Saif ed-Din Bokharzi and Bayan-Quli Khan Mausoleums

These two mausoleums in the Faroband district of eastern Bukhara stand side by side and together represent one of the most important Sufi pilgrimage sites in the region. Saif ed-Din Bokharzi, a Khorasani sheikh who died in 1261, was buried here in a modest tomb that his devoted followers subsequently enlarged and embellished. Bayan-Quli Khan, the Chagatay Mongol ruler who revered him, was buried nearby in a larger mausoleum with fine carved terracotta decoration dating to the 1360s.

The site is off the main tourist circuit and sees relatively few foreign visitors, which gives it a more authentic atmosphere than the heavily visited monuments near the Lab-i-Hauz. The terracotta carving on Bayan-Quli Khan's mausoleum is considered some of the finest pre-Timurid work in Uzbekistan. The surrounding Faroband neighbourhood retains a genuine residential character — a welcome contrast to the polished-stone heritage zone of the old city centre.

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A story
Saif ed-Din Bokharzi was a 13th-century Sufi sheikh whose tomb became one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Central Asia. His influence was such that the Mongol Chagatayid khans — nominally Buddhist or shamanist — converted to Islam partly under his instruction, and Bayan-Quli Khan, buried in the adjacent mausoleum, was among his disciples. The site thus marks one of the key moments when the Mongol rulers of Central Asia began to Islamise.

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