Peacocks in the aviary at Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa palace

Peacocks: there are more than twenty of them here. If you're lucky, you'll see one with its tail spread — that usually happens in March–April, mating season

Bukharan miniature

Right out in the open, on the grounds of the garden under a canopy, a man was sitting at a small table painting something incredibly detailed onto a tiny sheet of paper with a fine brush. I stopped, watched, and walked over. Just out of curiosity: how does this work, what are the subjects, who paints them. That’s how I met him — his name is Abror.

Artist Abror at his work table on the palace grounds — Abror works outside — a table under a canopy, watercolors, fine squirrel-hair brushes, and dozens of finished miniatures pinned up on boards behind him

Abror told me he’s been working in this technique for twenty years and that he trained at art school. His studio is right here on the palace grounds — he sits at this table every day, and a single large miniature takes him anywhere from two weeks to a month.

Hands of the artist painting a miniature

The artist showing a miniature with a carriage and the Silk Road

Abror at work and one of his finished miniatures — a scene with a carriage and figures on the Silk Road. He showed it to me right then and there

Symbolism: every animal means something specific

A Bukharan miniature isn’t just a pretty picture, it’s a language of signs. Abror would hold up a piece and walk me through it: every painting has its own set of symbols, and local masters read them like text.

Owl — wisdom
Hoopoe — Sufism
Tiger — power
Horse — loyalty
Cat — tenderness

“When people look at a miniature and see an owl on a branch, it isn’t just a bird. It’s a sign: this is a conversation about knowledge, about wisdom,” Abror explained.

Miniature with the tree of life and birds — The tree of life with birds — a classic subject. Each bird carries its own meaning, and a single composition can hold ten or twelve of them

The Great Silk Road and its heroes

The main theme running through all his work is the Great Silk Road. From China to Venice, by way of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Some miniatures show Marco Polo’s caravans; others depict the journey of Ibn Battuta, the “Arab Marco Polo” from Morocco; others again feature Scheherazade or Khoja Nasreddin.

Caravans and dancers — typical subjects of Bukharan miniature. A whole story fits inside a single frame the size of your palm

Among the figures Abror paints:

Ulugbek — astronomer, grandson of Amir Timur, from Samarkand
Avicenna (Ibn Sina) — physician, born in Bukhara
Al-Khwarizmi — mathematician from Khiva, known in Europe as “Mr. Zero” because he introduced the concept of zero
Rumi — poet and spiritual leader of the dervishes
Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta — the two great travelers of their age

If you want to bring a miniature home as a gift, this is a better place to buy one than the souvenir bazaar in central Bukhara. The prices are similar, but the quality is different: with Abror you can clearly see this is one person painting, not a workshop. And if you’re lucky, he’ll explain it to you himself — every caravan, every hero, every animal tucked into the corner of the composition.

Practical information

Getting there and where it is

Address: Sitorai Mohi Hosa, Bukhara, Uzbekistan
GPS: 39.8456, 64.4406
Distance from central Bukhara: ~4 km north
Opening hours: 9:00–18:00 (summer), 9:00–17:00 (winter). Day off is usually Wednesday, but worth double-checking
Entry: ~50,000 UZS (~$4) for foreigners, photography free
How long to plan for: minimum 2 hours, ideally 3
Google Maps: Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa

Visa

Most travelers can get an e-visa online in minutes (about $20). Citizens of many countries — including the EU, UK, Japan, and South Korea — are visa-free for stays up to 30 days. Check the official Uzbekistan e-visa portal before booking.

How to get to Bukhara

By air: there are no direct international flights to Bukhara. Most travelers fly into Tashkent (TAS), the capital, which has connections from Istanbul, Dubai, Frankfurt, Seoul and other major hubs. From Tashkent, hop on a domestic flight to Bukhara (about 1 hour) or take the Afrosiyob high-speed train (about 4 hours, very comfortable, around $20–$30 depending on class).
From Samarkand: the Afrosiyob train takes around 1.5 hours. Easy day connection if you’re already on the Silk Road route.
From Khiva: about 6–7 hours by car or shared taxi across the Kyzylkum desert. There’s also a sleeper train.

From central Bukhara to the palace

Taxi: 30,000–50,000 UZS (~$2.50–$4) one way. Agree on a wait time up front, because catching a ride back is harder.
Marshrutka #70 or #7: stops about 200 meters from the gate, around 4,000 UZS (~$0.30)
Bicycle: flat ride, 4 km, 25 minutes. Rentals in the center start at 50,000 UZS (~$4) per day
On foot: technically possible, but 50 minutes along a busy road isn’t the most pleasant option

FAQ

How do I get to Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa from Bukhara?

The easiest way is taxi, around 30,000–50,000 UZS (~$2.50–$4) one way. You can also take marshrutka #70 or #7 for about 4,000 UZS (~$0.30). It's 4 km north of the city center.

How much time do I need?

Minimum 2 hours, ideally 3. If you love textiles, costume, and miniature painting, add another hour for the suzani museum and a chat with the local artisans.

When's the best time to visit Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa?

The best months are April, May, October and November. Summer is brutally hot (over 40°C / 104°F), and in winter the palace is cold — the heating is weak. Mornings (9:00–11:00) mean fewer tourists and beautiful soft light.

Is this a half-day trip or part of the city itinerary?

It's part of the broader Bukhara itinerary, but on its own track — give it half a day. You can pair it with other outlying spots like Chor-Bakr, which lies in roughly the same direction.

Can I buy souvenirs on site?

Yes. By the gate and in the garden there are workshops selling suzanis, miniatures, ceramics and ikat clothing. Prices are comparable to the Bukhara bazaars, but the quality is higher.

How much is the entry?

About 50,000 UZS (~$4) for foreigners. Photo and video are free. You can buy an audio guide for an extra fee, around 30,000 UZS (~$2.50).

What should I bring?

Water (it's available on site but pricey), comfortable shoes — there's a lot of walking, a scarf for women (not mandatory, but nice for the harem), and a good lens if you're carrying a camera.

A quiet palace off the main route

Most travelers in Bukhara only get as far as the city center — Lyabi-Hauz, Kalyan, the madrasas. Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa ends up as a “bonus” most people don’t make time for. Which is a shame, because this is where you can see the everyday side of the emirate — how they lived, what they ordered in, who worked on these walls.

If you have at least two or three days in Bukhara, set aside half a day for the palace — ideally the second half, so you can catch the evening light on the tower and through the garden.

Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa Palace in Bukhara: The Last Emir’s Summer Residence