Khiva - Mausoleum Said Muhammad Mahir

The Said Muhammad Mahir Mausoleum is located in Khiva and is valued as the family tomb of the Khiva Khans. The memorial complex consists of three groups of monumental structures, including the tombs of some Khiva-Khans. Syed Muhammad-khan, Muhammad Rahim-khan II (Feruz) and his grandson Temur Gazi Tura, son of Isfandiyar-khan were buried here.

Three years of restoration work helped to reconstruct the building which was destroyed by time. In this work the restorers added new puzzles of decoration. During the excavation of the graves here, several people buried by without proper rites were found. Perhaps these people were the first preachers of Islam in these areas. Scientists disagree, and on the date of construction of each element of the complex. They have proved that the construction was carried out in two stages. The oldest part of the complex is Mausoleum and it is the oldest preserved religious building in Central Asia.

In special vaults around the mausoleum Said Muhammad Mahir are the tombs of the descendants of the Khans of Khiva, their wives and children. According to legend, a Sufi sheikh named Chadirli Eshon once lived here.

After his death, he was buried there and the cemetery that later developed near his tomb became known as Chadirli Eshon. Almost all the elements of the mausoleum (domes, walls, stepped trumpets) are made of mud bricks without external decoration and the tombstones are covered with majolica in the traditional style of the XIV century Khorezm.

The main façade is covered with mosaics and sides are decorated with turrets guldasta, which gives the impression of monumentality. The side facades are embellished with arched entrances. The portal of the building has a non-traditional elongated shape. Thanks to its location, as well as the presence of a large hall with good acoustics, it was the centre of Khiva’s cultural life for many centuries.

In 1825, the building was drastically restored on the orders of Allakulikhan, so that the present appearance of the mausoleum refers to the period of the new rebirth of architecture in Khorezm (first half of the 19th century).

In the second half of the XIX century, Sayyid Muhammad-khan ordered the mausoleum to be built over the Sheikh’s tomb. As a result, the complex turned into a family tomb of the Khiva-Khans.