Uzbekistan: The Jama Masjid (Friday Mosque) within the Ark fortress, Bukhara. The Ark was initially built and occupied around the 5th century CE. In addition to being a military structure, the Ark encompassed what was essentially a town that, during much of the fortress' history, was inhabited by the various royal courts that held sway over the region surrounding Bukhara. The Ark was used as a fortress until it fell to Russia in 1920. Bukhara was founded in 500 BCE in the area now called the Ark. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabited long before.

---

Size: 3359px × 5022px
Photo credit: © Pictures From History / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 5th, ad, architecture, ark, asia, asian, building, bukhara, ce, central, century, culture, david, fort, fortification, fortress, friday, henley, heritage, historical, history, image, images, islam, islamic, jama, masjid, mosque, muslim, persia, persian, photo, photograph, picture, pictures, religion, religious, road, silk, site, unesco, uzbek, uzbekistan, world