Khan Palace in Bakhchisaray

The Palace of the Crimean Khans located in the town of Bakhchisaray (Crimean Peninsula, Ukraine; original spelling Bağçasaray) was built in the 1530s as the main patrimonial residence of the Giray dynasty which ruled the Crimean Khanate within 1428-1783. During about 250 years (till 1783) the Bakhchisaray Palace was the center of the political, spiritual and cultural life of the state of the Crimean Tatars.

The Palace still keeps its outstanding importance. First of all it is the national shrine of the Crimean Tatar people. It possesses an outstanding place in the world literary tradition. The Bakhchisaray Palace is the major historical monument of the epoch of the Crimean Khanate, the only remained sample of the Crimean Tatar palace architecture. Finally, alongside with Alhambra and Top Kapi palaces in Spain and Turkey, it’s one of the three unique palaces representing the civilizational circle of the Middle East in Europe.

The Khan Palace is undoubtedly a historical site of a universal value. This has been recognized by the recently run procedure of inclusion the Palace into the World Heritage List of UNESCO.