Ark of Bukhara

The Ark is a massive mud-brick citadel at the heart of Bukhara, with foundations stretching back to the 5th century. For over a millennium it served as the fortified residence of Bukhara's rulers, most recently the Manghit dynasty emirs, who held court here until the Bolshevik storming of the city in September 1920. The citadel gained grim notoriety as a prison: British officers Charles Stoddart and Arthur Conolly were held in its notorious bug pit and publicly executed in 1842, an episode that became emblematic of the Great Game rivalry between Britain and Russia. Today only around a sixth of the original complex survives intact. Visitors walk through the ruins of the throne hall and reception courtyard, visit a small museum on the emirate's history, and climb the ramparts for views across Bukhara's old-town roofscape.