Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva

Book excerpt: Samarkand, Boukhara, Khiva: centered around these Central Asian cities is a spectacular artistic heritage of architecture and decoration that has remained, until recently, just out of reach of globalization. The informed text and architectural detail captured in color photography, plans, and notes of Samarkand reinstates the magnificent mosques, fortresses, and residences to their proper place in the study of Islamic art. The volume pays tribute to a culture of building that withstood cycles of conquest and continued to thrive until Soviet power set in, preserving some of the most authentic building details in Asia.