Ark of Bukhara

The Ark is a massive fortified citadel that dominates the western edge of Bukhara's old city, its rammed-earth walls rising some 20 metres above street level. Inhabited by the emirs of Bukhara until 1920, the interior held palaces, mosques, stables, and a prison, portions of which are now open as a museum. The entrance portal's flanking towers, rebuilt in the early 20th century, form a distinctive photographic subject from the square below.