Street in the old town of Khiva, Uzbekistan.
Wikipedia: Khiva (Uzbek: Xiva/Хива, خىۋا; Persian: خیوه, Xīveh; alternative or historical names include Kheeva, Khorasam, Khoresm, Khwarezm, Khwarizm, Khwarazm, Chorezm, Arabic: خوارزم and Persian: خوارزم) is a city of approximately 90,000 people located in Xorazm Region, Uzbekistan. According to archaeological data, the city was established around 1500 years ago. It is the former capital of Khwarezmia and the Khanate of Khiva. Itchan Kala in Khiva was the first site in Uzbekistan to be inscribed in the World Heritage List (1991). The astronomer, historian and polymath, Al-Biruni (973-1048 CE) was born in either Khiva or the nearby city of Kath. The origin of the name Khiva is unknown, but many contradictory stories have been told to explain it. A traditional story attributes the name to one of the sons of Prophet Noah(AS): "It is said that Shem(AS) [from whence the word Semitic is derived], after the flood, he found himself wandering in the desert alone. Having fallen asleep, he dreamt of 300 burning torches. On waking up, he was pleased with this omen, he founded the city with outlines in the form of a ship mapped out according to the placement of the torches, about which he had dreamt. Then Sim dug the 'Kheyvak' well, the water from which had a surprising taste. It is possible to see this well in Ichan-Kala (an internal town of Khiva City) even today." Another story relates that travellers passing through the city, upon drinking the excellent water, would exclaim "Khey vakh!" ("What a pleasure!") and hence the city became known as Kheyvakh, whence Khiva. A third proposal is that the name comes from the word Khwarezm, altered by borrowing into Turkic as Khivarezem, then shortened to Khiva.
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: Khiva, Uzbekistan
Photo credit: © Bert de Ruiter / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ancient, asia, bert, center, central, centre, cobble, de, historic, hoja, horizontal, islam, khanate, khiva, landscape, medieval, minaret, road, ruiter, silk, stones, street, tourism, touristic, town, travel, uzbek, uzbekistan
