Gijduvan Ceramics

Gijduvan sits on the old road between Bukhara and Samarkand, about 45 kilometres north-east of Bukhara. For Uzbeks the name means two things: kebab, and pottery. The town's ceramics form one of the two great schools of Uzbek pottery, as recognisable as the blues of Rishtan in the Fergana Valley, but in an entirely different palette.

The Gijduvan style

Gijduvan pottery is red clay covered with a white slip and painted in warm, earthy colours: brown, ochre, yellow and deep green, with touches of blue, under a transparent glaze. Patterns are bold and radiating, with stars, rosettes and stylised plants spreading from the centre of a dish, and the colours are allowed to run slightly in the kiln, giving the surface a soft, flowing look. Large plates called lagan, bowls and jugs are the classic forms.

Visiting a workshop

Several potter families keep the tradition alive, the best known being the Narzullaev family, whose house is both a working studio and a small museum of historic pieces. A visit usually includes the wheel, the painting room and the wood-fired kiln, and many workshops let you try throwing a pot or painting a tile. Pieces can be bought on the spot, and potters will wrap them for travel. Some workshops serve lunch in the family courtyard; ask your guide to arrange it.

The shrine and the madrasah

Gijduvan was also the home of Abdulkhaliq Gijduvani, a 12th-century Sufi master revered as the first of the Seven Pirs of Bukhara and the teacher whose path Bahauddin Naqshband later followed. His memorial complex stands beside the Ulugbek Madrasah of 1432–1433, the third and smallest of the madrasahs founded by Ulugbek, after those in Bukhara and Samarkand.

How to experience it

Gijduvan is an easy half-day trip from Bukhara, or a natural stop on the drive between Bukhara and Samarkand or Nurata. Arrive mid-morning, visit a workshop, see the shrine, and stay for a lunch of Gijduvan kebab.