Ota-Darvoza Gate and the Walls of Ichan-Kala

The walls of Ichan-Kala are what make Khiva look like a mirage from the desert road. They run for about 2.2 kilometres around the inner town, 8–10 metres high and 5–6 metres thick at the base, built of sun-dried brick and rammed clay. Semicircular bastions stand at regular intervals, and the top is crenellated with loopholes for archers. The line of the walls is ancient, but they have been eroded and rebuilt many times; much of what you see dates from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, with extensive modern restoration.

The four gates

Four gates face the points of the compass: Ota-Darvoza in the west, Bagcha-Darvoza in the north, Palvan-Darvoza in the east and Tash-Darvoza in the south. Each has towers flanking the passage and a gallery above.

Ota-Darvoza, the “father gate”, is the main entrance today, with the ticket office beside it. The original gate was pulled down in 1920 to make way for traffic, and the present one is a reconstruction of 1975. Just inside, the main street opens with Kalta Minor ahead on the left, the most celebrated first view in Uzbekistan. Palvan-Darvoza in the east, a long domed passage, led to the town’s main bazaar; local tradition holds that captives were once sold nearby, a reminder that Khiva lived partly on the slave trade until 1873.

Walking the walls

Sections of the wall walk are open to visitors, most often the northern stretch near the Bagcha-Darvoza and the section by the Kunya-Ark. From the top you look down on one side into the courtyards of Ichan-Kala and on the other across the newer town and the fields. Walking or running around the outside of the walls is a flat loop of a little over two kilometres, best at dawn.

Experiencing it

The walls are at their finest in the last hour of daylight, when the clay changes from beige to deep gold. Bring water and something to sit on, and be prepared to share the view: it is the most popular sunset spot in Khiva.