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Toward the end of the century, they founded the Zionist Jewish community of Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent, intending to preserve the customs of their native region. The community bought land to the northwest of Mea She'arim and the first 40 houses, which generally had two storeys, were built.
The construction style of the Bukharan quarter was characterized by a general impression of wealth, large courtyards and unusually broad streets. Construction continued through the end of Ottoman rule and the British Mandatory period until the early years of the State of Israel, by which time 200 houses were completed.
Social structures in the Bukharan quarter eventually changed and its original population started moving away. Some of the larger buildings were turned into religious and educational institutions.
Among the quarter's buildings are a few interesting houses, such as Beit Yehudayoff-Hefetz on 19 Ezra Street, which is considered the most beautiful. It was erected in 1907 by the affluent Bukharan merchant families of Yehudayoff and Hefetz and dubbed The Palace due to its luxuriousness.
Today, it houses two religious girls' schools. Its 55 meter-long neo-Renaissance front features windows decorated with arches, pilasters and reliefs, and its flat roof is surrounded by a wrought-iron railing punctured by stone pillars. On the top floor, there is a synangogue.
Beit Davidoff on 10 Habukharim Street was planned by an Italian architect, and indeed reflects a building style common in Tuscany. It was erected by Joseph Davidoff just before World War I and housed educational institutions afterwards. Since 1983, it has been vacant.
The Mosheyeff House on 18 Habukharim Street was built by Simha Mosheyoff, the former head of Turkestan's Jewish community. It features four inner courtyards, and its balconies and ground floor are adorned by colonnaded arcades. During World War I, it was confiscated by the Turks to serve as a prison. After the establishment of the State of Israel it housed immigrants. Today, the building contains several small workshops.
The neighborhood's Baba Tama Synagogue was erected in 1894 and named for the Bukharan Jew who financed it.
