bhamsan01

Such a fascinating trip report. I feel like I've learned so much more than i would reading a tour book.

oneworld82

Thanks bhamsan01; that's what I am trying to achieve here!

oneworld82

LINK TO BLOG POST

I am sort of ashamed to admit it, but prior to researching places to visit on my Lonely Planet I had never heard of Khiva. Or, at least, I had no memory of it. I knew of course Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent. But Khiva was a novelty. For days I debated whether it was worth the hassle of going all the way to Urgench, near the “border” with the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, in the middle of the desert and near the Turkmen border. What convinced me, in the end, were the rave reviews that everyone was giving to it. And so I decided to visit the walled oasis town of Khiva. I am surely happy I did.

From Wikitravel: According to legend, Khiva was founded about 2 500 years ago when a son of Noah, Shem, discovered a well in the middle of the desert exclaimed “Khi-wa!” (which locals will take delight in roughly translating as “sweet water”). For the next 1 000 years or so, the area was inhabited by settlements that used the nearby Amu-Darya river to irrigate agriculture. According to the archaeologists Khiva was founded in the 5th or 6th century. As Islam spread to the area, the first major structures were built near Shem’s well, and it became known as a small trading post on the Silk Road. First written sources date from the 10th century. The Arab traveller Al Istachri mentions Khiva in his enumeration of the most important settlements in Chorezm. The Arab geographer Ibn Battuta visited Khiva in the 14th century. He praised the emir who was untiringly taking care of law and order and reported that the city was so full of people that it was almost impossible to find one’s way in the crowd. It wasn’t until the 16th century when Khiva was made capital of an Islamic Khanate (starting a bitter rivalry with another Khan 460 km down the Silk Road in Bukhara), that the majority of Khiva’s immense architectural projects began and the town established itself as a center of power in the region. Locals will say (sometimes in hushed tones) that if Khiva didn’t have a rivalry with nearby Bukhara, it would not be the significant site that it is today. In the 19th century a strong central power was created and taxes and money were introduced. For a long period of time Khiva was one of the most important markets of slaves in Central Asia. Slavery was only formally abolished during the October Revolution of 1917. Khiva with its 94 mosques and 63 madrassahs is considered an important center of Islam. Because of this significance, Khiva was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1990.

Everyone familiar with the One Thousand and One Nights tales would magically feel transported back in time once in Khiva. The place is just magical. High walls, beautiful medressas, incredible minarets, and a charm of centuries past – Khiva has them all.


Western Walls

Entering the Ichon-Qala from the West gate, it’s a mind-blowing sequence of astonishing monuments: the Kunha Ark, the Kalta Minor minaret, the Juma Mosque with its wooden pillars, the Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoluem with its incredible tileworks, the stunning Islom-Hoja Minaret and Medressa… there are many more monuments that have a story to tell, but that I will not name here as I cannot match a good guidebook level of details anyways.


Welcome to Khiva!

What I can tell you, though, is that the atmosphere found in this town is different from anything else I have ever experienced before. To be honest, even without a guidebook you would thoroughly enjoying this place. The secret is to just wander around the many alleys and streets that invariably lead to some splendid sight. Get lost in this splendid city, and you’ll be rewarded by a once-in-a-lifetime experience.


Ark entrance


Tiled map of the Ichan Qala






Carved wood details


Entrance to the Orient Star Hotel, formerly a medressa




Kalta Minor Minaret





The center of the power in the Khanate of Khiva was the Kuhna Ark, a massive fortification along the Western Walls of the city that’s perfectly preserved today. The scorching sun (it was 101F when I visited) made the place all the more surreal.


Khuna Ark


Mohammed Rakhim Khan Medrassah


Look at the quality of this woodwork!!









As you wonder around town, you realize that you have just started scraping off what Khiva has to offer. Walk straight, then right on an alley with B&B’s and artisan shops (great cotton products as well as carpets and other trinkets are found everywhere), then left again… and this is what you see:



The Islam-Khoja Minaret (with its 45 meters) towers over most of the town. Flanking the street are a host of old buildings and madrassas that make the cityscape look surreal. It was a sight I had only seen in Aladdin before. I think I sat down on someone’s house stairway for 10 minutes just soaking in the view.







One of the major sights here is the Pahlawan Mahmud Mausoleum, one of the most popular places of pilgrimage in Uzbekistan. Pahlawan Mahmud (“the strong man”) was famous for his extraordinary bravery, physical strength as well as his good nature. He was a furrier, but also a wrestler, doctor, poet and saint. The people gave him the title “Pahlavan”, meaning brave and handsome hero, as he defended the poor and is said to have had mystical powers.


Pahlawan Mahmud Mausoleum

The largest medressa in Khiva sits on the opposite side of the mausoleum. The Shirgiz Khan Medressa is monumental to say the least.


Shirgiz Khan Medressa



As you walk around the rest of Khiva, there are plenty of other medressas and palaces to entertain you. This city is truly remarkable!








Inside the mausoleum












Juma (Friday) Mosque












East gate




















Up for 28 hours straight at this point!







Food-wise, the town has two places that I highly recommend. One is Bir Gumbaz, near the Kalta Minor Minaret (and with a spectacular view over it); this is a great little spot to just have some tea or drink a beer while enjoying the view over the monuments around. The other place is Khorezm Art Restaurant, a very atmospheric restaurant that serves decent food at reasonable prices (including local favorites like laghman and plov).




Drinks with a view


My first plov!



The locals are unobtrusive. Souvenir stalls are everywhere, but hardly anybody tries to summon you to buy articles as varied as magnets or sunglasses. Uzbeks, and I will have to get into this more in detail later, are very honest, kind people. People dress pretty freely in traditional dresses or more “Western” clothes. The majority of the population is Muslim, but not of the observant kind - mostly everyone is very relaxed in their interpretation of Islam.











Around the old city of Khiva (which was a stop along the Silk Road just like Bukhara and Samarkand) there are chaotic bazaar and a more modern town. Exhausted after having been up for 24 hours straight, I laid down on a shady bench on a nice park to rest a bit and fell totally asleep. When I woke up, a boy started approaching me asking me questions about… well, everything. I instinctively thought that he would end up asking for presents or money, but he (and then his mom and brothers) where genuinely only interested in knowing a foreigner and in looking through my entire photo collection on my phone. Again, what a genuine people are the Uzbeks!





To get to Khiva, like I mentioned earlier, one has to fly into Urgench, a rather ugly provincial capital full of Soviet-stle building and other ugly stuff. It’s not like it didn’t feel safe – it just didn’t look pretty. Urgench airport is a tiny affair, handling just a few flights a day (including some international flights to Russia once or twice a week).





The day I flew into Khiva is the the same day I flew out of it. I took a 6.20am flight from Tashkent and came back on a 8.55pm flight to Bukhara. Everything looked great on paper, except that my flight from Almaty landed in Tashkent at 11.40pm the night before, and so I had the brilliant idea of spending the night on a bench outside the international terminal at Tashkent airport. So smart. It’s not like it’s unsafe – most international flights land and/or departs in the wee hours of the day. It was just very tiring (as mentioned in my previous post). Once I moved to the domestic terminal, I found an American and Spanish couple who were doing the same thing I was doing. We became instant friends.

Needless to say, I felt exhausted all day long in Khiva, but that didn’t prevent me from enjoying this incredible city that captured my imagination and that is definitely one of the most stunning places I have ever seen in my life.

exilencfc

Wow that looks amazing.

oneworld82

It was amazing indeed!

onobond

A most fascinating TR with many great pics. Looking forward to more...

oneworld82

Working on it. The Bukhara and Samarkand parts are almost ready. Unfortunately, I had a mishap with my laptop and that's been delaying my work!

kingarthur

Your latest entry helped me get correctly answer this weekend's trivia question in the "1000 Places" calendar. With a photo of Tichan-Kala fortress, it asks "Khiva... was Central Asia's primary market for what? A) Dates, B) Camels, C) Slaves, D) Coffee"

Thanks for this well written and documented (as well as informative!) trip report.

oneworld82

LINK TO FULL BLOG POST

When I decided to visit Uzbekistan, my only certainty is that I would go to Bukhara and Samarkand. That’s because most tourists go there, and that’s because usually you see pictures of these two cities on websites and travel magazines. Little I knew about this splendid city, this Medioeval center of religious, scientific, and architectural studies. As Wikitravel puts it:

“According to the legend Bukhara was founded by King Siavash, a legendary Persian prince from the beginnings of the Persian Empire. After the treason of his stepmother Sudabeh, who accused him that he wanted to seduce her and betray his father, Siavash went into exile to Turan. Afrasiab, the King of Samarkand, married his daughter Ferganiza(Farangis) to him and granted him a vassal kingdom in the oasis of Bukhara. Later, Siavash was accused that he wanted to overthrow King Afrasiab and was executed in front of his wife. Siavash’s father sent Rostam, the legendary Persian hero to Turan and Rostam brought Ferganiza (Farangis) and their son Kai Khosrow back to Persia.

At the time of the Arab conquests, Bukhara was ruled by the Sogdian dynasty of the Bokar-kodats. Arab armies first appeared before Bukhara in the caliphate of Moawia, after Obayd-Allāh b. Zīād b. Abīhe crossed the Oxus (53-54/673-74). Bukhara was ruled by a woman, Katun, as regent for her infant son. She had to submit and to pay a tribute of a million dirhams and 4,000 slaves. Permanent Arab control in the city was established by Qotayba b. Moslem Baheli, who after arduous campaigns in Sogdia (87-90/706-09) overcame the resistance of the Bukharans and their Turkish allies and placed an Arab garrison in the city, forcing every home owner to share his residence with Arabs. In 94/712-13 he erected the first mosque in Bukhara within the citadel, on the site of a former Buddhist or Zoroastrian temple. In 166/782, the governor of Khorasan Fażl b. Solayman Ṭusi built walls to protect Bukhara against Turkish attacks.

In the 3rd/9th cent. the notables of Bukhara asked the Samanid ruler of Samarqand and Farḡāna Nasr b.Ahmad for help, who in 260/874 sent his younger brotherIsmail to the city. Bukhara enjoyed a period of prosperity lasting for 150 years and under the patronage of the Samanid amirs served as a cultural center for Arabic learning and Persian literature. A passage by Taalebi, the famous scholar of Nisapur, praises Bukhara in the era of the Samanids as “the focus of splendour, the Kaba of the empire, the meeting-place of the unique figures of the age, the rising-place of the stars of the literary men of the world, and the forum for the outstanding per.sonages of the time”. Geographers from the Samanid period mention the division of the city in a citadel (ko.handez), the town proper (sahrestan) and a suburb (rabat). The citadel contained the palace and the original mosque of Qotayba b. Moslem. To its east, dividing it from the sahrestan, was the Rigestan, an open, sandy space, where Amir Naṣr b. Aḥmad (301-33/914-43) built a palace and where the dīvāns of the administration were situated. In this century, an outer wall with eleven gates was built. The city had clearly expanded, though geographers still critize it as an unsanitary and crowded place.

In 389/999 Bukhara was occupied by the Ilak (Ilig) Nasr b. Ali. For the next 150 years it was part of the western Qarakhanid khanate, ruled by descendants of the Ilak Nasr. Under the loose, decentralized rule of the Turkish tribesmen, Bukhara lost its political importance. The reign of Arslan Khan Moḥammad b. Solayman (495-524/1102-30) brought peace to the city. He also rebuilt the citadel and city walls, and erected a new Friday mosque and two new palaces.

Bukhara was con.quered by Gengiz Khan in 616/1220. All inhabitants were driven out and the city was burned., but in the time of Ögedey Qaan (626-39/1229-41) the city was prosperous again. Ögedey placed the administration of all the settled regions of Central Asia in the hands of a Muslim merchant trusted by the Mongols, who resided in Ḵojand and reported directly to the supreme khan. The revival of prosperity of Bukhara may have been due to his efforts. He was succeeded at Bukhara by his son Masud Beg, who remained in authority until his death in 688/1289, despite feuds among the Mongol successor states and repeated shifts in their borders within Central Asia. Masud Beg was buried in the madrasa that he had built at Bukhara. The skilled craftsmen inhabiting Bukhara were apportioned among the four divi.sions of the Mongol empire), each belonging to one of Gengiz Khan’s sons and his descendants; each division was entitled to revenues from the portion of the population assigned to it.

The Khanate of Bukhara came into existence after the conquest of Samarkand and Bukhara by Muhammad Shaybani. The Shaybanid Dynasty ruled the khanate from 1506 until 1598. Under their rule Bukhara became a center of arts and literature. Bukhara attracted skilled craftsmen of calligraphy and miniature painting , poets and theologians. Abd al-Aziz Jhan (1533-1550) established a library “having no equal”. The khanate of Bukhara reached its greatest influence under Abdullah Khan II, who reigned from 1577 to 1598.

The Khanate of Bukhara was governed by the Janid Dynasty (Astrakhanids) in the 17th and 18th cent. It was conquered by Nadir Shah of Iran in 1740. After his death the khanat was controlled by descendants of the Uzbek emir Khudayar Bi through the position of “ataliq” (prime minister). The khanate became the Emirate of Bukhara in 1785.”

As you can imagine, this Central Asian city has seen it all. That and remarkable conservation efforts made sure that the city is in incredible conditions. It’s another city/museum.


Char Minar

There is so much to see in Bukhara that I do not know where to begin. This city was not one important stop along the Silk Road, but also one of the most important centers of Islamic culture and Mediaeval science, with scholars like the geographer Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and the mathematician al-Khwārizmī (Algorismi, discoverer of the algorithmic process and writer of Al-Jebr, the very first treaty on Algebra) calling it home. This incredibly well-preserved city boasts more than 140 buildings protected by UNESCO. Madrasas are the ubiquitous sight in a city that feels like an open-air museum and university.

Lyab-i-Hauz is the central square, with a nice pond flanked by chaikanahs and restaurants in the middle. The beautiful Nadir Divanbegi Madrasah sits on one end of the square, and a beloved statue of Nasreddin – a Seljuk satirical Sufi – is located in front of it. Nasreddin is a truly beloved character, and locals line up day and night to take a picture next to this statue.









The old city is an intricate maze of narrow streets and covered bazaars; just walking around is fun, because every corner hides a beautiful building, a house with a nice courtyard, or beautiful handicrafts sold as souvenirs.







































The sight that perhaps captured me is the ensemble formed by theand the Kalon Mosque and Minaret (the latter built in 1127). This incredible part of Bukhara is just as stunning as the Registan in Samarkand. Green/blue tileworks and blue domes – the quintessential Central Asian and Persian decorations – are at their best in this perfectly-preserved corner of ancient Bukhara. Get there, sit, and stare in pure awe.

oneworld82

From the Mir-al-Arab Madrasa it’s not a long walk to the Ark – the old walled citadel home to the emir of Bukhara and greatly damaged by Frunze’s army during the Bolshevik invasion. The walls are just as impressive as Khiva’s. Inside, the coronation room and the ancient mosque are among the very few remains of the city.





















In front of the Ark sits Registan Square (Registan is a Tajik work that means “sandy place”), where executions and parades used to be held; across the street the Friday Mosque is a testament of central Asian architecture, with high, wooden pillars that give the building a marked decadent soul. In a park only 10 minutes away behind the mosque lies another great site: the Ismail Samani Mausoleum, built at the beginning of the X century CE. It’s stunning to see how refined the architecture in the region was a millennium ago – and how well preserved all these buildings still are.














Ismail Samani Mausoleum











Bukhara’s most famous and photographed building, though, is the Char Minar, a great example of Tajik architecture. It is not as impressive as other monuments found in the city, but the perfect geometry and unique architecture of the building make it one of the best sights in town.

Bukhara, just like Samarkand, is a city predominantly populated by ethnic Tajiks. The Tajik border is not far away from here, and most of the people naturally speak Tajik (although almost everyone speaks Uzbek and Russian as well). The ethnic diversity of Uzbekistan, albeit not as apparent as Kazakhstan’s, is remarkable. Tajiks are not Turkic people (like the Uzbeks and the Kazakhs); they are Persians, deriving from the same Arian people from which modern-day Iranians and Afghans come from. Uzbeks used to be one and the same with the Kazakhs, people who inhabited the steppe but that at a certain point in history decided to become sedentary. They have marked Central Asian traits, Mongolian-like. Russians, quite pervasive in Kazakhstan, are more limited in number in Uzbekistan and mostly concentrated in Tashkent.

Bukhara (and to a lesser extent Samarkand) used to host a thriving Jewish community as well (almost completely gone these days). These rich trading cities at the center of routes leading from China to India, the Middle East, and Europe offered attractive opportunities for skilled, entrepreneurial Jewish traders, artisans, and jewelers, who gave life to an important community that it’s unfortunately gone. The historic Jewish neighborhoods, though, are still there, with their narrow alleys and cramped buildings. It’s certainly interesting walking around the non-touristic part of Bukhara – you get a real insight into how Uzbek’s neighborhood life looks like.



















Bukhara’s sights are best seen in a couple of day. There is a lot to see, to absorb. Sure, with a good guide and an early rise it’s certainly possible to hit all the major sights in a day; but that would detract from the opportunity of just walking around town, exploring aimlessly this beautiful, ancient city getting lost in space and time. One of the best memories I have of this trip is being sit at a restaurant on the Lyab-I Hauz for dinner having beef shashlik (oh my, the most delicious thing my palate ever tasted!), drinking a good local beer, and enjoying the evening breeze that chilled the summer nights away after the scorching heat of the daytime. The sun, yes: I traveled in the second part of August, when it’s still definitely summer in this part of the World. The sun is strong, but the air is dry, so walking around during the day is actually not as bad as in places like Bangkok or Dallas; just drink plenty of water and you’ll be perfectly fine.

Also, one mention about the food: in Layb-havz there is a good restaurant with al fresco dining, live music, and reasonable prices. There I had shashlik – the most amazing way to grill meat you can imagine. Don’t miss it.






My bill: $20

Also, the best (and possibly only) way to explore many of these cities is on foot. Be sure to bring good hiking shoes with you – that will help you prevent blisters and it will make your trip much easier and more enjoyable.

In Bukhara, I stayed at one of the many charming B&B in town. I opted to stay at Rustam & Zukhra, a clean. centrally-located guesthouse with a very hospitable family, clean rooms, great breakfast, and good atmosphere.

My next stop would be Samarkand. The easiest way to get there is by shared taxi – that will set you up for about $20 per person and the ride won’t be, overall, too uncomfortable.



All in all, Bukhara was an AMAZING place to visit. The shear number of historical buildings (and the excellent state of them) was mind-blowing. You can really breathe history here, just like you could in Rome or Paris. Definitely a place not to miss. And now, on to the next stop!

Gardyloo

I'm really enjoying this TR and am looking forward to the rest.

Forty years ago I visited Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, and Urgench in Uzbekistan, and also Dushanbe in Tajikistan as part of a ridiculously cheap 14-day all-inclusive tour - which included Moscow and then-Leningrad - put on by Intourist, the Soviet internal travel agency. (Total cost including hotels, meals, flights from LGW and all internal flights was £280 per person. Not making that up.)

We were among the first tour groups allowed into these cities, part of an attempt by the USSR to stimulate tourism to Central Asia. Things were, shall we say, somewhat undeveloped at the time; for example we couldn't stay in Khiva - condemned to Urgench - rhymes with stench - instead. The entire population of Khiva had been relocated to a shanty town surrounding the city - temporary housing so the historic city could be "restored" and made more visitor-friendly.

Bukhara was no less fascinating than you found it, albeit less restored. Being it was Soviet days, we also had a constant patter of socialist propaganda coming from our guide, which in Bukhara focused largely on tales of the "cruel Emir" (or probably multiple cruel Emirs) who would toss enemies off the top of the big minaret, or - better - sentence them to be thrown into the "Bug Pit of Bukhara" - a hole full of scorpions and other nasty crawling things. Oh, things are so much better now, comrades...

Anyway, you might find this photo interesting, showing how much tile was missing, and also showing a couple of the minaret's residents.



Keep up the great work!

onobond

Another great installment in a very inspiring TR. I fully agreee with Gardyloo

oneworld82

For most people, Uzbekistan equals Samarkand. And with good reason. This was the capital of the Timurid Empire, the most recognizable incarnation of Central Asian military might in history. Amir Temur (known in the West as Tamerlane, meaning “Lame Timur” given that he was missing a couple of fingers on his right hand due to youthful adventures) was the terror and the might of this part of the World in the late part of the XIV century CE. From a simple bandit he became the founder of an Empire whose heirs included Babur, the founder of the Mughal dinasty in India.



Registan SquareThankfully for Samarkand, Timur decided to seat the capital of his empire here. While he was born in Shakrisabz (90 km south of Samarkand), nothing much remains there (except a colossal tomb that was being constructed for Timur, but never finished). Samarkand is striking. Most people are familiar with its most majestic sight, the Registan Square. But the city has much more to offer, as I will try to illustrate.

I must say that Samarkand is the city that I got to know in deeper detail compared to the other ones. This happened thanks to my friend and guide Shoira, an amazing young woman that made me explore sides of the city that most tourists would miss. I am so grateful to Shoira for all her help, and deeply indebted to her for having shown me this splendid city in detail (her aim was to make me like Samarkand more than Bukhara. I suppose she succeeded!).

I will start with my little, comfortable B&B in the heart of the old city: Jahogjir B&B. This traditional Uzbek house (a two stories building with a inner courtyard) was run by the most affable and polite of families. The yard was covered in vines (lots of tasty grapes and cantaloupes in this part of the World), giving the whole building a very charming and welcoming look.

I had a room on the second floor. I must say: the mattress wasn’t all that comfortable, and the internet slow; but it was clean, and 5 minutes walk from Registan Square. A real winner (Uzbekistan lacks luxury or international chain hotels – the only exception being the Radisson Blu Hotel in Tashkent. Hence, B&B’s are the way to go here. Tripadvisor has very accurate reviews, as always).

The night rate included breakfast, that just like in Bukhara was a feast! Amazing bread, jam, fruit, cold cuts, cheese… Enough to fill you for the entire day! Also, the place sold beer. At 5,000CYM per half-litre bottle ($1.66), it was a great bargain.

Like I said, Jahogjir is literally 5 minutes away from Registan Square. Walking to the main platform (viewpoint) on Registanskaya is relatively hassle free; the view from the viewpoint is, well, astonishing (for lack of a more hyperbolic adjective).

Registan Square is bordered by three, monumental madrassas: Sher Dor (Lion) on the right, Tilla-Kari in the middle; Ulugbek on the left. Sher Dor is the least interesting of the three, as its interiors are rather bare. The Ulugbek Madrassa showcases lecture halls and a neat mosque; the Tilla-Kari (gold-covered) madrassa boasts a great courtyard and a fantastic mosque covered in gold, to symbolize the city’s power at the time (this madrassa was finished in 1660).


Amir Timur





















The whole ensemble is stunning, and you really come to appreciate the incredible restoration works carried out by the Soviet Union when you see pictures showing the square in the first half of the XX century inside the museum in the Ulugbek Madrassa. he Soviet government made an incredible effort to restore these buildings to an impeccable state – kudos to them for that.

Walking down Registanskaya you end up at the Amir Timur statue and, not far from there, you will find the Gur-e-Amir and Ak-Saray Mausoleums. In the former, Amir Timur is buried. A cenotaph of the King is diplayed there, with other tombs on the sides including Timur’s teacher, Sheikh Seyid Umar. The whole complex is beautiful, monumental, and very photogenic.














Timur's Tombstone









Last but not least in the old town is Tashkent Rd, a pedestrian street flanking Registan Square and leading to three amazing sights in Samarkand: the Bibi-Khanim Mosque, the bazaar, and the Shah-i-Zinda complex.The Bibi-Khanim mosque is monumental to say the least. This was supposed to be the crown jewel of Timur’s architectural bonanza, but he died right before its completion.







The bazaar is huge, and very lively. You can buy here literally everything, including halva, the traditional Uzbek sweet. Vendors are very nice and eager to make tourists try their delicious treats. Waslking through the market you really get a good feeling of how modern Uzbeks shop.







But the most impressive of the three sights is surely Shah-i-Zinda, the “Avenue of Mausoleums”. Here a series of tombs lie next to each other, each decorated in different fashion. Each mausoleum is impressive, and the majolica decorations are beautiful. This is a place of pilgrimage, and people come here to pay respect to Qusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the profet Mohammed said to have brought Islam to this area in the 7th century (Shah-i-Zinda means “Tomb of the Living King”, and it refers to him).





















There is a long staircase leading to the tombs. According to my guide Shoira, if you count the steps on the way up and on the way down, and if the number of steps counted coincide, then your wishes will come true. Try to believe

But Samarkand doesn’t end here. This is a city that was originally founded at the time of Alexander the Great, by the Bactrians that took over this area after the fall of the Macedonian Empire. A few kilometers outside the main city lies Afrosiab, the ancient Samarkand. Here recent excavations uncovered a complex town with some al fresco paintings that show how advanced that post-Greek culture was. The museum is quite interesting to visit, and workers are very busy trying to salvage some murals and paintings from the walls.











Also, nearby Afrosiab seats one of the great wonders of Samarkand: Uzulbeg’s observatory. Uzulbeg – grandson of Timur – wasn’t much of a politician, but he was an acclaimed mathematician and astronomer. He built a still-standing structure that’s an amazing engineering feat for the time. Part of the mechanism to observe the sky is still there, and it allows for a neat insight into how advanced Samarkand was in the XV century CE when most of Europe was still embattled in the Middle Age.
















Site of Afrosyob - Ancient Samarkand





With Shoira as a guide, we proceeded then to explore the newest part of town. Samarkand – just like Tashkent – is filled with tree-lined boulevards and well-kept buildings. It’s funny, but I never felt like I was in a poor country, given how everything looks and given how good the infrastructures are. Shoira took me to a canteen where she goes eat with friends for lunch. Here I had the most amazing plov (for $1.33) and samsa (for $0.50). Samsa is prepared in a tandoor oven, which originally comes from this part of the World and was later brought to India. Samsa – bread pockets filled with chicken or beef – are sensational, just as most of Uzbek food (which deserves a post of its own).












Cooking samsa in tandoor oven





Also, Uzbeks (just like Kazakhs) are fond of vodka. Like I said, they are very relaxed Muslims I figured that I should visit a distillery if I had the chance to, and so I asked Shoira whether there were any vodka-related place we could visit in town. Unfortunately, no production facility is located in town, but one of the companies producing vodka – Xovrenko – has a showroom and museum right in the city center. While the museum was closed, the teenager guarding the building was more than happy to let us in visiting the little showroom area with photos describing the history of the company – completed by various awards won in competitions around the World. Then we were shown a sort of showroom (with a guy sleeping on a bench), and there all the company’s products were rightfully on display! Of course, I picked up a bottle and I brought it back home with me

oneworld82

Those pictures are incredible! Thanks for sharing and for putting everything into perspective!

mad_atta

oneworld82, this is a great report. Glad to hear you enjoyed Central Asia so much. I did too when we visited in 2012, though I didn't find Kazakhstan as entrancing as you did. Uzbekistan, on the other hand, is such a delight that I wonder why it isn't a more mainstream tourist destination.

We got some of the same photos as you on our trip (though personally I think my shot of the Timur statue in Samarkand takes the prize) - you can see our report here if you're curious.

For your next Central Asia experience you should give Tajikistan and Kyrgyztan a try - I can't recommend them highly enough. Though they appeal of them is not the cities, it's the rugged mountainous landscapes, so I guess you have to enjoy that kind of thing.

Gardyloo, what a fascinating flashback. Thank you so much for posting, and the photos too.