Getting There
Located just outside the centre of Bukhara, Sitorai Mohi Hosa is a quick taxi ride away.
What to Expect
The summer palace consists of three buildings, set in rose gardens and surrounded by courtyards, a Persian-influenced style that harks back to Timurid days.
The White Hall is a masterpiece of typical Bukharan stucco (ganch), niches and mirrors. Master craftsmen Shirin Muradov also decorated the Bukhara lobby in the Tashkent opera.
The rooms surrounding the courtyard include a banquet hall, a chess room and a chaikhona (teahouse), decorated with luxury items of the day like an early refrigerator, photographs of the emir and a mirror that multiplies 40 times. Alim Khan’s porcelain collection is displayed in the adorable chaikhona, while only a few remaining carpets of approximately 4000 his father collected now cover the hallway floors.
Currently, the palace building houses the Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts, opened in 1927. The palace is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Its name translates as “the castle of a star like the moon”.
History
The palace was first built by the third-to-last emir of Bukhara, Nasrullah Khan. Nasrullah Khan was a mad and cruel khan, but he loved his wife dearly. When she died in childbirth, he named the palace after her. He likened her beauty to the moon; her name was Sitorabony. Thus it became Sitora-i Mohi Hosa Saroy, the palace of a star like the moon.
The emir was chased away to Afghanistan, while the soldiers enjoyed their reward: carrying off one the 400 women in the emir’s harem. Communism had arrived.
Facilities Available
Inside there is a bazaar with souvenirs. Nearby Amulet Hotel (4.65 km), Amelia Hotel (4.74 km), Bi bi-Khanym Hotel(4.96 km), Minzifa Boutique Hotel (5.11 km), B&B / mini Hotel K. Komil (5.16 km)
Restaurants Asian Restaurant (4.89 km), Café Wishbone Bukhara (4.70 km), Restaurant “Old Bukhara” (4.75 km), Minzifa (4.97 km), Xon Atlas (4.82 km).
