Just east of the Juma Mosque, a lane leading north from Pahlavon Mahmud ko'chasi contains some of Khiva’s most interesting buildings, most of them created by Allakuli Khan – known as the ‘builder khan’ – in the 1830s and ‘40s. First there's the tall Allakuli Khan Medressa and the earlier Kutlimurodinok Medressa (1804–12), facing each other across the street, with nearly matching facades. The latter now houses an art museum.
North of the Allakuli Khan Medressa are the Allakuli Khan Bazaar & Caravanserai . The entrance to both is through tall wooden gates beside the medressa. The bazaar is a domed market arcade, still catering to traders, which opens onto Khiva’s modern Dekhon Bazaar at its east end. Both bazaars and the caravanserai were closed for extensive renovations when we visited.
Opposite the Allakuli Khan Medressa to the south are the 1855 Abdulla Khan Medressa , which holds a tiny nature museum, and little Ak Mosque (1657). The latter contains the Anusha Khan Baths (closed at the time of our last visit) and a carpet shop.
The East Gate , a long, vaulted 19th-century passage with several sets of immense carved doors, bridges the baths and the bazaar area. The slave market was held here, and niches in the passage walls once held slaves for sale. Just outside the gate is a working mosque that overflows with wizened old men on Fridays.
