📖 About Khiva

Khiva is one of the world's best-preserved examples of a Central Asian walled city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that transports visitors to the medieval Silk Road. With approximately 90,000 residents, this ancient oasis city in western Uzbekistan's Khorezm region maintains an inner old town (Itchan Kala) where mud-brick walls, turquoise-tiled minarets, and Islamic architecture create an open-air museum virtually unchanged since the 19th century.

Unlike Samarkand's grand monuments or Bukhara's religious focus, Khiva preserves an entire urban fabric—the walls, gates, palaces, mosques, madrasas, and residential quarters form a coherent whole. The city was capital of the Khanate of Khiva, the last Central Asian state to fall to Russian conquest in 1873.

Khiva offers visitors the most atmospheric Central Asian experience—walking through gates into the walled city feels like time travel. Evening light on blue tiles, the call to prayer from minarets, and the scale of preservation make Khiva unforgettable.

🏛️ Top Attractions

💼 Economy & Culture

Khiva's economy increasingly depends on tourism as visitors discover this exceptional heritage site. Traditional crafts—wood carving, carpet weaving, silk production—serve both local needs and tourist markets. The surrounding Khorezm oasis produces cotton, rice, and fruits. Government investment has improved tourism infrastructure. The challenge is balancing development with heritage preservation while providing economic opportunities for residents of the living old city.

Khivan culture preserves traditions from the Khanate era. Uzbek language and Sunni Islam define identity, but Khorezm maintains regional distinctiveness. Traditional architecture, crafts, and customs continue. The city was historically a center of Islamic scholarship; madrasas produced scholars and jurists. Music, poetry, and textile traditions remain vibrant. The preservation of the old city means residents live amid heritage, maintaining connection to history while adapting to modern life.

📜 History

Khiva traces settlement to antiquity—legend claims Shem, Noah's son, discovered the spring here. The city developed as an oasis stop on Silk Road routes. From the 16th century, Khiva became capital of the Khanate of Khiva, a powerful Central Asian state. The khans built the monuments that survive today, using slave labor including captured Russians.

Russia conquered Khiva in 1873, ending the slave trade but maintaining the khan as puppet ruler. Soviet rule abolished the khanate in 1920. Remarkably, the old city survived Soviet modernization largely intact. UNESCO designated Itchan Kala as a World Heritage Site in 1990. Independent Uzbekistan has invested in restoration and tourism development. Today's Khiva represents the most complete surviving example of a Central Asian Islamic city.