EnsemblesUnder 1 km awayUNESCO World Heritage
Khoja Gaukushon Ensemble
A 16th-century madrasa, mosque and minaret on a quiet square south of the trading domes, named after the cattle market that once stood here.
Gaukushon Madrasa
A 1560s madrasa of the Khoja Gaukushon ensemble in central Bukhara, set on an irregular plot beside a mosque, pool and small minaret.
Ensembles1562–1565
About the place
The madrasa was built in 1562–1565, under Abdullah Khan II, at the expense of Khoja Saad, a Juybari sheikh known as Khoja Kalon. The name Gaukushon, "bull slaughterers", recalls the slaughterhouse that stood here before; soon after, a Friday mosque, a pool and a short minaret modelled on the Kalyan minaret were added around it.
Because the plot is uneven, the building is asymmetrical and trapezoid in plan, with two iwans instead of the usual four. It stands west of the Toki Sarrafon trading dome, behind a row of Russian-era buildings, a short walk from Lyabi Hauz.
Why go
- A rare asymmetrical madrasa plan
- Part of an ensemble with a small minaret and pool
- Close to Toki Sarrafon and Lyabi Hauz
Sources (4)
Nearby
- Ensembles
EnsemblesUnder 1 km away
Olimjon Caravanserai
A state-owned caravanserai of 1813 in old Bukhara, where Afghan merchants once traded and a local photographer later ran a well-known studio and gallery.
EnsemblesUnder 1 km away
Abdurakhmoni A'lam Madrasa
A two-storey brick madrasa of 1809 in the Gaukushan quarter of old Bukhara, now used as a teahouse for visitors.
EnsemblesUnder 1 km away
Sarrafon Mosque
A 16th-century mosque beside the Toki Sarrafon trading dome in Bukhara, long used as a teahouse, with old calligraphy on its portal.