In pictures: Khiva: A Silk Road oasis

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The old walled city of Khiva, in western Uzbekistan, was once the capital of the kingdom of Khorezm, near the Aral Sea. It grew rich on the Silk Road trade carried across Central Asia's deserts. Now it is a remarkable open-air museum of history and architecture.

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Khiva's East Gate was once the site of the city's notorious slave market. The expanding Russian empire used the existence of the slave trade as an excuse to conquer Khiva in the late 19th century.

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The beautiful Tash Havli palace was built by the Khan of Khiva in the 1830s as his main residence. He and his four official wives each had separate quarters in the pillared chambers on the left. Relatives and concubines stayed in other rooms to the right.

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Majolica tiles are an important decorative feature in traditional Central Asian architecture. Blue is dominant, reflecting the wide skies of the steppe. These tiles are in the Kunya Ark, or Old Fortress, where the Khans lived from the 17th-19th centuries.

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Khiva is a favourite site for wedding parties to visit. Here the bride and groom pass by the Kalta Minaret, which was meant to become Central Asia's tallest minaret but was never finished.

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The local economy has suffered badly since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The revival of local handicrafts is helping to attract tourists to this remote city in western Uzbekistan.

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Khiva is also becoming a centre for silk weaving. Silk carpets are woven by hand and coloured with traditional natural dyes. Designs are copied directly from Central Asia miniature paintings, tiles, and other decorative features of Khiva's historic architecture.

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Many residents of Khiva's old city now work in tourism. Brightly coloured traditional clothes and carved wooden doors are features which capture the aesthetic spirit of old Central Asia.

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The growth of local and foreign tourism is now bringing a new entrepreneurial spirit to a city which was almost forgotten during the long decades of Soviet isolation. Text and photos: Ian MacWilliam.