Zindan Museum

The word “zindan” is the Persian word for “prison” or “dungeon”. In Bukhara, there were only 2 prisons: first one was inside the fortress of Ark, and the second one was near Shahristan gate built in the XVIII century. There were cells, chambers and deep pits in the Bukhara zindan for prisoners who had debts or who did not exercise religious practices. The terrible fate was prepared for them – a deep pit full of scorpions and poisonous beetles. In such conditions, they could stay alive for about 3 days.