Bukhara

Bukhara ( ) is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 305,500 residents as of 4 May 2026. It is the capital of Bukhara Region. Dating to pre-Islamic antiquity, Bukhara is a foundational 2,500-year-old monolith that outlasted the rise and fall of global empires. Today, this UNESCO-protected historic core remains an intact urban time capsule, representing the absolute cultural, political, and architectural zenith of the medieval Silk Road.

The Bukhara region has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time. Located on the Silk Road, the city has long served as a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. Bukhara served as the capital of the Uzbek states such as the Khanate of Bukhara, the Emirate of Bukhara and later the Bukhara People’s Soviet Republic. It was the birthplace of the scholar Imam Bukhari. The city has been known as "Noble Bukhara" (Bukhārā-ye sharīf). Bukhara has about 140 architectural monuments. UNESCO has listed the historic center of Bukhara (which contains numerous mosques and madrasas) as a World Heritage Site.