#khivacity

The stunning beauty of madrassas, narrow lanes with paved paths leading to mosques, marvelous minarets and complexes decorated with mosaics with national ornament, as if they appeared from the pages of oriental tales. That is why Khiva is of great historical and cultural value for the whole world and can rightfully be considered the “seventh wonder of the world.”

The history of the founding of the city dates back to the fifth century BC. According to one of the folk legends, on the area of Ichan-Kala (the area inside fortress of Khiva) after the Great Flood, by the order of Sim, the biblical son of Noah, the Kheivak well was built, which gave unusually tasty water. Around this well the city of Khiva was formed.

The second tale tells us about the merchants of the Great Silk Road, who for a long time went with caravans through the desert of Central Asia from east to west and decided to stop and have a rest. Stopping at a wonderful well, the merchants drank water from it and exclaimed “Hey wah!”, Which means “Oh, how beautiful it is!”. Then around the magical spring, small settlements appeared, which was named “Kheivak”, and later on this place was built a magnificent city.

The Kheivak well, in honor of which the city received its first name, actually exists and it is located at the north-western wall in the small courtyard of Ichan-Kala fortress - the main attraction of Khiva. Right here all the architectural masterpieces of the “fairytale” city are located.

Throughout history, Khiva had to endure both conquest and periods of decline and prosperity. Ancient Khiva was built over 2500 years ago and was part of the large state of Khorezmshah (Khorezm). But, at the beginning of the 16th century, when the territory was occupied by tribes of nomadic Uzbeks, the Khiva Khanate was founded on this place. Then its capital was the city of Urgench. And after the change in the channel of the Amudarya, and the river caused great damage to the administrative center, it was decided to move the capital to Khiva. So, in 1598 a small district became the main city of the Khanate.