Enter a citadel frozen for a thousand years. Touch the Juma Mosque’s 213 wooden pillars carved a thousand years ago. Only locals can live here, a right passed down through generations. You get a pass for 2 days for $10 to see everything. At sunrise, the gates of Itchan Kala open only to locals—every shop, craft, and trade run by their hands alone. The 10m clay-brick walls, standing since the 10th century, seal in 26ha of streets trapped in time. Within them, over 50 monuments rise beside 250 ancient homes. The 29m Kalta Minor minaret stops mid-sky—ambition frozen since 1855. Juma Mosque holds 112 carved wooden pillars, each one different. In the market, spices and wool mingle—every product crafted on site. More than 300 families still work as their ancestors did. This is not a museum. It’s a living fortress, preserving 2,000 years of skill, memory, and will.

Mixed feelings about this place. On the one hand, it is excellently restored, unbelievabley photogenic, and well maintained but at the same time it feels like a theme park for tourists packed with souvenir shops and overpriced restaurants. The only life activity here is tourist trade. Since they evicted most of its residents, this place has somehow lost its soul and become just another tourist processing factory. Also, there is no mention of its slave trading past anywhere. That is rather unfair. By the way, despite what they might tell you, you don’t need to buy a ticket to enter the old town itself, you will only need it if you want to visit its museums.

A MUST VISIT in Uzbekistan. Do it as a stay within the complex so that you can see the views both by day and night. An amazing stay to experience bygone era.

Itchan Kala is a fortress walled city where you have mosque, madrassahs, houses during ancient times. It's still a protected place as world heritage site but you can see some parts of the walls and buildings are fragmented and damaged. Now there's lots of shops, museum, restaurants and people selling scarves and souvenirs. Nobody live in this place anymore. The tiles are very beautiful and most of them in blue colour. It's really a huge place. We did the tour in one day only. I wish we had stayed longer so that there's more time to explore this place. Worth the walk although it's really tiring.

Interesting old town... Great to stroll around, visit some sites and have a sunset dinner on one of the terraces. Just a bit too many tourist shops disturbing the historic sites.

Jewel of the desert.. Khiva Ichan Kala.. Excellent architecture. Visit two times morning and evening. Feel the full taste of this gigantic architecture. And evening walk inside Ichan Kala is memorable. Must visit Khiva while anyone plan to Uzbekistan. ❤️

Khiva Kuhna Ark Fortress Kunya-Ark Citadel, Khiva. Located within the heart of Khiva’s Itchan Kala, the Kunya-Ark Citadel—meaning “Old Fortress”—served as the royal residence of Khiva’s khans for over two centuries. Originally founded in the 17th century by Muhammad Erenk Khan, the citadel was expanded over time to become a fortified town within a town, containing all the essential structures of a functioning government and royal court. The Kunya-Ark was both a seat of power and a private world for the khans and their families. Visitors can explore several fascinating sites, including the khan’s reception hall (kurinishkhana), the harem quarters, the mint, stables, arsenal, and even a mosque. One of the most striking areas is the open-air throne room, where the khan receives guests beneath a beautifully tiled iwan with elaborate blue-and-white ornamentation. Architecturally, the complex offers a unique blend of simplicity and elegance. Its courtyards, richly decorated arches, and fine wood-carved columns showcase traditional Khivan craftsmanship. Today, the Kunya-Ark, restored and preserved, allows tourists to step directly into the life of a khanate that once thrived at the crossroads of empires and caravan routes. A visit here is essential to understanding the grandeur and governance of one of Central Asia’s most iconic cities.

The food might not be the best in the city, but it's still good (plov is a simple version so decent but not the best. The pumpkin soup was a bit too thick). If you sit outside, you can get a beautiful view on the famous minaret, or use those bed-tables. For those reasons, I went twice for lunch during my stay!

We went here 3 x in our 3 day stay for the lovely coffee and Iced Latte. Beautiful view, friendly staff and nice cakes!.

Great place to grab a drink and have a brake from the walking. The coffee, shade, and people watching were great! Inside is air conditioned as well if you prefer.

Friendly staff, but Mediocre meal, No AC functioning, Slow service Still, A wonderful place to escape from the 40 degree temperature at noon

A really lovely place with a friendly and attentive restaurant. We ordered shivit oshi, tukhum barak, and salad. Everything was tasty and felt authentic. We had fresh pressed melon and watermelon juice, and it was delicious!

Great family run cafe/restaurant. Easily the best coffee in Khiva. Dinner was delicious! Pastries were home made, absolutely out of this world and very authentic. We came back every day, twice a day. The woman working there with her kids went above and beyond to make us feel comfortable. Highly recommended!

A lovely spot with good food and pleasant service

There are over 200 carved columns in this mosque and they are donated by each families in the community, the artistic and rich families made there’s fanciful and the poorer ones just donated the column without any decoration. Seems fair to me. Imagine some of these columns being here since the 10th century 😄👍

Juma Mosque – A Forest of Pillars in the Heart of Khiva. Tucked deep within the walls of Ichan Kala, the Juma Mosque (Friday Mosque) is one of Khiva’s most atmospheric and unique monuments. Originally founded in the 10th century and rebuilt in its current form in 1788–89, it stands out for its hypostyle hall, supported by 213 wooden columns—a layout rarely seen in Central Asian architecture. Each column has its own character, many salvaged from earlier structures, with some dating back as far as the 10th or 11th century. Intricate carvings, geometric patterns, and Arabic inscriptions reveal a rich mix of eras and artistic traditions. The open-plan interior allows light to filter in from ceiling openings, creating an otherworldly, almost mystical atmosphere. Unlike typical mosques with domes and minarets, Juma Mosque prioritizes simplicity and serenity. It served as the main place of Friday prayer for the people of Khiva and continues to awe visitors with its timeless spiritual aura. Today, the Juma Mosque is a must-visit for those who want to experience the spiritual and artistic heritage of Khiva. Visitors often say it’s not just a building, but an atmosphere — quiet, ancient, and profoundly moving. Just outside stands the Juma Minaret, also known as the Jummi Minaret.

As of August 2025 It’s under restoration and you can see small entrance area with 30 pillars only. It is covered by partitions that ruin the sacred atmosphere. The place must be beautiful, but considering the raise of the ticket price (250,000 sum for museums in Itchan Kala) my experience is really disappointing.

Juma Mosque (Friday Mosque) is a 10th–18th century mosque in Khiva. It is one of the principal monuments of Itchan Kala. It stands in the middle of Itchan Kala, on the road connecting the west gate (Ota darvoza) and the east gate (Polvon darvoza). The mosque was first documented in the 10th century, but it was rebuilt in 1788.

A unique Mosque with many old columns the Juma Mosque of Itchan Kala. This was my 2nd time here and the 1st time I could really feel the Mosque soul. Excellent place to stay in a far corner where few people and sit for a while in a peace quite atmosphere. Must visit spot of Itchan Kala.

Interesting as it is such a different style from most mosques. The wooden carved poles inside are impressive.

Under construction ( oct 25) but still beautiful

Everything about this restaurant was better than expected. Food was outstanding. Beet salad was superb and a true winner, quite delicious dumplings and tender, perfectly cooked skewers. To top it off cheesecake pistachio dessert was amazing. Light and tasty. Recommended!

The restaurant is beautiful decorated, made us feel like we are in a 1,001 nights scene. We loved the ambiance with soft lighting. Service was top notch! Our server was young and good looking and super attentive. We ordered a salad appetizer which was ok but my Lagman noodles soup and my brother Skirt Steak were very good.

I really liked the place as it has a wonderful view and great service. However food and drinks are overpriced and the vegetarian pilaf was very plain. I really enjoyed the wine and other vegetarian meals which they have plenty off and they are marked with a leaf on a menu. The local wine is great as well. By the way, the terrace tables require reservation. So make it in advance. Overall, I’d suggest going for the experience once but exploring other places after.

We had both a dinner and lunch here during our 2 night stay in Khiva and both were very good. The combination of great views from the terrace on the top floor and great food make it an ideal place for a tourist to eat. The staff are young and a little inexperienced but make up for that with good English and the desire to help. The menu has a good selection of salads, soups, meat dishes, local noodles and dumplings. The salads were great and such good value so had the tomato and ‘Russian salad style’ on both occasions. We had the kebabs with side of French fries avid these were tasty and filling. For our dinner visit they provided blankets as it got really cold (end October). We probably should have eaten inside downstairs but the evening view is so lovely that we decided to stay in the terrace. There was a short dancing display too which was nice. As a said we went twice in 2 days and really enjoyed it - recommended.

Initially thought this was going to be a tourist trap but actually both food and drinks were great, we came back the following day. The view from the rooftop is stunning! Come here for lunch, they have 3 areas where you can sit (indoor with AC, outdoor and rooftop) or even for sunset for a drink. I had the beef with aubergine dip which was great, would highly recommend! Great WiFi and accept credit cards. Also they do not charge service charge which most other restaurants do. Best place in town which is why it is featured in the Lonely Planet!

Best spot in town by far! Most amazing view! Great food with good prices. We found ourselves coming back to this places. We had the shared platter with variety of local dishes 👌

Visited Khiva in November and since many places are closed off season came here to eat on several occasions. Staff is very friendly , speaks English and the food is really nice. Tried several items from the menu. And of course the best thing about this place is the view!

Food was tasty. I enjoyed the salads more than the main dish and the bread was good too! Soup was ok. Meat was well seasoned. No complaints about the service at this establishment, people were friendly. The atmosphere was alright, kinda big hall, but the ac was nice with the hot day outside! Place caters to tourist groups, so if you're a tourist, probably worth a stop

Nice restaurant with above average food. Somewhat pricey but I guess you’re paying for the atmosphere. The food we ordered was good. The only setback was the lack of imagination. We asked for a vegetarian version of the Qapshirma and all we got was a wrap with cheese in it.

Great mastava soup and the crispy fried eggplant roll

Hardly any of the food we thought we’d like was available. Pricy especially with 15% service charge. Veg dish I ordered had full garlic cloves, red chilli and about 8 chunks of lemon - weird!

To be honest I don’t know why so many people recommend this place. Food is mediocre and portions are small. They add 15% service fee. They don’t take card. Service is also quite poor and unfriendly.

The food that I had was good, but they were out of almost everything. They will tell you what you what you are going to eat, and they're not terribly friendly about it. It was ok, but I much preferred the equally good food and much better selection and service at Terrassa.

This is the most expensive restaurant in town, but the food has rocks, the staff is very rude, they asked us to pay for food we didn't order, and the restaurant manager didn't even listen to it. they don't know how to provide convenient service.

I would not recommend. We waited more than 1 hour the food. Everything we ordered was not good quality and not very tasty. The rooftop is nice and with a great view but when you are seated you could not see anything. There were not a lot of people and there is a reason!!

Such a nice place for lunch or dinner in Khiva. I enjoyed my dinner at the rooftop while looking at the beautiful city landscape. The staff at the restaurant was very nice, friendly and helpful - the only thing I would change is bringing soup first and main dish later and not both at once as the main dish gets little cold while sitting there waiting for me to finish soup :) However both things very tasty, totally recommending!

The roof terrace has a fantastic atmosphere with stunning panoramic views while you dine. The food was delicious with a particular mention to the meat manti which were so juicy. Excellent service too with very fair pricing.

Best beef shish kebab I had in a long time! We also had a hummus and a vegetarian plov. They were both good. I super recommend their traditional tomato salad, it was delicious. The cake was ok, was a bit dry and not very flavoursome. The decor of the place was nice with pleasant ambiance music. The service was good, the waiters were kind. Overall I’d go back!

The views from the terrace were the best we had in Khiva!! Especially during sunset. Can only recommend. Food and service were great as well. The offer several vegetarian and vegan options such as the large grilled vegetable platter and the local dumplings with pumpkin.

The most delicious food we had in khiva! We came here for three times during our staying in Khiva. We managed to had dinner in the amazing terrace. The staff is very young and extremely professional and kind. Food was really amazing! We tried langman (superb), manty with pumpkin, dolman and green noodles . Everything was really excellent! A gem in khiva. Highly recommended!

The food was absolutely delicious, with stunning views and a fantastic atmosphere. Huge thanks to the incredibly friendly and attentive staff , you really made the experience special!💙🩵