Karaulbazar cistern

Qorovulbozar cistern — an ancient water structure located in the Qorovulbozar district of Bukhara region. Completed in the 16th century. A hydro-technical structure intended for collecting, storing, and using fresh drinking water in the city of Qorovulbozar. A monument of engineering and architectural construction of Uzbekistan.

The cistern in Qorovulbozar district was intended to provide drinking water for people and animals who stopped on the trade route to Bukhara. Its construction was an important point on the Great Silk Road, mainly serving trade caravans. The cistern is located at the entrance to the city center.

Along the desert route up to the Kerki crossroads of the Amu Darya, several caravanserais and cisterns from the Abdullakhon period have been preserved. These are Sangisuloq cistern, Nishon cistern, the cistern near the village of Tolimarjon, Yusuf cistern, Urasi cistern, Abdullakhon cistern.

There was formerly a caravanserai next to the Qorovulbozar cistern. The cistern became the only source of fresh water for the population settlement that formed around the caravanserai. After artesian wells and regular water supply were created in the city, the cistern lost its significance.

The entrance to the cistern is marked by protruding lintels set further forward. At the top of the passage there are small rooms with belt windows. The cistern water lake has a diameter of 15.8 m, a depth of 8.1 m, and a vaulted ceiling carved through nine windows with a height of 6.35 m. The walls of the cistern are built up to a thickness of 1.5 m. Water for the Qorovulbozar cistern was brought from the Qashqadarya.

In addition to the gates of the sardoba, there are special holes intended for water inflow and several pits in the dome. The building is made of brick and baked clay. On the bricks a layer of coal, mixed with lime, is applied, over which three layers of felt made from sheep wool are placed, then three layers of cow leather are applied, after which bricks are laid and the structure is plastered with lime. This procedure was repeated several times. In this case, the lime acted as a filter to cleanse the water of salts, while the brick, baked clay and cow leather protected the water from excessive infiltration into the ground.

In the Qorovulbazar sardoba taken under state protection, conservation, restoration and landscaping works were carried out in 2018–2019 at the expense of the republic's budget funds.