Famous for its Brutality at the Zindan Jail

The Zindan Jail is very close to the Ark of Bukhara and it stands for haunting memories of torture, horror and incarceration. It is however very much worthwhile to visit, as in every culture there are expressions of the darkest strands of human nature. Uzbekistan is no exception and the Zindan Jail keeps it all real for us as tourists.



Despite its similarity in appearance with the Ark, the Zindan jail is relatively modern as an 18th century structure. Now a museum, the Zindan Jail has the official name of The Museum of History of Law and Court System of Bukhara. In Persian, the word “Zindan” means “dungeon.” Inside this prison is the infamous “Bug Pit,” the Fourth Cell, a space below ground that was dark, damp, infested with bugs, rodents and even snakes. Some sources say that these tortuous creatures were dropped by the Uzbeks into the pit.

Known as the “kanakhona,” the 6.5-meter deep pit was “covered with an iron grill. Accessible only via a long 6-meter rope, the Bug Pit was reserved for the least favorite” of prisoners. It is said that in those conditions prisoners only stay alive for about three days.

The Bug Pit was where the two British soldiers, Stoddart and Connolly, that angered the Emir, were kept, tortured and horrified, before they were executed in the Registan before the Ark. Other than the two famous British prisoners, the prisoners that ended up in the Zindan Jail were debtors and those that failed to practice religion. The serious offenders were thrown into the Bug Pit.

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#historicallandmarks#历史古迹

Post by Helen Yu (Chestnut Journal) | Mar 31, 2025