Palvan-Darvoza Ensemble

The busiest place in Khiva is the square by the eastern gate of Ichan-Kala, known as Palvan-Darvoza, the strongmen's gate.

Several historic buildings stand around it: the baths of Anush Khan (foundations of 1664), the single-storey Khojamberdybiy madrasah (1688), the Allakuli Khan madrasah (1834–35), the Tim covered bazaar (1836–38), the Tash-Hauli palace (1830–38), the Allakuli Khan caravanserai (1832–33) and the Kutlug-Murad-inak madrasah (1804–12). They were built as they were needed, and in time some spilled beyond the walls of Ichan-Kala. All stand out for their vivid decoration and fine architecture — almost the whole Khivan school is gathered on one small patch.

The gate itself was built in 1804–06 in the form of an arched portal; at the entrance you can read the inscription Shahri Khiva — the city of Khiva — and the year, 1806. The complex was finally completed under Allakuli Khan in 1835. Beyond the entrance arch runs a many-domed trading gallery, with merchants' shops along both sides.

The place has a darker page. On the way out of Ichan-Kala, to the right of the gate, a slave market operated until 1873; the khan's decrees were proclaimed here and criminals executed. Hence the popular names of the gate — Kul darvoza, the slaves' gate, and Pashshab darvoza, the gate of execution.