Ulugbek and Abdulaziz Khan Madrasas
Old Bukhara, Uzbekistan
Facing one another in the old city, these madrasas make a useful pair to explore together. Ulugbek’s dates from the fifteenth century; Abdulaziz Khan’s followed in the seventeenth, with a more elaborate decorative treatment. Compare the gateways, coloured surfaces and courtyard layouts instead of rushing between them. Seeing the two buildings side by side gives a clearer sense of changes in Bukhara’s architecture than visiting either without its neighbour.