Itchan-Kalas city fortifications

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The south city wall and the south gate Tash-Darwaza

The city ​​fortifications Itchan-Kalas includes the well-preserved city ​​wall and the four city ​​gates of the historic old town of Chiwas Itchan-Kala Ata-Darwaza , Bakhtscha-Darwaza , Palwan-Darwaza and Tash-Darwaza . Like the entire old town, it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage .

Buildings

The old town of Itchan-Kala (in German Inner Fortress) has an approximately rectangular area of ​​about 650 meters in north-south expansion by 400 meters in east-west expansion. This is almost completely enclosed by a city wall made of clay with a total length of about 2200 meters. The mud wall is 7 to 8 meters high. There is a battlement on the inside . A crenellated wreath and loopholes enabled defenders to defend themselves against opponents.

Four city gates ( darwaza ) in the four cardinal directions are incorporated into the city wall . The Ata-Darwaza gate opens to the west, directly next to the Konya Ark citadel, which is also incorporated into the city fortifications . To the north towards the city of Urganch is the Bakhcha-Darwaza gate. Palwan-Darwaza is the eastern gate and secured the road to Xazorasp and Amu Darya . The southern gate of Tash-Darwaza leads to the Karakum desert .

The city walls of Chiwa were overcome several times by conquerors. The first documented event was the conquest of the city by Nadir Shah in the middle of the 13th century. In the first half of the 19th century, Khans Alla Kuli (reigned 1825 to 1842) had the urban center relocated to the east of the old town near Palwan-Darwaza. Among other things, he had the Alla Kuli Khan madrasah built there. For this construction it was necessary to destroy part of the city wall. Furthermore, a caravanserai and the Tim trader passage , both waqf of the madrasah , were built into the breakthrough. The trader passage Tim has its own gate to the east.

A second wall breakthrough is located in the west, south of the Ata-Darwaza gate, so that the city fortifications are divided into a northern and a southern half. The battlements are freely accessible by visitors in the northern half of Konya Ark up to the breakthrough north of the Alla Kulis caravanserai. The entrance is to the west of the north gate Bakhtscha-Darwaza. Cemeteries have been added to the city wall in several places inside .

gallery

  • The West Gate Ata-Darwaza

  • The north gate of Bakhcha-Darwaza

  • The Palwan Darwaza East Gate

  • The walk-on battlement with a battlement

literature

  • Alexey Arapov: The Historical Monuments of Uzbekistan . Tashkent Samarkand Bukhara Chiva Shahrisabz. SMI-ASIA, Tashkent 2016, ISBN 978-9943-17-075-9 , Chiva, p. 86, 106 .

Coordinates: 41 ° 22 ′ 52.7 "  N , 60 ° 21 ′ 39.2"  E