Sitorai Mokhi Khosa Summer Country Palace
Sitorai Mokhi Khosa Summer Country Palace in Bukhara, Uzbekistan
The Sitorai Mokhi Khosa Summer Country Palace is located north of central Bukhara, approximately a few kilometers from the historical part of the city. It was the former residence of the last Emir of Bukhara, Mir Sayyid Alimkhan, formed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, the complex is known as a museum and as an important monument of the late period in the history of the Emirate of Bukhara.
The name Sitorai Mokhi Khosa is usually translated as "star like the moon." The palace architecture is notable for its combination of local Bukhara traditions and European influences, visible in the layout, finishes, and decorative details. Local craftsmen and invited specialists worked on the creation of the complex, so its appearance brings together different artistic techniques of its time.
The site preserves palace buildings, inner courtyards, garden areas, ponds, and decorative elements. Visitors come here to see the ceremonial interiors, carving, ceramics, paintings, and other design details that provide an idea of the tastes of Bukhara's ruling elite at the beginning of the 20th century. At the entrance to the complex, marble lion figures attract attention.
Today, the palace houses a museum of decorative and applied arts. The exhibition includes household items, textiles, clothing, embroidery, and other objects connected with life in Bukhara in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For tourists, Sitorai Mokhi Khosa is of interest as a place where one can see not only palace architecture, but also a later, less medieval layer of Bukhara's history.
Sitorai Mokhi Khosa Summer Country Palace on the map
Sitorai Khosa Summer Country Palace and the Museum of Bukhara Life
The complex presents palace architecture and the life of Bukhara nobility at the beginning of the 20th century.
Ceremonial halls, carved decor, and a museum of Bukhara nobility life
Inside the complex, visitors explore halls with richly decorated ceilings, wall finishes, ganch and wood carving, as well as rooms displaying palace interiors from the early 20th century. Particularly interesting are the elements in which the combination of Eastern decorative tradition and European fashion of that time is noticeable. Thanks to this, the palace differs from the earlier monuments in the historical center of Bukhara.
The museum section introduces the decorative and applied arts of the region: here you can see embroidered items, carpets, interior decorations, tableware, clothing, and household objects. The exhibition helps to understand what the everyday and ceremonial environment looked like in the homes of wealthy residents of Bukhara at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. A tour of the grounds usually also includes a walk through the courtyards and the garden part of the complex.
The palace is located not far from Bukhara, so it is often visited together with the monuments of the historical center - the Ark, the Po-i-Kalyan ensemble, the Ulugh Beg Madrasah, and Lyabi-Hauz. This combination is convenient for those who want to see not only medieval Bukhara, but also monuments from a later period.
You can get here by taxi or car from the center of Bukhara in a short time. Before the trip, it is worth checking the museum's opening hours, as access to individual buildings and exhibitions may depend on the visiting schedule.
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