Sha-Qalandar Bobo Complex, Khiva
Sha-Qalandar Bobo Complex in Khiva is dedicated to a medieval wandering Sufi who was drawn to the intellectual and spiritual atmosphere of the city, located in present-day Uzbekistan.
Khiva was an ancient center of spirituality and enlightenment where seekers and teachers of truth would flock in times past. In the sixteenth century, three travelers dressed as dervishes arrived in Khiva. According to rumor, one of them was a king who had abandoned worldly goods in search of faith and the drive to share his knowledge with others. This man's name was Sha-Qalandar Bobo, an enlightened Sufi who was accompanied by his brothers on his journey. After traveling to multiple cities in numerous nations, Sha-Qalandar Bobo determined to take up permanent residence in Khiva.
After his death, grateful residents of the city built a mausoleum in his honor in the center of the cemetery. Today, only the memorial domed building with its portal has survived from the original 16th-century mausoleum. As it has long been a local tradition to erect a madrasah near the final resting place of a spiritual mentor, in the 19th century a one-story madrasah and a minaret were built near the mausoleum. The eighteen-meter-high minaret was erected in the name of Biki-Zhan-Bik, the sister of the Khan of Khiva.
Sha-Qalandar Bobo Complex in Khiva underwent restoration efforts in 1997 and remains open to the public.