The President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev and the President of Kyrgyzstan Sadyr Zhaparov, together with the first ladies of the two countries, visited the Ichan Kala complex and the Nurillaboy palace complex in the city of Khiva.

In 1990, the city of Khiva was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List and celebrated its 2500th anniversary in 1997. In 2020, the city was declared the cultural capital of the Turkic world and, in 2024, the tourist capital of the Islamic world.

Ichan Kala, an “open-air museum”, is Central Asia’s only surviving monument city. It has more than 120 architectural heritage sites.

Starting the tour at the Ata Darvaza gate, the distinguished guests got acquainted with the unique Kunya Ark complex, the Shergozi Khan madrasah, the Juma mosque, the Tash Khovli complex, and other monuments.

Uzbek folk songs were sung in honor of the guests, and a theatrical performance was shown.

Then, the guests visited the Nurillaboy Palace.

The palace and park complex was built at the beginning of the 20th century. It includes a madrasah, more than 100 rooms and galleries. Not only leading Khiva masters, but also foreign decorative artists, who introduced elements of the European Art Nouveau style into the decoration, took part in creating the palace apartments.

Stories about Khiva’s history and contribution to the development of science and the region’s rich culture and art made a great impression on the Kyrgyz guests.