Khurdjum and Allakuli Khan Madrasahs: where Khiva shows its skill in tight urban space

These madrasahs near the eastern gates of Ichan-Kala tell one of the most practical and interesting planning stories in Khiva. The earlier Khodjamberdy-biy madrasa, later called Khurdjum or “saddlebag,” had to be rethought when the Allakuli Khan Madrasa was built nearby. The difference in floor levels and the intervention of a ramp produced an unusual spatial relationship between the two.

This is part of what makes the stop so rewarding. It is not just about decoration. It is about urban adaptation. Khiva’s builders were constantly negotiating limited space, existing walls, commercial lines, and earlier buildings.

The later construction of the Allakuli Khan Madrasa even required part of the city wall to be dismantled because the available site was too tight. That single fact says a great deal about late Khiva: ambitious, dense, and willing to reshape itself when prestige and practicality demanded it.

For travelers, this stop is especially good if you like reading cities through planning logic rather than only through big visual effects. It pairs naturally with Tash Hauli, Palvan Darvoza, and the market-related structures of the eastern quarter.

Khurdjum and Allakuli Khan together show Khiva as a city that kept rebuilding itself inside narrow limits. That is one of the reasons the old city feels so rich. It grew through negotiation, not emptiness.