Private enterprise illegally demolishes wall of Tash-Khauli Palace in Khiva

The Ministry of Culture has responded to reports on the demolition of the Tash-Khauli Palace wall in the city of Khiva.

As the Department of Cultural Heritage notes, the upper part of the wall on the eastern side of the Tash-Khauli Palace was demolished on December 8 by the private contractor Surgut Neft Stroy.

“Despite the fact that any restoration work in the State Museum-Reserve Ichan-Kala should be carried out on the basis of the conclusion of the Scientific and Expert Council under the Department of Cultural Heritage and in agreement with UNESCO, the project was not submitted for consideration by the Council,” the statement reads.

Repair and restoration work has currently been suspended, a relevant appeal will be sent to law enforcement agencies.

For information, Tash-Khauli Palace, located in the eastern part of Ichan-Kala, was built in 1830 – 1838 by order of Allakuli-Khan. It is an example of Khorezm's architectural grandeur of those times.