A Russian-style façade, a mirrored White Hall, a harem by a pool and peacocks in the garden: Sitorai Mohi-Hosa was the summer palace of Bukhara's last emir. History, what is inside, how to get there and 2026 tickets.
Facts, prices and schedules checked on November 4, 2026
Sitorai Mohi-Hosa is the summer palace of the last emir of Bukhara, built between 1912 and 1918 on the northern edge of the city, only a few years before the emirate fell. It is unlike anything in the old town. From the outside it looks like a Russian provincial mansion; inside are rooms of carved and mirrored plaster, Chinese porcelain and silk, made by the best Bukharan craftsmen of their day.
The palace is a short drive from the centre and makes an easy half-morning trip, usually combined with the shrine of Bahauddin Naqshband. Its garden is full of peacocks, its former harem stands beside a large pool, and its museum tells the story of the court in its final years.
This guide covers the history, what to see in each building, how to get to Sitorai Mohi-Hosa, tickets and opening hours as of November 2026, and whether it is worth the trip. The name is spelled many ways: Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa, Sitora-i Mohi Xosa, or simply the Emir's Summer Palace.
What does Sitorai Mohi-Hosa mean?
The name is Persian (Tajik), the language of the Bukharan court, and is usually translated as "a palace like the stars and the moon" or "star and moon". A popular local story links it to Sitora, said to be a beloved wife of the emir, after whom the palace was named when she died. It is a romantic tale rather than a documented fact, but every guide in Bukhara will tell it.
There is another legend about the choice of the site. When an earlier emir wanted a cool summer residence in the mid-19th century, his advisers are said to have placed fresh sheep carcasses at several places around the city. The spot where the meat stayed fresh longest was judged to have the coolest, healthiest air, and the palace was built there. Whether or not it happened, the site does feel noticeably fresher than the old town on a summer afternoon, thanks to the garden, the pools and the open country that once surrounded it.
History: the emirs, the Russian engineers and 1920
There have been several palaces on this site. The first, from the 18th and mid-19th centuries, has not survived. More buildings were added in the second half of the 19th century under Emir Abd al-Ahad Khan, who ruled Bukhara as a protectorate of the Russian Empire and travelled often to Russia.
The palace we see today was built for his son, Sayyid Mir Muhammad Alim Khan, the last emir of Bukhara. Alim Khan had been educated in St Petersburg, and he wanted a residence that showed both worlds. Two Russian engineers at the emir's court, named in sources as Margulis and Sakovich, designed the European structure, while Bukharan master craftsmen decorated the interiors. Among them was Usto Shirin Muradov, the most celebrated ganch (carved plaster) master of his generation.
The emir did not enjoy it for long. In September 1920 the Red Army took Bukhara, and Alim Khan fled, first to the east of the emirate and then to Afghanistan, where he died in Kabul in 1944. The palace was nationalised, and in 1927 it opened as a museum, with sections on the lives of the last emirs, urban crafts and the revolution.
Its later history was less dignified. From 1954 part of the complex served as a rest house for the leadership of the Communist Party of Uzbekistan, and the museum shrank to a handful of rooms. Today the whole palace is again a museum of decorative and applied arts, part of the Bukhara State Museum-Reserve.
Inside the main palace and the White Hall
The main building is the reason to come. You walk through a series of reception rooms and private apartments, each decorated in its own style, and the mix of East and West is part of the charm: Bukharan carved plaster next to Russian tiled stoves, crystal chandeliers above Uzbek carpets, and gilded mirrors that the emir ordered from abroad.
What to look out for:
- The White Hall: the main reception room, decorated by Usto Shirin Muradov with intricate white ganch carving laid over mirrored glass. When the chandeliers are lit, the whole room seems to glitter. Look closely: the carved motifs are rarely repeated.
- Mirrors: Venetian and Japanese mirrors in elaborate frames, and a famous lattice panel in which your reflection repeats many times over.
- Stoves: tall Russian-style stoves faced with patterned tiles, one of the clearest signs of the emir's ties with Russia.
- Ceilings: painted and gilded wooden ceilings, different in each room.
- Furniture and gifts: 19th and early 20th-century palace furniture, Russian porcelain and objects presented to the emirs by foreign visitors.
- Porcelain: one of the best collections of Chinese and Japanese porcelain in Uzbekistan, gathered by the emirs from the trade routes and diplomatic gifts.
Photographs of the court hang in some rooms, including portraits of Alim Khan himself. They help you picture the palace as it was a century ago.
The harem, the pool and the museum pavilions
The main palace is only one part of the complex. Set aside time for the other buildings in the garden:
- The Octagonal Pavilion: a small building with an exhibition of Bukharan urban dress from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including gold-embroidered robes, belts, scarves and footwear. Gold embroidery was a Bukharan speciality, and robes like these were given by the emir as marks of honour.
- The harem: a long two-storey building beside a large pool, where the emir's wives lived. Today its rooms hold an exhibition of suzani embroidery and household textiles from the Bukhara region (bed covers, prayer mats, curtains and pillow covers) and several souvenir shops.
- The pool: a legend says the emir watched the women of the harem bathing from a wooden pavilion above the water and chose his companion by throwing an apple. It is another story every guide loves; treat it as folklore.
- The guest house and smaller pavilions: some are decorated with gold embroidery panels and painted ceilings.
The harem and the main palace are a few minutes' walk apart across the garden, and the pavilions are spread out, so take your time. The ticket covers the whole complex.
The garden and the peacocks
The palace stands in a large walled garden with fruit trees, grapevines, pools and shady paths. Peacocks roam freely, as they did in the emir's time, and they are the first thing many visitors photograph. The males display most often in spring.
The garden is a pleasant place to rest after the interiors. Benches stand in the shade near the pools, and on a warm day it is easy to see why the emirs came here to escape the heat and dust of the old city. In April and May the roses are in bloom; in autumn the vines turn gold.
How to get to Sitorai Mohi-Hosa from Bukhara old town
The palace is on the northern outskirts of Bukhara, about 5 to 6 kilometres from the Ark and Lyabi-Hauz. It is too far to walk comfortably, especially in summer.
- By taxi: the easiest option. A Yandex Go ride from the old town takes 10 to 15 minutes and typically costs 20,000 to 40,000 som each way in 2026. Ask the driver to wait or order a new car for the return; taxis are easy to find at the gate during the day.
- By minibus: city minibuses run towards the northern districts, but there is no direct tourist service, and you will have a walk at the end. It saves little money and a lot of time is lost.
- With a car and driver: the most comfortable option if you combine the palace with Bahauddin Naqshband and other sights outside the centre. Typical 2026 prices for a car and driver around Bukhara are about US$30 to 60 for a half day.
There is parking at the entrance.
Sitorai Mohi-Hosa tickets and opening hours in 2026
There is a single ticket for the palace complex, paid at the entrance, usually in cash. As of November 2026:
- Ticket: reported prices for foreign adults range from about 25,000 to 60,000 som (roughly US$2 to 5); children under seven usually enter free.
- Photography: some halls may charge a small extra fee for photography or restrict it; ask at the ticket desk.
- Opening hours: typically daily from 09:00 to 18:00 in the main season, closing earlier (around 17:00) in winter.
The museum belongs to the Bukhara State Museum-Reserve, and prices across its sites have been revised several times in recent years, so treat these as typical figures and check at the gate. Bring small notes in som.
Is the summer palace in Bukhara worth it?
If you have two or more days in Bukhara, yes. It shows a side of the city the old town does not: the last decades of the emirate, when Bukhara was looking towards St Petersburg and Europe while still governed as a medieval Islamic state. The craftsmanship of the White Hall is outstanding, and the porcelain and textiles are among the best museum collections in the city.
If you have only one day, skip it and concentrate on the old town: the Ark, Po-i-Kalyan, Lyabi-Hauz and the Samanid Mausoleum.
How long to allow: about 1 to 1.5 hours inside the complex, plus travel. A comfortable half-day trip combines Sitorai Mohi-Hosa with the Bahauddin Naqshband memorial complex, the shrine of the founder of the Naqshbandi Sufi order, about 20 minutes' drive away. Our article on ziyarat pilgrimage in Uzbekistan explains why Naqshband is one of the most important places of pilgrimage in Central Asia.
The best time to visit is the morning, before the day's heat and the afternoon groups. The interiors are dim, so the hour of day does not matter much for photographs inside, but the garden and façades are best in soft light.
What to combine with the summer palace
Sitorai Mohi-Hosa sits outside the old town, so it makes sense to pair it with other places you need a car for. Three combinations work well:
- Bahauddin Naqshband: the memorial complex of the 14th-century Sufi master, east of the city, with a large courtyard, a mosque, a sacred tree and a steady stream of pilgrims. Together with the palace it fills a relaxed morning.
- Chor-Bakr: a walled necropolis of the Juybari sheikhs in the village of Sumitan, west of Bukhara, with quiet lanes of family tombs and a 16th-century khanaka and mosque. It is less visited and very atmospheric in the late afternoon.
- The Faizulla Khodjaev House: back in the old town, the restored home of a rich merchant family whose son headed the government of the Bukharan People's Republic after the emir fled, and was executed in the Stalin purges of 1938. It is the perfect counterpoint to the emir's palace: the same years, seen from the other side.
With two days in Bukhara, we suggest the old town on the first day, as described in our Bukhara travel guide, and a morning of the summer palace and Bahauddin Naqshband on the second, leaving the afternoon for the trading domes, Lyabi-Hauz and a slow evening.
Tips for your visit
- Dress: there is no religious dress code, but if you combine the palace with Bahauddin Naqshband on the same trip, cover shoulders and knees, and bring a scarf if you are a woman.
- Shoes: comfortable walking shoes; the garden paths are long and some are gravel.
- Accessibility: the main palace has steps at the entrances and between some rooms; the garden is mostly flat.
- Shopping: the harem shops sell suzani, embroidered textiles and souvenirs. Prices are a little higher than in the trading domes of the old town, so compare before you buy; our guide to Uzbek crafts and souvenirs has tips on quality and bargaining.
- Water and shade: bring water in summer; there is shade in the garden, but little inside the courtyards.
- A guide helps: the labels in the museum are brief, and the stories of the emir's court are what make the visit.
Visiting Sitorai Mohi-Hosa with TourEast
The summer palace pairs well with Bahauddin Naqshband in one morning, by car with a local guide. If you would like to add it to a group tour or plan a private day around Bukhara, we can arrange the transport, tickets and guiding as part of a custom itinerary.
