Experience the best of Khiva

Khiva rises from the desert of Khorezm in western Uzbekistan, near the Amu Darya river, its inner town, Itchan Kala, enclosed by mud-brick walls about two kilometres long with four gates. Within the walls, narrow lanes link mosques, madrasas, minarets and palaces in sun-baked brick. UNESCO listed it in 1990, and it was the capital of the Khivan khanate until the early twentieth century.

The Kalta Minor minaret, a short, fat tower covered in turquoise tiles, was left unfinished, while the Islam Khoja minaret stands about forty-five metres above the old town and gives a view across the roofs. The Juma Mosque has a forest of carved wooden columns, and the mausoleum of Pahlavon Mahmud, a poet and wrestler, has a glazed turquoise dome. The Tash Khauli palace has painted courtyards, and the desert fortresses of ancient Khorezm lie beyond the city.

Khorezm cooking has its own dishes: shivit oshi, noodles coloured green with dill and served with meat, plov, samsa baked in a clay oven and sweet melons, dried or eaten fresh in summer. Green tea is poured in every teahouse. Summers are very hot and dry, winters cold, and spring and autumn bring comfortable days with clear skies.