Cities were traditionally split into two, isolated one from another as in Khiva: an internal town - Ichan-Kala (the shakhristan), and an external town - Dishan-Kala (the rabad).
The Nurullay palace is in the north-west part of Dishan-Kala. It was constructed in 1906-1912 by the order of the Mohammad Rakhim-khan II for his son - the future Jsfandiyar-khan.