Palace of Khudáyár Khán
The Palace of Khudáyár Khán, known as the Pearl of Kokand, was the palace of the last ruler of the Kokand Khanate, Khudáyár Khán.
Description
The palace complex, built in 1871, occupied a total area of four acres with a foundation three meters thick. It was constructed with a high portal, a highly decorated large entrance arch, and four minarets. Surrounded by a carved stone wall, the palace consisted of seven courtyards and one hundred and nineteen rooms. The inscription above the main gate reads: "Great Seyed Mohammad Khudáyár Khán."
Construction
Constructed by sixteen thousand conscripted or enslaved workers using one thousand carts to transport materials, the eighty master builders designed and built an ornate structure of variegated colors and rich ornaments with geometric patterns, arabesques, and floral motifs all made from ceramic tiles and based on tales of the Orient.
Current use
Today only two courtyards and nineteen rooms survive and function as a museum of local history with an exposition of about the past and present of Kokand.
References
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