Khiva is a name that evokes images of desert sands, camels and caravanserais. A vital stop on the legendary silk road it has the same cachet as other forbidden cities such as Lhasa, Kashgar, Zanzibar and Timbuktu.
In the 16th and 17th centuries it became the centre of the Khorezm empire and ruled by successive Khans it achieved notoriety as the centre of the central Asian slave trade. Turkomen nomads would ambush caravans, stealing their contents and selling the traders to Khivans. The cruelty and treachery of its Khan was legendary and executions for trivial offences were the norm. Torture was commonplace as were novel approaches to killing such as being thrown off the tops of minarets, being placed in a bag filled with feral cats. How’s this for size, throw a baby up in the air for it to land on a sword and be cut in half!
A Russian force was sent in 1717 responding to the Khan’s request for Russian help to control marauding local tribes. By the time a Russian force of 400 arrived the Khan had changed his mind. Nonetheless he welcomed them and put them up for the night. They were massacred while asleep and the Russian leader, Count Bekovitch had his head sent to the neighbouring emir of Bukhara. His body was put on display in the Khiva marketplace. Ultimately Khiva was the last of the central Asian khanates to surrender to the Russians in1873.
Modern Khiva reflects extensive reconstruction since that time. It is all a bit reminiscent of a Hollywood set for Sinbad or Arabian nights. While there are no truly ancient buildings here it is nonetheless atmospheric and very worthy of a stopover to wander the winding alleyways within the crenellated city walls.