Polvon Gate

Eastern gate of Itchan Kala, built in 1806 and historically the slave market entrance

The Polvon Gate is the most elaborate of Khiva's four gates, with two domed chambers flanking a central passage and a brick portal above. The 1806 construction is part of Allakuli Khan's wider rebuilding of the eastern walls, and the gate originally controlled all overland traffic from Urgench and Bukhara.

A small museum in the gate chambers covers the slave trade and its abolition by the Russians, with photographs and a few surviving objects. Step through to the outer side for a view back at the walls and the new town beyond.

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A story
The Polvon Gate — also called the Slave Gate — was the main entrance for caravans bringing captives to the Khivan slave market, one of Central Asia's largest until the Russian conquest of 1873. The market itself was held in the open ground just outside the wall, and the gate's lateral chambers were used to detain newly arrived slaves before sale. Most were Persian Shia Muslims, considered fair game by the Sunni Khivans.

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