Mohammed Rahim Khan madrasa, Islamic educational complex in Itchan Kala, Khiva, Uzbekistan.
Mohammed Rahim Khan madrasa is an Islamic school at the heart of Khiva's walled old town with a rectangular layout organized around a central courtyard. The structure includes four large arched halls facing inward, corner towers at each angle, student dormitory spaces, and auxiliary rooms for different purposes.
Ruler Muhammad Rahim Bahadur Khan II built this educational institution in 1876 as one of the final major schools constructed in Khiva during the late 19th century. The building was created near the end of an era when such centers of learning shaped the city's cultural life.
The building is named after a historical ruler and remains a place where visitors can sense the role of religious education in daily life. The interior spaces show how prayer and study were designed to work together within the community.
The building stands across from the Konya Ark citadel and is easy to find while walking through the walled old town. Visitors can view the exterior and enter the courtyard to see how the interior spaces were arranged and used by past students.
The building shows how medieval schools were carefully organized with separate spaces for teaching, prayer, sleeping, and daily tasks rather than serving a single purpose. This thoughtful division was what made these institutions different from simpler religious buildings of their time.
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