Blacksmithing of Bukhara🕍

 Our next trip is to Blacksmith of Bukhara. 

The museum-monument of blacksmithing was created in 1992 in the Caravanserai, near the dome of Taqi Telpakfurushon.  At the museum, you can not only learn about the history of blacksmithing, but also take part in the process and make a souvenir.  Swords, knives, daggers and other blacksmithing works are on display at the museum.  There is also a preserved manuscript of the blacksmith's charter - Risolai melody and copper.

 Shokir Kamolov, a member of the fifth generation of blacksmiths, was instrumental in creating the Blacksmithing Museum.

Bukhara was a center of development of handicraft production for many centuries. Nowadays the work of revival the crafts is being actively carried out. It’s blacksmithing, dyeing, silk weaving, wood carving and others. 

Blacksmithing is one of the oldest handicrafts in Uzbekistan. The territory of the Bukhara oasis for many centuries was one of the largest centres of craft production, including metalworking art. There are still unique workshops here, where knowledge is passed down from generation to generation, from master to student. Thus, ancient traditions are preserved, and the line of hereditary masters continues.

Guests will find themselves in the kingdom of fire and metal. During the master-class held at the forge, you will not only see the process of transforming shapeless metal into a work of art, but you will also be able to test your strength in blacksmithing under the guidance of an experienced craftsman

One of the main activities of the Bukhara museum-preserve is to revive and support traditional Bukharan handicraft. In 1992, the blacksmiths' museum-workshop, the only one of its type in Uzbekistan, was set up in the 16th - century Kulyuta karavansarai. The museum-workshop is a living museum. Not only could one learn there the history of the ancient blacksmith's craft, but also participate in making blacksmith products. Usto Shokir Kamolov, who comes of a family of blacksmiths, is the senior researcher of the museum. In the ancient streets of Bukhara history weaves itself effortlessly around the present-day lives of its people. Here you get a real sense of continuity. The world of the Silk Road caravans isn’t preserved in the aspic of Khiva; nor tucked into islands among the modern-day bustle of Samarkand; it is an ever-present backdrop to daily life. To walk these streets, duck through the low arches of the caravanserai and trading domes, sit for a while over green tea by the pool of Lyab-i-Huaz; this is what people of this city have done for centuries. Just outside Bukhara’s Tok-i-Tilpak Furushon (the Cap-Makers’ Trading Dome) we came across a blacksmith sitting at his anvil. Metal work is one of several crafts for which the city is famous; there’s even a museum devoted to it. Most of the blacksmiths still work in this very traditional way. Inside the dome we found several blacksmiths’ stalls, selling the traditional Bukharan scissors in the shape of storks and other birds. These are popular as souvenirs and of course we bought one. At the height of its powers as a centre of trade, Bukhara had five great bazaars or toks. These vaulted stone buildings straddled the intersections of the various trading routes that converged on the city. Their great arched entrances were high enough to allow a laden pack camel to enter, and each was devoted to a particular trade. 🕍Bye🕍