Twists of Faith

The Lyab-i Hauz—Tajik for “by the pool”—complex is the tourist hub of the storied city of Bukhara in Uzbekistan, surrounded by the ubiquitous accoutrements of such centres: bed-and-breakfasts, money-changers, souvenir shops and bistros. The rectangular Hauz was created in the seventeenth century—next to the decades-older Kukeldash Madrasa, at the time the biggest Islamic school in Central Asia—by Nadir, vizier to Imam Quli, the khan of Bukhara. A khanqah, or Sufi hermitage, and a caravanserai, both named after Nadir, flank the pool. However, while inaugurating the complex, Imam Quli called the caravanserai a madrasa. As the khan could not be wrong, Nadir added to the structure, commissioning a magnificent portal and adjoining loggia, as well as an additional floor with cells for students.

When I entered the Madrasa of Nadir Divan-Beghi, in September 2018, instead of the sound of young voices reciting the Quran or teachers declaiming on theological questions, I was greeted by the tapping of mallet on chisel. The madrasa is today a workplace for artisans practising Uzbekistan’s many exquisite crafts. The cells that once housed scholars and students are now little shops and studios, selling clay figurines, colourful pottery, brass pitchers and wall plates, woven and embroidered textiles, and wooden bric-a-brac. “Our crafts are a big attraction for tourists, and the madrasa spaces offer a good opportunity for