Nugay Caravanserai (1720–1721)

The Nugay caravanserai was built in the sixteenth century, under Khan Muhammad Rahimbiy. It stands in the heart of the old city, next to the Taqi-Sarrafon trading dome and the House of the Bukharan Merchant.

Caravanserais were built everywhere at the time and meant a great deal to travellers. Under the trees in the yard they ate and drank; in the rooms they slept. Yet this ancient forerunner of the hotel usually provided neither dishes nor bedding: food for yourself and fodder for the pack animals came with you, and the caravanserai offered shelter and sometimes water. Nugay stood out against that — guests here were given what they needed.

The building is a closed square in the Eastern manner, with a single way in through wide gates. The single-storey brick courtyard looks cramped but holds forty-five hujra cells for guests plus service rooms and quarters for staff: more than forty travellers — pilgrims, merchants, caravan men — and their retinues fitted here without difficulty.

It was never only an inn: trade went on briskly. Fabrics arrived here from China and India, and robes were sewn on the premises and sold on the spot. Tea and textiles came from Iran, along with souvenirs, musical instruments and household goods made locally.

Nugay is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage site and under state protection. It no longer works as an inn but remains a trading house: jewellers' shops, craftwork, hand-made suzani, hand-woven carpets. During the annual From Silk to Spices festival the caravanserai becomes one of the main venues, with tastings of Uzbek wines.