Abdullah Khan Madrasa

The Abdullah Khan Madrasa forms one half of the Qo'sh Madrasa — a rare paired complex of two opposing Islamic schools in the historic center of Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Built in 1590 under Abdullah Khan II, the most powerful ruler of the Bukharan Khanate, it faces the slightly older Modari Khan Madrasa (1567) across a narrow lane, a deliberate urban pairing unusual in Central Asian architecture. Its facade displays the characteristic features of Timurid-derived design: a deep iwan portal arch framed by intricate majolica tilework in cobalt blue and turquoise. Bukhara's old city has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, and the complex sits at the heart of the city's dense concentration of medieval monuments. No longer functioning as a school, it can be visited as part of a walking route through Bukhara's madrasa-lined historic core.