Varakhsha Settlement and Bahouddin Naqshband Architectural Complex

Scenic road chapters

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Varakhsha Settlement

   Thirty kilometres or so west of Bukhara, beyond the last irrigated fields, the land turns to sand and salt crust at the edge of the Kyzylkum desert, and here a low mound of eroded mud brick rises from the flat ground. This is Varakhsha, once a flourishing town and the residence of the Bukhar Khudats, the pre-Islamic rulers of the Bukhara oasis. It thrived in the early medieval centuries, when the oasis extended further than it does today, and was abandoned around the eleventh century, probably as irrigation failed and the desert advanced.

   Read the complete Varakhsha Settlement write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Varakhsha Settlement is where the day begins. Next is Chor Bakh Necropolis.

2. 2. Chor Bakh Necropolis

   A short ride west of Bukhara, in the village of Sumitan, a complex of courtyards, mosques and family tombs sits behind high walls, with blue-tiled portals rising above the surrounding houses. This is Chor Bakr, a necropolis built around the grave of Abu Bakr Said, a descendant of the Prophet who died in the tenth century. In the sixteenth century, the Shaybanid rulers of Bukhara built a memorial complex here, with a khanaqah, a mosque and a madrasa, and the cemetery became a resting place for the powerful Juybari sheikhs, a dynasty of religious leaders with great influence over the khanate. The name means "four brothers", referring to the four Abu Bakrs said to be buried here.

   Read the complete Chor Bakh Necropolis write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Chor Bakh Necropolis comes up about 38 km into the recorded legs. Next is Bahouddin Naqshband Architectural Complex.

3. 3. Bahouddin Naqshband Architectural Complex

   Bahauddin Naqshband died in 1389 in the village where he was born, a short ride from Bukhara, and the Sufi order that bears his name went on to spread across Central Asia, India, the Ottoman Empire and beyond. The Naqshbandi order emphasised silent remembrance of God and living a spiritual life within the everyday world, and its founder's tomb became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Central Asia, so much so that locals sometimes call it the Mecca of Central Asia. The complex, with its mosques, minaret, courtyards and the tomb itself, was largely built in the sixteenth century under the Shaybanid rulers and restored in recent decades.

   Read the complete Bahouddin Naqshband Architectural Complex write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 58 km into the recorded legs you reach Bahouddin Naqshband Architectural Complex. Next is back through Chor Bakh Necropolis.

4. 4. back through Chor Bakh Necropolis

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Chor Bakh Necropolis write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Chor Bakh Necropolis, late in the day. Next is Varakhsha Settlement.

5. 5. Varakhsha Settlement

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Varakhsha Settlement write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Varakhsha Settlement. That is the ride.