# Mir-i-Arab Madrasa, Bukhara > Mir-i-Arab is a 16th-century madrasa on Po-i-Kalyan square in Bukhara, facing the Kalyan Mosque, with a tiled portal and twin turquoise domes. It is still a working Islamic school, so visitors usually get only as far as the foyer. The façade is **free to see at any time**; the foyer is open by day (unofficial). Allow **15–20 minutes**. Web page: https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/mir-i-arab-madrasa - City: [Bukhara](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara), Uzbekistan - YesGo score: 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) - Time on site: 20 min - With kids: Fine with kids - Entry: Façade and foyer free; one guide lists UZS 10,000 - Access: Courtyard and cells closed — it is a working school; the tomb room on request - Hours: Foyer by day, ≈ 9:00–17:00/18:00; façade always visible - Dress: Shoulders and knees covered; a scarf for women is a good idea - Address: 16 Xo‘ja Nurobod Street, Po-i-Kalyan square - Time needed: 15–20 minutes - Next door: Kalyan Minaret and Mosque, across the square - Coordinates: 39.77601, 64.41562 - Facts checked: 30.10.2026 ## Key facts - **Working school** — it still trains imams, which is why visitors rarely get past the foyer (source: Russian Wikipedia; Advantour; OrexCA; German Wikipedia) - **1535–1536** — completed; recent research puts the start of building after 1512 (source: Russian, German and French Wikipedia; Advantour) - **Po-i-Kalyan** — it faces the Kalyan Mosque portal to portal, next to the Kalyan Minaret (source: German Wikipedia; Sputnik8; Eurasia.travel) - **Abdullah Yamani** — a Yemen-born sheikh and mentor of the Shaybanid khans, nicknamed Mir-i-Arab — the madrasa is named after him (source: Russian and French Wikipedia; Advantour; OrexCA) - **Ubaydullah Khan** — the tomb room by the entrance holds the khan’s wooden cenotaph and the sheikh’s marble tombstone (source: Russian, German and French Wikipedia; Advantour) - **73 × 55 m** — footprint of the building; the courtyard is about 33 × 37 m (source: German Wikipedia; Turkestan Travel) - **110+** — student cells (hujras) on two floors around the courtyard (source: Russian and German Wikipedia (114); Turkestan Travel (111)) - **1945–1946** — reopened after closing in the 1920s; for decades it was the only working madrasa in the Soviet Union (source: Russian, German and French Wikipedia; Turkestan Travel; OrexCA) - **Alumni** — muftis Ravil Gainutdin and Talgat Tadzhuddin, and Akhmad Kadyrov, studied here (source: Russian, German and French Wikipedia) - **1993** — UNESCO World Heritage, as part of the Historic Centre of Bukhara (source: Russian Wikipedia; OrexCA; Sputnik8) ## Can you go inside Mir-i-Arab Madrasa? Mostly no. Mir-i-Arab is a working seminary where students live and study, so tourists are normally allowed only into the **foyer** behind the portal. From there you look through a grille into the courtyard; the cells and classrooms are off-limits. The tomb room of the founder is sometimes opened if you ask politely, but that is a favour, not a rule. Is it worth it anyway? Yes — as a short stop. The point here is the façade and the square, not the interior. Give it 15–20 minutes on your way between the Kalyan Minaret and the trading domes rather than planning around it. ## Mir-i-Arab entrance fee and opening hours There is no ticket: the façade and foyer are unofficially **free**. One guidebook lists about UZS 10,000; if someone at the gate asks, it is a small sum. The madrasa does not publish visiting hours. The foyer is usually open by day, roughly 9:00 to 17:00–18:00, and the façade can be seen from the square at any hour — floodlit in the evening. Avoid Friday midday prayers and prayer times in general: that is when the gate is most likely to stay shut and when asking to see the tomb is least welcome. Payment: you won’t need money here, but the Kalyan Mosque and the Ark next door charge entry. Bring Uzbek som in cash — old-town ticket desks mostly take cash, and foreign cards don’t always work at small counters. > **Dress code and manners** Even for the foyer, dress as you would for a mosque: shoulders and knees covered, a light scarf for women. Keep your voice down, don’t step past barriers, and don’t photograph students at close range without asking. The same outfit works for the Kalyan Mosque opposite, so you won’t need to change between the two. ## What to see at Mir-i-Arab - **The portal** — a tall pishtak in blue and turquoise mosaic with floral and geometric patterns and thuluth inscriptions. - **The twin turquoise domes** on tall drums either side of the portal: one covers the founder’s tomb, the other the madrasa’s mosque. - **Two-storey loggias** along the façade, with the windows of student cells behind them. - **The courtyard through the grille** — square, with four iwans and two floors of cells; the tilework inside is brighter than on the façade. - **The view of the minaret**: from the madrasa portal you get the Kalyan Minaret and Mosque in one frame. - **Po-i-Kalyan after dark** — both portals are lit and the square empties out. ## History: who built it, and the only madrasa in the USSR Nobody knows exactly when building began. The long-standing date is 1530–1536, under the Shaybanid ruler **Ubaydullah Khan**; newer research links the start to the Shaybanid victory over Shah Ismail of Persia at Ghijduvan in 1512, and the founder, Sheikh Abdullah Yamani, died in 1526. The name means roughly “property of the Arab”, after the sheikh’s Yemeni origin. A story says the final works were paid for by selling more than 3,000 Persian captives — historians repeat it as legend. The plan is classic: a 73 × 55 m block around a square courtyard with four iwans and more than a hundred cells on two floors. The 19th-century thinker **Ahmad Donish** taught here. After the Soviet takeover the madrasa was shut in the 1920s. Then the unusual part. In 1945–1946, after long negotiations led by Mufti Eshon Babakhan, it reopened — and for decades it was the only working madrasa in the Soviet Union. Future muftis **Ravil Gainutdin** and **Talgat Tadzhuddin** studied here, as did Akhmad Kadyrov. In 1993 it was listed by UNESCO with the rest of historic Bukhara. ## How to get to Mir-i-Arab Madrasa 1. The madrasa is on Po-i-Kalyan square, directly opposite the Kalyan Mosque. If you are at the [Kalyan Minaret](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/kalyan-minaret), the portal is across the square — under a minute on foot. 2. From [Lyabi-Hauz](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/lyabi-hauz), walk west along the pedestrian street through the [trading domes](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/bukhara-trading-domes) — about 10 minutes. The minaret is your landmark. 3. From the [Ark of Bukhara](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/ark-of-bukhara), it is about 5 minutes south-east along the pedestrian street. 4. From Bukhara airport (BHK), take a Yandex Go taxi — about 15 minutes to Lyabi-Hauz or the Ark. The old town is pedestrian, so you walk the last few minutes. 5. From Kagan railway station, 12 km out, a taxi takes about 25 minutes to the old town. > **Best photo: early morning or after dark** In the morning the portal is evenly lit and the square is nearly empty. After sunset the portal is floodlit and the domes stand out against the sky. The classic shot — Mir-i-Arab’s two domes beside the minaret — is easiest from the Kalyan Mosque portal, or from its courtyard if you buy a ticket there. ## Before you go: checklist - [ ] Shoulders and knees covered, scarf in the bag - [ ] Not expecting more than the foyer - [ ] Som in cash for the Kalyan Mosque and the Ark - [ ] Not at Friday midday prayers - [ ] No close-ups of students without asking - [ ] Coming back after dark for the lights ## Mir-i-Arab vs Kalyan Minaret vs the Ark | | Mir-i-Arab | Kalyan Minaret and Mosque | Ark | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | What it is | Working 16th-century madrasa | 12th-century minaret and Friday mosque | The emirs’ citadel | | Inside | Foyer only | Mosque courtyard with a ticket | Courtyards and museums with a ticket | | Entry | Free | Mosque ≈ UZS 15,000–25,000 | ≈ UZS 60,000 | | Time needed | 15–20 min | 30–45 min | 1–1.5 h | | Highlight | Portal and twin domes | The minaret and huge courtyard | Gate and museums | Fees are unofficial. All three are within five minutes of each other; Mir-i-Arab is the quickest stop, best slotted between the mosque and the trading domes. ## Bukhara’s historic sights compared Every historic sight in Bukhara rated by YesGo. - [Mir-i-Arab Madrasa](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/mir-i-arab-madrasa) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free; usually no entry past the foyer - [Lyabi-Hauz](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/lyabi-hauz) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free - [Chor Minor](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/chor-minor) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free from outside - [Bolo-Hauz Mosque](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/bolo-hauz-mosque) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free - [Trading Domes](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/bukhara-trading-domes) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free - [Ark of Bukhara](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/ark-of-bukhara) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ 60,000 UZS for foreigners - [Kalyan Minaret](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/kalyan-minaret) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Square free, mosque ≈ 15,000 UZS - [Samanid Mausoleum](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/samanid-mausoleum) — YesGo score 38/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 30 min · ≈ 20,000 UZS, under 7s free - [Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa Palace](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/sitorai-mokhi-khosa) — YesGo score 32/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ 60,000 UZS for foreign visitors - [Chor-Bakr Necropolis](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/chor-bakr) — YesGo score 30/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · ≈ 10,000–15,000 UZS ## Old Bukhara in half a day The Ark, the Po-i-Kalyan ensemble with the minaret and Mir-i-Arab, the trading domes and lunch at Lyabi-Hauz — all on foot. YesGo fits in the timing and walks. 1. [Ark of Bukhara](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/ark-of-bukhara) — YesGo score 43/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ 60,000 UZS for foreigners 2. [Kalyan Minaret](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/kalyan-minaret) — YesGo score 39/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Square free, mosque ≈ 15,000 UZS 3. [Mir-i-Arab Madrasa](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/mir-i-arab-madrasa) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 20 min · Free; usually no entry past the foyer 4. [Trading Domes](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/bukhara-trading-domes) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free 5. [Lyabi-Hauz](https://yesgo.io/uzbekistan/bukhara/lyabi-hauz) — YesGo score 45/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 45 min · Free ## Good to know The building with the huge courtyard opposite is the Kalyan Mosque, not Mir-i-Arab — that is where tickets are sold. Spellings vary: Mir-i-Arab, Miri Arab, Mir Arab; locally it is Mir Arab madrasasi. Some databases mislabel it as “Shir Dar Madrasa” — Sher-Dor is a different madrasa on Registan in Samarkand. ## Tips - Pair it with the Kalyan Minaret: same square, and the two together take under an hour. - Come in the morning for people-free shots of the portal in soft, even light. - Want to see the tomb room? Ask politely at the gate, but take no for an answer — it is the guard’s call. - Return after sunset: the floodlit portal and domes are the best view of Bukhara at night. - With a guide, ask about the madrasa’s Soviet years — without that story it is just a beautiful façade. ## Questions ### Can tourists go inside Mir-i-Arab Madrasa? Usually only into the foyer. It is a working Islamic school, so the courtyard and cells are closed; the tomb room is sometimes shown on request. ### Is there an entrance fee? No ticket. The façade and foyer are unofficially free; one guide lists about UZS 10,000, so have small change just in case. ### What are the opening hours? The façade is visible at any time. The foyer is open by day, unofficially about 9:00 to 17:00–18:00. ### Is Mir-i-Arab worth visiting? Yes, as a 15–20-minute stop on Po-i-Kalyan square. Don’t make a special trip for the interior — you won’t see much of it. ### Who is buried at Mir-i-Arab? Sheikh Abdullah Yamani, the founder, and the teacher Muhammad Qasim; the tomb room also holds a wooden cenotaph of Ubaydullah Khan. ### Was it really the only madrasa in the Soviet Union? Yes. It reopened in 1945–1946 and for decades was the only working madrasa in the USSR. ### Who studied at Mir-i-Arab? Muftis Ravil Gainutdin and Talgat Tadzhuddin, Akhmad Kadyrov and many other religious leaders of the former Soviet Union. ### Is there a dress code? Yes. Cover shoulders and knees; women may want a scarf. The same applies at the Kalyan Mosque opposite. ### Where is the best photo spot? From the Kalyan Mosque portal across the square, where the twin domes and the minaret fit in one frame — early morning or after dark. ## How we checked The madrasa publishes no visitor rules, hours or fees, so access, entry and hours are unofficial and marked “verifying”. Foyer-only access comes from German Wikipedia, Lonely Planet and Sputnik8; French Wikipedia says it is closed to visitors altogether, so we tell you not to count on more than the façade. Free entry comes from Wanderlog and travel listings, while Sputnik8 gives about UZS 10,000 — we show both. Hours: 9:00–18:00 per Sputnik8, 9:00–17:00 in one listing. The reopening year differs: 1945 in German and French Wikipedia and Turkestan Travel, 1946 in Russian Wikipedia — so we write 1945–1946. Cell counts: 114 in Russian and German Wikipedia, 111 at Turkestan Travel — we write 110+. The 73 × 55 m footprint is from German Wikipedia and Turkestan Travel. The address is from the madrasa’s own website. Sources give different reign dates for Ubaydullah Khan, so we leave them out. Kalyan Mosque fees (Travel Cost Calculator, Wanderlog) and the Ark fee (as on the YesGo Ark page) are unofficial. Walking routes use Wikidata coordinates. ## Sources - Russian, German and French Wikipedia: Mir-i-Arab Madrasa; Wikidata Q4287951 - Mir Arab madrasa website — address of the school - Advantour: Miri-Arab Madrasah, Bukhara - OrexCA: Miri-Arab Madrasah, Bukhara - Eurasia.travel: Miri-Arab Madrasah - Turkestan Travel: Miri Arab Madrasah in Bukhara - Sputnik8: Mir-i-Arab Madrasa - Lonely Planet: Mir-i-Arab Medressa; Wanderlog listing - Travel Cost Calculator and Wanderlog — unofficial Kalyan Mosque fees --- This is the Markdown version of a YesGo page for AI assistants. Quote the web page link above, not this file.