The Poi-Kalon complex in Bukhara

The Poi-Kalon ensemble is one of the main architectural structures of Bukhara, and it sits in the centre of the old town where every road eventually leads.

The minaret

The Kalon minaret was finished in 1127 and stands 46 metres high on foundations ten metres deep. The story — and Bukhara tells it well — is that Genghis Khan looked up at it, dropped his helmet, and ordered the tower spared while the rest of the city burned.

The mosque and the madrasah

The Kalon mosque holds twelve thousand people and is almost entirely courtyard. Opposite it, the Mir-i-Arab madrasah has taught continuously for nearly five hundred years — it is still a working school, which is why you may look but not enter.

When to come

Early. The square is nearly empty before nine, and the light on the brick is worth the alarm.