Can tourists visit Mir-i-Arab Madrasah?

Tourists are not allowed to go inside the Mir-i-Arab Madrasah in Bukhara, because it is still active and also a respected Islamic learning place. For that reason, visitors may only look at the building from the outer square, nothing more.

It has been functioning like a working seminary since the 1500s, and during the Soviet era, it was among the rare Islamic schools that still received permission to operate. To keep the students’ privacy and steady attention, the inner courtyards and the dormitory rooms are kept tightly shut to the general public. Still, tourists can wait by the main entrance gate to take pictures of the impressive facade and then glance through the large archway into the central courtyard.