Palace of Moon-like Stars (Sitorai-Mokhi-Khosa)
Palace of Moon-like Stars (Sitorai-Mokhi-Khosa)
Palace of Moon-like Stars (Sitorai-Mokhi-Khosa)
4
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Saturday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
About
The summer residence of the last Emir of Bukhara, located just outside the city.
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
Popular mentions
4.0
232 reviews
Excellent
96
Very good
89
Average
41
Poor
5
Terrible
1
anotherdayanotheradventure
Hong Kong, China120 contributions
Feb 2020 • Solo
Don't go. Not at all worth it, at least in winter. It was an absolute joke. When I got there, the cashier charged me 25,000 som for the entrance fee. Having read up on many previous reviews about this place overcharging, I asked her if it wasnt meant to be only 15,000, at which point she produced a photocopied piece of paper which showed something being 25k. Giving the cashier the benefit of the doubt, I handed over the money and was then given no further instructions. From the get go, you could see that the place was going through big restoration and construction gear and the mess was everywhere. There were no signs anywhere and the people who worked there just ignored me and would rather stay warm in their little rooms. No one was really working.
When I finally reached what looked like a house turned museum, I tried going on, only to find the door locked. Luckily, there was a stored which was opened next to it, and he had to call the staff to open it. I waited 15 minutes before a staff came and she looked at me annoyed... seemingly because I made her walk from her heated room and unlock one of the three buildings which we could go in to see. After literally 2 minutes, there was a power outage which obviously was not conducive to any viewing of what was inside (pic below). When I asked the staff if she knew when the lights will be back on, she looked up at me from her phone frustrated and then went back to her phone. After waiting another 15 mins, hoping that the power would come back, I gave up and tried to walk the baron and unkept grounds for another building to go into. Finally stumbling into one, I went in and again, couldn't see much due to the lack of light. At which point I decided to find the 3rd building and realised that it was under restoration. This was an absolute joke! Out of 3 possible buildings, 1 was under restoration, 1 was locked, and the other one which looked most interesting, I couldn't see anything in. And apart from the goats which actually did the only work by eating away the weeds, nobody cared nor wanted to give any kind of customer service. It's disappointing, I could see the potential of it.
The only good thing was that I enjoyed my ride on the public buses; the locals were so helpful and friendly.
When I finally reached what looked like a house turned museum, I tried going on, only to find the door locked. Luckily, there was a stored which was opened next to it, and he had to call the staff to open it. I waited 15 minutes before a staff came and she looked at me annoyed... seemingly because I made her walk from her heated room and unlock one of the three buildings which we could go in to see. After literally 2 minutes, there was a power outage which obviously was not conducive to any viewing of what was inside (pic below). When I asked the staff if she knew when the lights will be back on, she looked up at me from her phone frustrated and then went back to her phone. After waiting another 15 mins, hoping that the power would come back, I gave up and tried to walk the baron and unkept grounds for another building to go into. Finally stumbling into one, I went in and again, couldn't see much due to the lack of light. At which point I decided to find the 3rd building and realised that it was under restoration. This was an absolute joke! Out of 3 possible buildings, 1 was under restoration, 1 was locked, and the other one which looked most interesting, I couldn't see anything in. And apart from the goats which actually did the only work by eating away the weeds, nobody cared nor wanted to give any kind of customer service. It's disappointing, I could see the potential of it.
The only good thing was that I enjoyed my ride on the public buses; the locals were so helpful and friendly.
Written February 15, 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dirk W
Alexandra Headland, Australia10,147 contributions
Oct 2022
Only about 100 years old, it was build by the last Emir as his summer palace. He involved Russian engineers together with local masters and the result is a mixture of Oriental and Western styles. Today it houses the Museum of Arts and Crafts, but I thought their displays are rather confusing and a strange mixture of furniture, clothing and Japanese porcelain. If you have spare time in Bukhara, it is worth the drive, but there are much more interesting attractions.
Written November 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
lawrenceChin
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia659 contributions
Oct 2023 • Business
It's the summer palace for the Sultan during old time. We have visited here and enjoy most of the time. There is a few show rooms to display the artifacts and marvelous belongings of the old king. The staffs in there also very polite and corporative. They allowed us to take pictures and admired the king's treasures. We also walked through a park and bought some local souvenirs there. It's a perfect place for us to visit during evening time.
Written October 28, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Ramadama
New Providence, NJ2,909 contributions
Oct 2021 • Couples
It is well worth visiting this site. It is a palace constructed by the last Imir in 1905. He only lived in it for 15 years when the bolsheviks took it over. The room are spectacular.each one is like a special jewel.
Written October 10, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Beatriz M
DĂĽsseldorf, Germany5,677 contributions
Dec 2022
Beautiful former summer house of the Emir. If you have time in Bukhara and do not know where else to go, you can come here, it is 4 km from the center, with yandex it will not be expensive and fast ride. I think I paid 30 000 som entrance fee. The area is quite big and lots to explore, maybe in one hour you can see everything and take pictures of the peacocks. Nice activity!
Written January 4, 2023
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Maduranga Nanayakkara
Dubai, United Arab Emirates480 contributions
Sep 2019
I won't say that it is as grand or decorative as Versailles in Paris or Peterhof palace in St.Petersburg or the Royal palace in Madrid. but this is another unique palace that tells you about royal's lavish lifestyle & their taste of art & architecture.
The remains of the palace (it says most of it had been collapsed over many years) have few rooms which are nicely decorated by tiles,glass,mirrors etc.And some rooms with hanging Uzbek famous hand embroidery-Suzani to witness the craftsmanship during that era.
At the site,there are few shops where they sell Suzani & other handicraft souvenirs. You can negotiate the prices as mostly they start with "Tourist price" ..
It is not a waste to pay a visit to this palace when in Bukhara. You can hopefully have a little idea about it from my photos.
No idea about the entrance chargers as we took a guided tour in Uzbekistan & this was one of the places in the itinerary while at Bukhara.
The remains of the palace (it says most of it had been collapsed over many years) have few rooms which are nicely decorated by tiles,glass,mirrors etc.And some rooms with hanging Uzbek famous hand embroidery-Suzani to witness the craftsmanship during that era.
At the site,there are few shops where they sell Suzani & other handicraft souvenirs. You can negotiate the prices as mostly they start with "Tourist price" ..
It is not a waste to pay a visit to this palace when in Bukhara. You can hopefully have a little idea about it from my photos.
No idea about the entrance chargers as we took a guided tour in Uzbekistan & this was one of the places in the itinerary while at Bukhara.
Written October 4, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Tommi J
Helsinki, Southern Finland, Finland4 contributions
Jul 2019 • Couples
Comments about palace itself below, but before entering you should know that at the entrance the price you are given may be severely inflated with extras you don't know you're paying for. Upon entering we were given a price of 120,000 som for two people which is pretty exorbitant for Uzbekistan. A few minutes after paying we returned to the counter to inquire about the details of the price and it turned out we had payed for a guide service (the price breakdowns are written only in cyrillic Russian). Having made clear that we don't want a guide, we were informed that the price of entrance is 60,000 som for two people so we got half of our money back. At this point we continued the visit. We happened to come across an independent guide in the palace and decided to one more time ask what the entrance price is supposed to be - he told us it's 15,000 som per person. The rest of what we payed were apparently taken for camera fees with the assumption we had one each even though we had no camera out of our bags when entering. So we returned once more to the entrance and got the rest of the extra fees back. The primary explanation we got when asking a member of staff why we were asked originally four times the entrance fee is that the cashier does not speak English and therefore they just ask for a price with all the extras. I can understand that not everyone in Uzbekistan speaks English - I don't speak Russian or Uzbek either. However, the palace gets a lot of European tourists whose main foreign language is English, and thus I think it would not be unreasonable to spend 15 minutes to print a version of the price breakdown in English and place it on the counter. To be honest, to us the explanation about the lack of English skills sounded like an excuse, there was no real attempt to explain the prices in Russian or Uzbek either. Anyway, when you arrive at the palace, just be aware of this and clearly state that you just want the entrance which in July 2019 was still only 15,000 som per person and you'll be fine. Expect also to be asked for 1000 som each time you use the toilet (of course there is no indication of price and you will be told afterwards, not before).
The palace itself is beautiful, a unique mix of Uzbek and Russian styles. In particular the interiors are impressive with colourful patterns and ornamentations. It's well worth the trip from central Bukhara, you can avoid inflated taxi prices by taking a bus just east of the Old Town (our bus was no 9,dropping us off 800m from the palace entrance). Not taking into account the entrance price racket, the palace itself deserves 4/5.
The palace itself is beautiful, a unique mix of Uzbek and Russian styles. In particular the interiors are impressive with colourful patterns and ornamentations. It's well worth the trip from central Bukhara, you can avoid inflated taxi prices by taking a bus just east of the Old Town (our bus was no 9,dropping us off 800m from the palace entrance). Not taking into account the entrance price racket, the palace itself deserves 4/5.
Written July 31, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
becklambert
Brighton150 contributions
Apr 2023 • Couples
Offers something a bit different. Beautiful smell of jasmine in the air with peacocks wandering everywhere. Buildings were interesting. Lots of the sellers you find all over Uzbekistan but much less hassle here.
Written March 4, 2024
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
kb123742
Lahore, Pakistan505 contributions
Oct 2013 • Couples
From Bakhauddin Nakshband Complex we hired an independent taxi in $ 10/- (27,000/- Soum) and reached Emir's Palace in 15-20 minutes. The sight was in the outskirts of Bukhara and a silent 'Picnic Spot' with very few tourists around. We paid 14,000/- Soum for two to enter and were encircled by many Shop-Girls trying to sell their individual products, mostly of Chinese Brands. Peacocks, right at the main gate equally triumphed our entry into the sight. Astride a wide walking track in the premises, we strolled through a Bird's Sanctuary, Mosque, Museum, Emir's Residence and fine quality Souvenir Shops. In the middle, two young boys convinced the visitors to buy their Hand-Made Paintings and the Artificial Jewelry. At the end of the track were a water-pond and ruins of an old building. A large portrait of 'Emir of Bukhara', placed in-front of the 'Photo-Shop' was impressive and eye-catching. A lot of dry-shrub however, surrounded most of the buildings, giving an impression of inadequate state of routine maintenance. Peaceful and relaxing environments to pass time in leisure. Main bus stand was a few hundred yards away but a mini-bus, standing right at the main gate drove both of us to city center for 1000/- Soums. In the afternoon, we relished sumptuous lunch at Chinor Restaurant, near Lyab-i-Hauz for 29,000/- Soums. MUST SEE in Bukhara.
Written November 23, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Nick B
Melbourne, Australia167 contributions
Jul 2019
The last Emir of Bukhara built himself a summer palace a few years before the Bolsheviks drove him out. The Emir liked to play cards in St Petersburg, but also served as a leader of religious Uzbek people. Hence, he created a palace that was both Russian and Uzbek, the styles clashing almost as badly as the colours. The palace is worth seeing for the three or four rooms that are open to view, but there are a couple of other buildings with exhibitions, peacocks and a pool outside the harem. When I went in, I was charged some exorbitant fee by Uzbek standards - perhaps $10 - and when I was greeted by a guide I kinda knew I had paid more than I should. But overall, it was not a lot of money and I didn't want to offend the guide (who seemed like a nice chap) so I rolled with it. His tour was quite accelerated so I went back afterwards to look at things at my own pace. There are also some souvenir shops but nothing you wouldn't have seen in Bukhara. Ask at the main gate for them to call you a taxi back to the city.
Written September 14, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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