We rose early and met the guide at 8:30 to go to the used goods market about 20 minutes outside of town, where there were supposed to be old Uzbek silk dresses for sale. Unfortunately, it turned out that this was only on Sundays, although the market had a well-organized area to buy old electric motors and used construction materials. We then went to the Chorsu Bazaar, where we hope to find old silk dresses, ikat material, and fur hats. Leslie succeeded in the first two, but we were told fur hats were out of season, and there were not enough tourists. After lunch and a hotel break, we headed for the large department store TUM where we heard we could find a large selection of fabric, and this turned out to be correct, and Leslie again scored.
We then went to the building that was supposed to be the replacement for the Opera House, which was closed for renovation, where we had purchased tickets for a ballet performance. We noticed that a lot of families were arriving, many with young children, and some carrying bouquets of flowers. It turned out that we had bought tickets not to a professional performance, but to a high school one! Anyway, we were the only tourists there, and the students were quite good, but we left at the intermission. Even our guide seemed to know something was amiss.
Next morning at 5:15 AM we left for the airport, and spent an hour or more hassling with the exit procedures, including the "lines" for our customs declarations. One Australian had to pay a large fine because he had lost his copy of the customs form he used when he came in, and we heard a lot of loud complaining. We finally got on our Uzbek Air flight, had an uneventful passage to Dubai, and then our Oman Air flight down to Muscat, where we found the temperature a lot hotter than Tashkent, about 100 degrees at 5 PM. We are happy to be back in Oman after almost a month away, although we are very glad to have seen this major eastern part of the Silk Road.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
26 May Khiva to Tashkent
We had breakfast early in order to get to the local museum that we had missed when it closed early, and also the Khiva Silk Workshop, a venture started twelve years ago by an English young man, Chris, who helped the locals design carpets and tapestries from old tiles and carpet fragments from Timurid times as part of Mercy and UNESCO. We wanted to avoid the heat as much as possible.
The museum had some costumes and beautiful old wooden carved doors, nothing too spectacular, with most items being from the late-1900's. The silk workshop was more interesting.
Christopher Aslan Alexander originally traveled to the walled city of Khiva, to write a guidebook which was requested by the local mayor in hopes of increasing the number of tourists to the town. He stayed on to work with UNESCO/Mercy to develop a traditional, fair trade carpet-weaving workshop. The book is a wonderful chronicle of his adventure plus many insights into textile natural dyes and designs. The workshop created their own designs for carpets looking at the unique tiles within Khiva's walls as well as old Timurid miniatures. While Chris knew nothing of carpets when he started the project he certainly guided it well.
We toured the carpet workshop and also the newer Suzanni workshop. Suzanni means needlework and beautifully made tablecloths, wall decorations, bed linens and prayer mats were made originally by young girls and their mother's as part of the girl's dowry. As we did not have room for a carpet we bought several of the suzanni's which also use the designs of the tiles and wood carvings for their inspiration but are much smaller and lighter to carry. The Suzanni workshop was also started by Chris with Mercy and also the British Counsel in Tashkent. These two shops are ones that Leslie hunted out and insisted the guide take us there. The carpet shop had a well worn copy of Chris' book "A Carpet Ride to Khiva" on hand and after thumbing through it Leslie wanted to try and find a copy of it as an ebook if possible for reading on the flight home.
Carrying our purchases we went back to our hotel, showered, and left at 11 AM for the visit the ruins at Ayazkala.
We arrived two hours later at the yurt camp at Ayazkala, where we were to have lunch in a yurt that our guide had promised was air-conditioned, and he had promised that the forts to be visited could be reached by car so would not require a long hike in the midday sun. Both of these statements turned out to be inaccurate.
Our guide Faysullo started walking from our car toward a hilltop fortress about a kilometer uphill from our camp, stopping only when he had walked 50 yards and noticed we were still standing by the car. After some discussion of options, and David showing a dirt track leading up to the side of the fortress, it was agreed that we would pay the owner of the yurts $10 to take us up to the fort in his ancient 4-wheel drive Russian truck.
Climbing into the huge fortress revealed double-walls with roofing so that defenders could move about during a siege without danger from arrows, but the center of fort had no buildings or features, although it did have sherds of pottery. Apparently this fort's heyday was in the 4th to the 6th Centuries AD. Just below it is another fortress that seems to have been part of the same complex.
After lunch in the yurt during which we talked with an Australian married to a Californian who had been traveling for a month and were going to sleep in the yurt, and armed with new assurances from our guide that the remaining forts were accessible by our sedan, we headed off toward Toprak Qala and nearby Kyzl Qala about an hour away. In the heat neither one turned out to be worth even a few hundred yards walk, but we did photograph the latter from the area the car parked. These two also dated from the 4th Century AD, but there were other forts among the 50 or so that have been discovered that date back to the 4th Century BC before Alexander's conquest.
We had dinner in the principal hotel in Urgench, the only diners in a grand hall, after using the hotel's Internet for an hour, then went to the airport. Only our flight was leaving that evening, but it was a full flight that stopped in Bukhara for a few passengers to get on or off and then made it to Tashkent before midnight. We gathered our luggage into our new car and checked in to our hotel, but this time the internet access was pretty slow, and we went to bed without much progress on our correspondence.
The museum had some costumes and beautiful old wooden carved doors, nothing too spectacular, with most items being from the late-1900's. The silk workshop was more interesting.
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| We purchased 1 of her Suzannis |
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| Beautiful Original Sign for Workshop |
We toured the carpet workshop and also the newer Suzanni workshop. Suzanni means needlework and beautifully made tablecloths, wall decorations, bed linens and prayer mats were made originally by young girls and their mother's as part of the girl's dowry. As we did not have room for a carpet we bought several of the suzanni's which also use the designs of the tiles and wood carvings for their inspiration but are much smaller and lighter to carry. The Suzanni workshop was also started by Chris with Mercy and also the British Counsel in Tashkent. These two shops are ones that Leslie hunted out and insisted the guide take us there. The carpet shop had a well worn copy of Chris' book "A Carpet Ride to Khiva" on hand and after thumbing through it Leslie wanted to try and find a copy of it as an ebook if possible for reading on the flight home.
Carrying our purchases we went back to our hotel, showered, and left at 11 AM for the visit the ruins at Ayazkala.
We arrived two hours later at the yurt camp at Ayazkala, where we were to have lunch in a yurt that our guide had promised was air-conditioned, and he had promised that the forts to be visited could be reached by car so would not require a long hike in the midday sun. Both of these statements turned out to be inaccurate.
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| Old Russian Truck gave us a lift |
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| Ayaz Kala |
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| Kyzl Kala |
We had dinner in the principal hotel in Urgench, the only diners in a grand hall, after using the hotel's Internet for an hour, then went to the airport. Only our flight was leaving that evening, but it was a full flight that stopped in Bukhara for a few passengers to get on or off and then made it to Tashkent before midnight. We gathered our luggage into our new car and checked in to our hotel, but this time the internet access was pretty slow, and we went to bed without much progress on our correspondence.
Monday, May 26, 2014
25 May 2014 Khiva
Having warned our guide that we did not fancy another long ride in the scorching desert in a car with inadequate AC, we were met at our hotel by our guide with a new car and driver, with the offer to take us to the West Gate so we could test the AC en route. The car and driver passed the test, so it was agreed he would meet us next day for the trip to several old forts and then to Urgench for dinner prior to the airport drop-off. We then started our guided tour walking the old streets of Khiva, which is surrounded by walls rebuilt in the 1700's after being destroyed by the Persians. Khiva was a branch of the Silk Road starting at least as early as the 8th Century AD, although legend has it that it was founded much earlier by Noah's son Shem when he found a well in the desert. It's 300-year heyday was when it served as capital of the Shaybanid kingdom of Khorezm, when it was the main slave market in Central Asia for the victims of Turkmen or Kazack tribesmen who would bring their captives to sell as slaves here. It includes the following:
Muhammad Amin Khan Madressa and Kelte Minor Minaret
The first building on the right inside the west Gate was the Muhammad Amin Khan Madressa, built in the 1850's. Outside stands the fat, turquoise-tiled Kelte Minor Minaret, built at the same time and looking like it was originally meant to be far taller, which would have made it much higher than rival city Bukhara's Kalyan Minaret, and therefore the tallest structure in Asia. Construction was stopped because Khiva's Khan died, but the khan was said to want it so tall that he could see his rival city Bukhara from the top.
Muhammad Rahim Khan Madressa
Facing the Kuhna Ark, across an open space that was a busy palace square and place of execution, this 19th century madressa is named after Khan Muhammad Rahim II. The Khan was also a poet under the pen name Feruz.
Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum
Pahlavan Mahmud was a poet and legendary wrestler and Sufi philosopher who defeated Indias's wrestling champion to gain the "world title" of the day, and he became Khiva's patron saint. His 1326 AD tomb was rebuilt in the 19th century and requisitioned in 1913 by the Khan as the family mausoleum. The chamber under the dome at the North end of the courtyard holds the tomb of Khan Muhammad Rahim II, who ruled from 1865 to 1910.
Juma Mosque and Minaret
The large Juma mosque is interesting for the 218 wooden columns supporting its roof, a structural concept thought to be derived from ancient Arabian mosques. The few finely decorated columns are from the original 10th century mosque, though the present building dates from the 18th century. East of the Juma Mosque, the 1855 Abdulla Khan Madressa holds a missable nature museum. The little Aq Mosque dates from 1657 by the entrance to the long tunnel of the East Gate.
Tash Khovli Palace
Tash-Khovlifasig the caravansary, contains Khiva's mast sumptuous interior decoration, ceramic tiles, carved stone and woods. Built by Alloquli Khan between 1832 and 1941 as a more splendid alternative to the Kuhna Ark, it's said to have over 150 rooms off central courtyards. The biggest courtyard, immediately inside the entrance, is the Harem. The rooms off the harem's south west corner hold craft exhibits.The Ishrat Khovli was a ceremonial and banqueting hall, like the Kuhna Ark, with circles for yurts during special occasions.
We enjoyed seeing many of the old sights, but Leslie was determined to buy the distinctive Ikat fabric that was visible everywhere, even on large umbrellas providing shade for shop stalls, but did not seem to be for sale. We asked a shop where they got the material, and it was in a local bazaar just outside the gates, where we escaped the few European tourists that had come to Khiva as it's summer began. Leslie was successful in getting it for a couple dollars per meter, and we went to lunch hot but happy.
After a rest in our hotels's AC, we ventured out again to see a history museum in an old madrasah that we had missed, but it closed just as we reached it, so we made plans to see it next day. Our designated dinner restaurant was being used by a dozen local men for a drinking party with load shouts and singing, so we were offered seats outside, which we rejected. We were told to come back a half hour later at 7PM, which we did, but found the party had not wound down, so we arranged our dinner back at the same place as the previous night, which, despite protestations to the contrary, served us the exact same standard menu. We retired early although we did use the (very slow) internet in the hotel's lobby to get out a couple of emails.
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| popular Leslie - pay back time for all the pictures we take of people |
Muhammad Amin Khan Madressa and Kelte Minor Minaret
The first building on the right inside the west Gate was the Muhammad Amin Khan Madressa, built in the 1850's. Outside stands the fat, turquoise-tiled Kelte Minor Minaret, built at the same time and looking like it was originally meant to be far taller, which would have made it much higher than rival city Bukhara's Kalyan Minaret, and therefore the tallest structure in Asia. Construction was stopped because Khiva's Khan died, but the khan was said to want it so tall that he could see his rival city Bukhara from the top.
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| Other local tourists |
Muhammad Rahim Khan Madressa
Facing the Kuhna Ark, across an open space that was a busy palace square and place of execution, this 19th century madressa is named after Khan Muhammad Rahim II. The Khan was also a poet under the pen name Feruz.
Pahlavan Mahmud Mausoleum
Pahlavan Mahmud was a poet and legendary wrestler and Sufi philosopher who defeated Indias's wrestling champion to gain the "world title" of the day, and he became Khiva's patron saint. His 1326 AD tomb was rebuilt in the 19th century and requisitioned in 1913 by the Khan as the family mausoleum. The chamber under the dome at the North end of the courtyard holds the tomb of Khan Muhammad Rahim II, who ruled from 1865 to 1910.
Juma Mosque and Minaret
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| Jumah mosque |
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| Tash Hauli Palace receiving courtyard |
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| Harem shelf unit |
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| Sitting area for wives |
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| Details of tiles |
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| Roof of harem sitting area |
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| Deap carving on wood columns |
Tash Khovli Palace
Tash-Khovlifasig the caravansary, contains Khiva's mast sumptuous interior decoration, ceramic tiles, carved stone and woods. Built by Alloquli Khan between 1832 and 1941 as a more splendid alternative to the Kuhna Ark, it's said to have over 150 rooms off central courtyards. The biggest courtyard, immediately inside the entrance, is the Harem. The rooms off the harem's south west corner hold craft exhibits.The Ishrat Khovli was a ceremonial and banqueting hall, like the Kuhna Ark, with circles for yurts during special occasions.
We enjoyed seeing many of the old sights, but Leslie was determined to buy the distinctive Ikat fabric that was visible everywhere, even on large umbrellas providing shade for shop stalls, but did not seem to be for sale. We asked a shop where they got the material, and it was in a local bazaar just outside the gates, where we escaped the few European tourists that had come to Khiva as it's summer began. Leslie was successful in getting it for a couple dollars per meter, and we went to lunch hot but happy.
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| Lovely narrow street - no cars |
Sunday, May 25, 2014
24 May Bukhara to Khiva
With some trepidation about starting a long journey in a small car in open country with no obvious bathroom stops, we set off on a 7 1/2 hour journey to Khiva across the Kizil Kum Desert, which is the 11th largest desert in the world. Its name means red sand in Turkish. We stopped and ate our packed lunch at a kind of tourist/truck stop that actually had toilets with running water. Our next stop was for a view of the Oxus River
that forms the border with Turkmenistan along this area, and was crossed by Alexander the Great to conquer this area in the third century BC.
We used this as an unofficial toilet stop as well. There were two species of Bee-eater on the electric lines along the road, and a fair number of raptors, but otherwise there was nothing to see on this route, and the car's AC system was overwhelmed by the heat and seemed to need to be shut off every half hour to regain some degree of cooling. It was forecast to be about 105 degrees F in the shade, but there was of course no shade!
Reaching our hotel, Asia Khiva, just outside Khiva's impressive city walls at 4:30 PM, it was so hot that we decided to rest for an hour before setting out to see the town. We entered the city through the south gate adjacent to our hotel.
Khiva is considered an open-air museum with tens of old mosques, caravansaries, madrasahs, as well as two separate palace complexes for rulers in different time periods. Like Bukhara, it is an oasis town in the middle of the desert, but it seems much more arid than Bukhara, and is contained within city walls perhaps less than a kilometer square. From above the city walls we took some good pictures, but it stayed oppressively hot until about 7:30. We were fortunate to have dinner in an old converted madrasah that had air conditioning.
The city walls undulate like a snake and their crenelated tops make a wonderful picture. The walls are actually featured on "The Silk Road" guide book cover by Insight Guides. We had initially thought the photo was of a section of the Great Wall.
The minarets of various tiles in turquoise and dark blue were beautiful after dinner and provided wonderful light for photographs. Souvenir shops sell local silk fabric, fur hats, knives, and other oddments. Quite a nice place to visit except for the heat.
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| Oxus River |
Reaching our hotel, Asia Khiva, just outside Khiva's impressive city walls at 4:30 PM, it was so hot that we decided to rest for an hour before setting out to see the town. We entered the city through the south gate adjacent to our hotel.
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| Khiva South Gate |
The city walls undulate like a snake and their crenelated tops make a wonderful picture. The walls are actually featured on "The Silk Road" guide book cover by Insight Guides. We had initially thought the photo was of a section of the Great Wall.
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| Snake-like walls |
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| Kalta Minor Minaret |
Saturday, May 24, 2014
23 May Bukhara
We started the morning going by car to the Chor Bakr Mausoleum, which is dedicated to some descendents of the Prophet, and Leslie was criticized by a local lady for being short-sleeved, instead of having her usual extensive cover. It was hot, and she had not expected to be out of town and off the tourist trail! We were then dropped at Ismael Samani Mausoleum, and did not take our water because we thought we would return to the car. Three hours later the guide informed us that we were walking from here on, and that the car had been released for the day! We had to walk through the town and back to our hotel, so we had a minor revolt, and the guide bought us some more water.
We then enjoyed looking at the various monuments, checking out the craft shops, and enjoying this remarkable and pleasant old city, as below:
Ismail Samani Mausolem
In Samani Park is the town's oldest monument (completed about 905 AD) and one of the most elegant structures in Central Asia, the mausoleum of Ismail Samani (the Samanid Dynasty's founder), his father and grandson. Its delicate baked terra cotta brickwork gradually change 'personality' through the day as the shadows shift and disguise walls almost two meters thick, which helped it survive without restoration for almost 11 centuries. The bricks predate the art of majolica tiles (think blue tiles). Though dating from early Islamic times, the building bears Zoroastrian symbols such as the circle in nested squares symbolizing eternity placed above the door. Genghis Khan overlooked it because it was mostly buried, but he destroyed the rest of the city except the Kalan minaret.
The Ark
This royal town-within-a-town is Bukhara's oldest structure, occupied from the 5th to 20th century. It's walls are still impressive.
In 1920 the Red Army partly destroyed it by bombing. Bits of it may go back two millennium, though the present crumbling walls are probably less than 300 years old. It has about 75% ruins inside except for some remaining royal quarters, now housing a multi-branched museum.
The oldest surviving part of the Ark is the vast Reception hall and Coronation Court, whose roof fell during the 1920 bombardment. The last coronation to take place here was Alim Khan's in 1910. A submerged chamber along the right wall was the treasury, and behind this was the Harem.
Kalan Minaret
Built by Karakhan ruler Arslan Khan in 1127, the Kalan minaret was probably the tallest structure in Central Asia (Kalon means 'great' in Tajik). It's an incredible piece of work, 47 meters tall with 10 meter deep foundations (reeds stacked underneath provided an early form of earthquake-proofing), and has never required any but cosmetic repairs for the last 900 years. Ghengis Khan was so dumbfounded when he saw it
that he ordered it spared. It was also used as a beacon and watchtower, and the Manghit Emirs threw criminals off it for execution until forbidden by the Russians. Its 14 ornamental bands, all different, include the first use of the glazed blue tiles that were to saturate Central Asia under Timur two centuries later. The south and east sides contain faintly lighter patches, marking the restoration of damage by Frunze's Russian artillery in 1920.
Mir-i-Arab Madressa
This was a working Muslim seminary from the 16th century until it was closed by Soviet authorities in 1920, but it was subsequently reopened by Stalin in 1944 in an effort to get Muslim support for the war effort. It was Central Asian's only functioning madressah in Soviet times. Today 250 young men, mostly from Uzbekistan, enroll for five years from age 18 years to study Arabic, the Quran and Islamic law. Classes are now held in the Kalan mosque, with Mir-i-Arab serving mainly as dormitories. The madressa is named for a 16th century Naqshbandi shiekh from Yemen who had a strong influence on the Sheybanid ruler Ubaidullah Khan. Both Khan and his teacher are buried beneath the northern dome.
Madrassah Ulugbek
The Ulugbek Madrassah in Bukhara was founded in 1417, and was built before Ulugbeg's built his madrasah in Samarkand. There is a name of the master builder in the portal tympanum, Ismail ibn Takhir ibn Makhmud Ispfargoni. It is possible he was a grandson of one of the masters who had been captured by Timur in Iran and left their names on the portal of Gur-Amir complex in Samarkand.
Labi Hauz (around the lake) is a peaceful spot, shaded by mulberry trees as old as the pool and peopled with street-sellers, crazies, old men hunched over chessboards or gossiping over tea, and anyone else with nowhere to go. On the east side is a statue of Hoja Nasrudin, a mythical 'wise fool' who appears in Sufi teaching tales throughout the Muslim world. Nearby is the Nadir Divanbegi madressa which was built as a caravan serai, but the Khan converted it into a madressa in 1630 AD. On the west side of the square, and built at the same time, is the Nadir Divanbegi Khanaka. Both are named for Abdul Aziz Khan's treasure minister, who financed them in the 17th century. North across the street, the Kukeldash madressa, built by Abdullah Khan II, was at the time the biggest Islamic school in Central Asia.
Many of the madrasahs and caravan-Sarai's are being used as boutiques, restaurants, artisan's workshops, and even wine bars. We browsed and considered possible purchases, each of us looking at our own craft interests. David purchased a hand-crafted Damascus steel knife from a metal shop, after much bargaining, as
well as a special pair of scissors on which he had Leslie's name engraved.. We ordered some Ikat cushion covers to be made and delivered to the hotel later in the evening. Leslie looked at a couple of old Ikat outer robes but was put off by the cheap cotton fabric on the inside. She wanted to see Akthar's collection to compare it with what we had seen in the shops.
Our guide has been on the verge of being fired so many times that we are starting to direct our program more ourselves. Leslie has been researching tile techniques and also textiles, particularly where textile tours visit. One place mentioned is Akthar's.
We had Faizola call Akthar's and arrange for us to see him at 5pm. Akthar's has a small hotel in which the front lobby is filled with his textile collection as well as some items he has for sale. He was one of the first antique dealers in the area for various items but his heart is obviously in textiles. We both enjoyed the information he shared with us through our guides poor translation. We know there was much more information to be had but the limitation is our guide's English.
We had dinner at a local restaurant in an old home. All the tour companies seem to organize fixed menus at the various places. These are usually starter, soup, main course and dessert. We have not been raving about the food as you may have noted. A vegetarian would have a hard time, as would someone avoiding wheat, as bread is the main staple here.
After dinner we went to a wine bar to sample the local Bukhara wine. The Sommelier had been to France and had a certificate of her graded work there. She advised us that a couple of the wines had a gold medal.....further research adds it was for an Asian competition. We headed back to our hotel Asia Bukhara which was a decent air-conditioned hotel owned by the President's daughter.
We then enjoyed looking at the various monuments, checking out the craft shops, and enjoying this remarkable and pleasant old city, as below:
Ismail Samani Mausolem
In Samani Park is the town's oldest monument (completed about 905 AD) and one of the most elegant structures in Central Asia, the mausoleum of Ismail Samani (the Samanid Dynasty's founder), his father and grandson. Its delicate baked terra cotta brickwork gradually change 'personality' through the day as the shadows shift and disguise walls almost two meters thick, which helped it survive without restoration for almost 11 centuries. The bricks predate the art of majolica tiles (think blue tiles). Though dating from early Islamic times, the building bears Zoroastrian symbols such as the circle in nested squares symbolizing eternity placed above the door. Genghis Khan overlooked it because it was mostly buried, but he destroyed the rest of the city except the Kalan minaret. |
| Detail inside Ismail Samani Mausolem |
The Ark
This royal town-within-a-town is Bukhara's oldest structure, occupied from the 5th to 20th century. It's walls are still impressive.
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| Outer wall near Ark |
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| Ark Bukhara enterance |
The oldest surviving part of the Ark is the vast Reception hall and Coronation Court, whose roof fell during the 1920 bombardment. The last coronation to take place here was Alim Khan's in 1910. A submerged chamber along the right wall was the treasury, and behind this was the Harem.
Kalan Minaret
Built by Karakhan ruler Arslan Khan in 1127, the Kalan minaret was probably the tallest structure in Central Asia (Kalon means 'great' in Tajik). It's an incredible piece of work, 47 meters tall with 10 meter deep foundations (reeds stacked underneath provided an early form of earthquake-proofing), and has never required any but cosmetic repairs for the last 900 years. Ghengis Khan was so dumbfounded when he saw it
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| Kalan Minaret |
Mir-i-Arab Madressa
This was a working Muslim seminary from the 16th century until it was closed by Soviet authorities in 1920, but it was subsequently reopened by Stalin in 1944 in an effort to get Muslim support for the war effort. It was Central Asian's only functioning madressah in Soviet times. Today 250 young men, mostly from Uzbekistan, enroll for five years from age 18 years to study Arabic, the Quran and Islamic law. Classes are now held in the Kalan mosque, with Mir-i-Arab serving mainly as dormitories. The madressa is named for a 16th century Naqshbandi shiekh from Yemen who had a strong influence on the Sheybanid ruler Ubaidullah Khan. Both Khan and his teacher are buried beneath the northern dome.
Madrassah Ulugbek
The Ulugbek Madrassah in Bukhara was founded in 1417, and was built before Ulugbeg's built his madrasah in Samarkand. There is a name of the master builder in the portal tympanum, Ismail ibn Takhir ibn Makhmud Ispfargoni. It is possible he was a grandson of one of the masters who had been captured by Timur in Iran and left their names on the portal of Gur-Amir complex in Samarkand.
Labi Hauz (around the lake) is a peaceful spot, shaded by mulberry trees as old as the pool and peopled with street-sellers, crazies, old men hunched over chessboards or gossiping over tea, and anyone else with nowhere to go. On the east side is a statue of Hoja Nasrudin, a mythical 'wise fool' who appears in Sufi teaching tales throughout the Muslim world. Nearby is the Nadir Divanbegi madressa which was built as a caravan serai, but the Khan converted it into a madressa in 1630 AD. On the west side of the square, and built at the same time, is the Nadir Divanbegi Khanaka. Both are named for Abdul Aziz Khan's treasure minister, who financed them in the 17th century. North across the street, the Kukeldash madressa, built by Abdullah Khan II, was at the time the biggest Islamic school in Central Asia.
Many of the madrasahs and caravan-Sarai's are being used as boutiques, restaurants, artisan's workshops, and even wine bars. We browsed and considered possible purchases, each of us looking at our own craft interests. David purchased a hand-crafted Damascus steel knife from a metal shop, after much bargaining, as
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| Learning about textiles at Akthar's |
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| Interesting Islamic symbol |
We had dinner at a local restaurant in an old home. All the tour companies seem to organize fixed menus at the various places. These are usually starter, soup, main course and dessert. We have not been raving about the food as you may have noted. A vegetarian would have a hard time, as would someone avoiding wheat, as bread is the main staple here.
After dinner we went to a wine bar to sample the local Bukhara wine. The Sommelier had been to France and had a certificate of her graded work there. She advised us that a couple of the wines had a gold medal.....further research adds it was for an Asian competition. We headed back to our hotel Asia Bukhara which was a decent air-conditioned hotel owned by the President's daughter.
Friday, May 23, 2014
22 May Samarkand to Bukhara
After breakfast David found a barber - cost of a good haircut was about $3 including a tip! We packed up and took a new cab to the train station for the 3-hour trip to Bukhara, arriving at 3:30, where we were picked up by our Samarkand driver Azim who had driven from Samarkand. We were in the first class soft seating of a more local train than the express. We are still trying to understand the reasoning of our Central Asia Travel company in having a guide from Tashkent come with us everywhere instead of a local guide in each place (as in China) and why we paid for a car and driver from Tashkent to drive from place to place while we take the train....seems more efficient to just get a local car to us.
On the way from the train station into town, we stopped at Bahauddin Naqshbandiy mausoleum, which is famous as the grave of the founding member of the founder of Sufism (best known for whirling dervishes) group in Islam.
Then, closer to town, we stopped at the Summer Palace of the last Amir of Bukhara, who was replaced by the Soviets in 1920. In both of these places we were the only non-local visitors, so these are not popular on the tourist routes.
We then enjoyed wandering around old Bukhara, which is a walking town with many arts and crafts and attractive shops for tourists.
We had dinner in a cute home that had been purchased from one of the old Jewish families that left about ten years ago, most likely to Israel. The food was good except for the salads, which they had made very spicy because our booking was from a Chinese tour company so they expected Chinese!
We had requested to see traditional dancing, and did indeed see a show with colorful costumes. In between each traditional dance we had a troupe of fashion models come out and model a local designer's take on modern clothes with Uzbek Ikat silks and other materials, which could be purchased immediately afterward. The show was in an old madrasah, a beautiful courtyard, and cost about $7 each, $10 with a glass of wine. Quite impressed with Bukhara!
Overnighted at Asia Bukhara Hotel, which is right in the old city across from several old caravansary and madrasahs, and had nice rooms with good internet and buffet breakfast.
On the way from the train station into town, we stopped at Bahauddin Naqshbandiy mausoleum, which is famous as the grave of the founding member of the founder of Sufism (best known for whirling dervishes) group in Islam.
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| small remaining tiles |
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| Enjoying free range |
Then, closer to town, we stopped at the Summer Palace of the last Amir of Bukhara, who was replaced by the Soviets in 1920. In both of these places we were the only non-local visitors, so these are not popular on the tourist routes.
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| Textiles on display at Summer Palace |
We then enjoyed wandering around old Bukhara, which is a walking town with many arts and crafts and attractive shops for tourists.
We had dinner in a cute home that had been purchased from one of the old Jewish families that left about ten years ago, most likely to Israel. The food was good except for the salads, which they had made very spicy because our booking was from a Chinese tour company so they expected Chinese!
We had requested to see traditional dancing, and did indeed see a show with colorful costumes. In between each traditional dance we had a troupe of fashion models come out and model a local designer's take on modern clothes with Uzbek Ikat silks and other materials, which could be purchased immediately afterward. The show was in an old madrasah, a beautiful courtyard, and cost about $7 each, $10 with a glass of wine. Quite impressed with Bukhara!Overnighted at Asia Bukhara Hotel, which is right in the old city across from several old caravansary and madrasahs, and had nice rooms with good internet and buffet breakfast.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
May 21 Samarkand On Our own
We were off early in the morning to walk to the Shah-I-Zinda (avenue of mausoleums) which was only about a mile away though some back alleys and pedestrian walkways. There were many more tourists there this time, but we listened in on other tour guides speals and learned other facts that our tour guide did not give us. We took many more pictures, focusing on the tiles. This is really a sight to see. We would like to understand more about the tile making techniques, but will need to look online for that information.
We then crossed the busy street and went to the Siob Bazaar to once again look for ikat fabric. It is becoming obvious that we should have made that purchase in Kashgar. The choice available in the market focused more on what the women here like to wear - velvet with lots of glitter and bling in the form of crystals and large rhinestones. Red seems to be a favorite color. Even the street-sweeper ladies are wearing velvet or bright ikat.
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| Arts Cafe Studio |
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| Sugar and flour "almond" candy |
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| The Paranji we now own |
The Medressa is an Islamic school building that usually consists of classrooms around a large inner court yard. In the Medressa there may or may not be a mosque. There can also be a second story that can be rooms for students to live in or the rooms can be used as class rooms. The Medressa's in the Registan are beautifully decorated both outside and also in the court yards. Shops now fill the old class rooms.
Today we had the time to browse in all the shops that we had not been in before. One gentleman had a considerable amount of knowledge about the motifs used in the Suzani embroidery work done by the women. Men in previous times did the embroidery work using gold thread ---they believed if women worked in the gold thread that the thread would tarnish.
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| Another purchase from the embroidery expert |
Needless to say we walked many steps today! We walked back along the pedistrian road enjoying the cooler weather and stopped for a light supper before heading back to our hotel. We were glad we had organized an extra day here in Samarkand to really explore it on our own.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
20 May Samarkand
We were out early to contine exploring all the beautiful blue tiles of this beautiful UNESCO hertiage site city.
Shahi Zinda - The name, which means Tomb of the Living King, refers to it's original, innermost and holiest shrine-a complex of cool, quiet rooms around what is believed to be the grave of Qusam ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad who is said to have brought Islam to this area. This makes it an important place of pilgrimage, and we saw many more Uzbeks there compared to foreign tourists. Except a few very early tombs at the end, the tombs belongs to Timur's and Ulugbek's family and favorites.
Some of the finest tiles in the world are located in these tombs, which are sometimes quite different from those nearby, providing a feast of color.
Next stop was Afrosiab,the ruins of ancient Samarkand (Maracanda) and the Museum. The walls of the ancient city lie only a few hundred yards from the Registan and were quite obviously bordered by a river on one side, where the body of the Old Testament Jewish prophet Daniel's remains are believed to lie in a tomb that somehow keeps growing longer, and it is already 18 meters long. Afrosiab had been left to ruins, but in the 1960's an accidental discovery during road construction of beautiful 7th Century AD frescoes showing merchants and local royalty led to further digging, although much of this buried city has yet to be excavated. The museum held a copy of the frescoe, much pottery from the site, and a record of at least 11 levels for the city starting in 500 BC or perhaps even earlier. The second floor of the museum was unfortunately closed.
We then drove further out of town to Ulugbek Observatory.
The grandson of Amir Timur, Ulugbek was less interested in conquering the rest of the world than he was in understanding the stars and planets. He became more famous as an astronomer than as a ruler. In 1420, he built the best equipped observatory for that time, and he shared his work and knowledge with astronomers to the east in China and with Europeans in the west. Because astronomy and more broadly science and the arts were frowned upon by some of the religious authorities at the time, who actually succeeded in convincing Ulugbek's son to have him beheaded, the Observatory was buried after his death and was only re-discovered because it was written about in an old manuscript and unearthed in 1908.
We also went to the Imam Al Bukhariy Mausoleum, a quiet place, and Hazrati Doniyor Mausoleum.
Shahi Zinda - The name, which means Tomb of the Living King, refers to it's original, innermost and holiest shrine-a complex of cool, quiet rooms around what is believed to be the grave of Qusam ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad who is said to have brought Islam to this area. This makes it an important place of pilgrimage, and we saw many more Uzbeks there compared to foreign tourists. Except a few very early tombs at the end, the tombs belongs to Timur's and Ulugbek's family and favorites.
Some of the finest tiles in the world are located in these tombs, which are sometimes quite different from those nearby, providing a feast of color.
Next stop was Afrosiab,the ruins of ancient Samarkand (Maracanda) and the Museum. The walls of the ancient city lie only a few hundred yards from the Registan and were quite obviously bordered by a river on one side, where the body of the Old Testament Jewish prophet Daniel's remains are believed to lie in a tomb that somehow keeps growing longer, and it is already 18 meters long. Afrosiab had been left to ruins, but in the 1960's an accidental discovery during road construction of beautiful 7th Century AD frescoes showing merchants and local royalty led to further digging, although much of this buried city has yet to be excavated. The museum held a copy of the frescoe, much pottery from the site, and a record of at least 11 levels for the city starting in 500 BC or perhaps even earlier. The second floor of the museum was unfortunately closed.
We then drove further out of town to Ulugbek Observatory.
The grandson of Amir Timur, Ulugbek was less interested in conquering the rest of the world than he was in understanding the stars and planets. He became more famous as an astronomer than as a ruler. In 1420, he built the best equipped observatory for that time, and he shared his work and knowledge with astronomers to the east in China and with Europeans in the west. Because astronomy and more broadly science and the arts were frowned upon by some of the religious authorities at the time, who actually succeeded in convincing Ulugbek's son to have him beheaded, the Observatory was buried after his death and was only re-discovered because it was written about in an old manuscript and unearthed in 1908.We also went to the Imam Al Bukhariy Mausoleum, a quiet place, and Hazrati Doniyor Mausoleum.
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