Karaulbazar Sardoba

A sardoba is a covered reservoir that stored fresh water in dry country. This one was dug into a deep hollow of the Urtachul steppe next to the Karaulbazar caravanserai, on the trade road to Bukhara, and served caravans and their animals; water was led to it from the bed of the Kashkadarya. Later it was the only fresh water for the settlement that grew around the caravanserai, until wells and piped water arrived.

The round tank is 15.8 metres across and 8.1 metres deep under a dome pierced by nine windows. A projecting arched portal opens onto a corridor that leads down to the water, with small rooms for the keepers above it. Its tilework once earned it the nickname of palace. Several more caravanserais and cisterns survive along the steppe road to the Amu Darya.

• Domed cistern with nine windows
• A stop on the old caravan road to Bukhara
• Nicknamed the palace for its tilework