Central Asia Express: Exploring Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on LX C/LH F/EY F/AA F
Oct 21, 2014, 7:00 am
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mad_atta,
Your Timur statue's picture clearly wins!
Spectacular haha
Your Timur statue's picture clearly wins!
Spectacular hahaoneworld82, 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.
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.
Oct 23, 2014, 8:49 pm
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Tashkent - A Soviet Capital City
Uzbekistan is, according to most international civil (and human) rights organizations, an autocratic country. Touring Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand you don’t feel a strong authoritarian vibe – people are relaxed, there is not much police around, and overall everything looks fine. If you drive between major cities, things are a little different, as you have numerous checkpoints here and there with armed policemen/armymen. Then you get to Tashkent. The city itself is so well-kept and well-tended that you can’t help but wondering what’s wrong with it. I mean, not even small towns in Japan are as manicured and well kept as Tashkent. Throngs of cleaners sweep streets cleaning garbage and leaves away. Traffic is moderate, mostly thanks to 6 and 8 lanes streets crisscrossing the city. And that’s when you realize that you have landed in a dictatorship: while I did not see a single monument to the father and master of the country, President Islam Karimov, the abundance of monuments and grandiose buildings give the city a very actual, very real Soviet feel. Like in we still are under a dictatorship kind of feel.
Overall, Tashkent doesn’t offer too much to tourists, but yet it deserves a day or two. I highly suggest to stay in one of the hotels near the center and near a subway station to avoid the hassle of dealing with cab drivers. Tashkent metro is efficient, reliable, and safe.
I stayed at one of the great modernist buildings of the city – the Hotel Uzbekistan.
This is a truly remarkable building – both during the day and at night, when the lights are on and make it look like a bee hive. The hotel is not fancy by any standard, but it’s clean and comfortable – a decent 3 stars hotel. The hotel enjoys a great location – right in front of Amir Timur’s square. While staying there, a few teams competing in the Wrestling World Championship that would be held in Tashkent the week after I would leave – pretty neat to see World Class athletes in your hotel.
Uzbek beauty
Amir Timur square is the heart of Tashkent: a majestic exhibition hall flanks Hotel Uzbekistan, and a wide roundabout circles Timur’s statue – from which a tree-lined, perfectly-manicured boulevard departs and goes towards the Senate house – passing by the Arts Museum and History Museum (which is very informative and very well-kept).
Islam Karimov
An abandoned high rise... laden with ads!
Fountains, more boulevards, nice buildings, the national stadium, the Circus (an impressive building) go by on the 5 km or so that divide this part of town from the old part of town – home of the huge Central bazaar: the hustle and bustle here is incredible, and every type of merchandise and Uzbek food is on sale. This ought to be one of the highlights of any visit to Tashkent.
After visiting the Museum of History I headed back to the hotel to pick up my stuff and meet my driver (who had driven me from the train station to the hotel the night before) who would take me to the Uzbek-Kazakh border. Tashkent is very close to Kazakhstan – merely 20 km – and the drive took more or less 20 minutes. My driver was a very affable and talkative person, and we discussed about economics and communism – he gave me a very good perspective on things that I highly appreciated.
Once near the border, I waved my taxi goodbye, I took my stuff, and I would about half a kilometer to the actual border post (this post can be crossed only on foot). A lot of people cross this border daily – Kazakh tourists on the way back home and Uzbek workers seeking better fortune in prosperous Kazakhstan. The border post on the Uzbek side is quite chaotic – people don’t really follow lines pushing against one another towards the immigration officers. Luckily for me there wasn’t too much traffic this time of the day, and after completing an exit form I was through to customs. Here, as almost every foreigner, I was asked to step aside and to empty the content of my backpack for inspection; I was mildly annoyed by that (given the heat and the tiredness), but I started comply. Yet again, though, my Italian passport proved itself useful. As soon as the officer saw that I was from the “Bel Paese” he started laghing and asking me about soccer and about my favorite team. After that, he waved me through and that’s it, I was off to Kazakhstan. It’s amazing how Italians are beloved everywhere in the World – I still fully do not understand why! The Kazakh side of the border was less chaotic and in better shape. Here again, the immigration and custom officers took a liking on me because of my nationality. The immigration officer started talking about Italian rock singers from the 19070s – how did Adriano Celentano and Toto Cotugno even gain notoriety here??! These are the anecdotes that I like to tell people, because they are simply so bizarre! Anyways, in almost no time I was back in Kazakhstan. As soon as you cross the last fence letting you into the country, a hoard of people start yelling at you offering to exchange money and to drive you places. Nice. No one, of course, spoke any English – but it was sufficient for me to say “Shymkent”, my destination, to have a driver approaching me and offering to drive me (and other people, of course) there. It was a little awkward to negotiate the price, but never underestimate Kazakhs’ resourcefulness! In no time we agreed on a fair price and off we went to the next chapter of this incredible trip!
Uzbekistan has proved itself an incredible destination to visit. Remarkably enough, not many people even know that this country exists. Hopefully, Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand will soon be on mainstream tourist routes – these UNESCO World Heritage sites deserve much recognition that they get today. Uzbekistan is not an easy or cheap place to get to; but if you’ll make the effort, I promise you will be completely blown away by this one-of-kind land.
P.S.
- To get a better idea of the recent past of Uzbekistan I read “The Railway” by Hamid Ismailov – an insightful novel set in a small provincial town in Soviet-era Uzbekistan. While this book is rather difficult to read and it is banned at home (and Ismailov himself lives in exile in London), it’s nonetheless a great read that I highly suggest to anyone preparing to visit the country.
Overall, Tashkent doesn’t offer too much to tourists, but yet it deserves a day or two. I highly suggest to stay in one of the hotels near the center and near a subway station to avoid the hassle of dealing with cab drivers. Tashkent metro is efficient, reliable, and safe.
I stayed at one of the great modernist buildings of the city – the Hotel Uzbekistan.
This is a truly remarkable building – both during the day and at night, when the lights are on and make it look like a bee hive. The hotel is not fancy by any standard, but it’s clean and comfortable – a decent 3 stars hotel. The hotel enjoys a great location – right in front of Amir Timur’s square. While staying there, a few teams competing in the Wrestling World Championship that would be held in Tashkent the week after I would leave – pretty neat to see World Class athletes in your hotel.
Uzbek beauty
Amir Timur square is the heart of Tashkent: a majestic exhibition hall flanks Hotel Uzbekistan, and a wide roundabout circles Timur’s statue – from which a tree-lined, perfectly-manicured boulevard departs and goes towards the Senate house – passing by the Arts Museum and History Museum (which is very informative and very well-kept).
Islam Karimov
An abandoned high rise... laden with ads!
Fountains, more boulevards, nice buildings, the national stadium, the Circus (an impressive building) go by on the 5 km or so that divide this part of town from the old part of town – home of the huge Central bazaar: the hustle and bustle here is incredible, and every type of merchandise and Uzbek food is on sale. This ought to be one of the highlights of any visit to Tashkent.
After visiting the Museum of History I headed back to the hotel to pick up my stuff and meet my driver (who had driven me from the train station to the hotel the night before) who would take me to the Uzbek-Kazakh border. Tashkent is very close to Kazakhstan – merely 20 km – and the drive took more or less 20 minutes. My driver was a very affable and talkative person, and we discussed about economics and communism – he gave me a very good perspective on things that I highly appreciated.
Once near the border, I waved my taxi goodbye, I took my stuff, and I would about half a kilometer to the actual border post (this post can be crossed only on foot). A lot of people cross this border daily – Kazakh tourists on the way back home and Uzbek workers seeking better fortune in prosperous Kazakhstan. The border post on the Uzbek side is quite chaotic – people don’t really follow lines pushing against one another towards the immigration officers. Luckily for me there wasn’t too much traffic this time of the day, and after completing an exit form I was through to customs. Here, as almost every foreigner, I was asked to step aside and to empty the content of my backpack for inspection; I was mildly annoyed by that (given the heat and the tiredness), but I started comply. Yet again, though, my Italian passport proved itself useful. As soon as the officer saw that I was from the “Bel Paese” he started laghing and asking me about soccer and about my favorite team. After that, he waved me through and that’s it, I was off to Kazakhstan. It’s amazing how Italians are beloved everywhere in the World – I still fully do not understand why! The Kazakh side of the border was less chaotic and in better shape. Here again, the immigration and custom officers took a liking on me because of my nationality. The immigration officer started talking about Italian rock singers from the 19070s – how did Adriano Celentano and Toto Cotugno even gain notoriety here??! These are the anecdotes that I like to tell people, because they are simply so bizarre! Anyways, in almost no time I was back in Kazakhstan. As soon as you cross the last fence letting you into the country, a hoard of people start yelling at you offering to exchange money and to drive you places. Nice. No one, of course, spoke any English – but it was sufficient for me to say “Shymkent”, my destination, to have a driver approaching me and offering to drive me (and other people, of course) there. It was a little awkward to negotiate the price, but never underestimate Kazakhs’ resourcefulness! In no time we agreed on a fair price and off we went to the next chapter of this incredible trip!
Uzbekistan has proved itself an incredible destination to visit. Remarkably enough, not many people even know that this country exists. Hopefully, Khiva, Bukhara, and Samarkand will soon be on mainstream tourist routes – these UNESCO World Heritage sites deserve much recognition that they get today. Uzbekistan is not an easy or cheap place to get to; but if you’ll make the effort, I promise you will be completely blown away by this one-of-kind land.
P.S.
- To get a better idea of the recent past of Uzbekistan I read “The Railway” by Hamid Ismailov – an insightful novel set in a small provincial town in Soviet-era Uzbekistan. While this book is rather difficult to read and it is banned at home (and Ismailov himself lives in exile in London), it’s nonetheless a great read that I highly suggest to anyone preparing to visit the country.
Last edited by oneworld82; Oct 27, 2014 at 9:12 am
Oct 24, 2014, 11:54 am
#63
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I love to read about a place before arrival. I'm ordering my copy today. Thank you for the suggestion.
The Railway
The Railway
Oct 24, 2014, 3:09 pm
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Great trip report! Ever since reading Peter Hopkirk's The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia I've been dreaming about a trip to the region.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Game.../dp/1568360223
From Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/The-Great-Game.../dp/1568360223
From Amazon:
In a phrase coined by Captain Arthur Connolly of the East India Company before he was beheaded in Bokhara for spying in 1842, a "Great Game" was played between Tsarist Russia and Victorian England for supremacy in Central Asia. At stake was the security of India, key to the wealth of the British Empire. When play began early in the 19th century, the frontiers of the two imperial powers lay two thousand miles apart, across vast deserts and almost impassable mountain ranges; by the end, only 20 miles separated the two rivals.
Last edited by txflyer77; Oct 24, 2014 at 4:23 pm
Oct 24, 2014, 3:12 pm
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Oct 25, 2014, 5:46 pm
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SanDiego1k,
I also highly suggest you watch Tulpan, a Kazakh award-winner movie describing life in today's steppe for the modern nomad. While not related to Uzbekistan proper, it is certainly applicable to Central Asian region at large.
Also, if interested in history I recommend "Central Asia in World History" by PEter Golden. It's a relatively and very informative read.
Enjoy!
I also highly suggest you watch Tulpan, a Kazakh award-winner movie describing life in today's steppe for the modern nomad. While not related to Uzbekistan proper, it is certainly applicable to Central Asian region at large.
Also, if interested in history I recommend "Central Asia in World History" by PEter Golden. It's a relatively and very informative read.
Enjoy!
Oct 27, 2014, 9:07 am
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In Almaty there is a vibrant nightlife scene comprising restaurants, bars, and clubs. In Khiva, Samarkand, and Bukhara it's more like restaurants with live music open till 11pm or midnight. Beer is plentiful!
Oct 29, 2014, 6:34 am
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Nov 1, 2014, 3:54 pm
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I beg to differ. My personal experience of the Tashkent metro is being taken to a room by police and being asked to empty my pockets and tell them how much money I was carrying. On the way out at next station I was just stopped and asked to produce my passport.
Anyway,
I enjoy this trip report and it makes me remember all the things from my own trip. I never made it to Khiva or Bukhara but visited Kyrgyzstan instead.
Anyway,
I enjoy this trip report and it makes me remember all the things from my own trip. I never made it to Khiva or Bukhara but visited Kyrgyzstan instead.
Nov 2, 2014, 8:59 am
#74
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I beg to differ. My personal experience of the Tashkent metro is being taken to a room by police and being asked to empty my pockets and tell them how much money I was carrying. On the way out at next station I was just stopped and asked to produce my passport.
Anyway,
I enjoy this trip report and it makes me remember all the things from my own trip. I never made it to Khiva or Bukhara but visited Kyrgyzstan instead.
Anyway,
I enjoy this trip report and it makes me remember all the things from my own trip. I never made it to Khiva or Bukhara but visited Kyrgyzstan instead.
the police still checks everyone's bags - locals and foreigners alike. Perhaps the police itself is the only danger left. But to be fair, I have not seen any tourist having problems in my day or so in Tashkent. Kyrgyzstan is high on my list now! What itinerary did you do?
Nov 2, 2014, 9:04 am
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Turkistan & Shymkent: Deep into Kazakhstan steppe
FULL REPORT CAN BE FOUND HERE
Kazakhstan doesn't possess many historical sites. Most of this immense land is steppe, and the cities dotting this huge continental mass have, more or less, been built in the last two centuries or so. But Turkistan is a notable exception.
Yet, before getting to Turkistan I had to get to Shymkent. This is the biggest city in southern Kazakhstan, and one of the least Russian-influenced ones - in fact, it's very much a Turkic city. My taxi run between the border and Shymkent was nothing short of interesting. First of all, the driver and the other three passengers spoke no English whatsoever (the passengers looked pretty Russian-Kazakhs, the driver more 100% Kazakh); second, all three Russian passengers were big - think football player big!; third, they decided to squeeze me in the middle seat in the back. Oh boy - I thought to myself - here we go on an unforgettable 2 hour drive to Shymkent. After a few minutes, one of them started to speak to me and asking me things in Russian; he was very disappointed when you saw I could not speak any Russian - and I believe the all the four other people in the car started making fun of me. Such is life. But this big fella did not give up in his intent of establishing communication channels with me, and he asked me what I thought was "where are you from?". I inferred that because he started to name countries in Russian, so I just said "Italy!", and brought out my passport. Magically - just as it had happened half a hour before at the Uzbek border post - these three Russian men started laughing and naming Italian singers that I myself barely knew and soccer players that I thought were known only in Italy. It was all very bizarre, but it sets the mood right for the ride (and definitely put me at ease).
The two-hour drive to Shymkent cuts through some hills but it's, overall, monotonous. It's not farmland but not steppe either. The road is in good condition and pretty trafficked, and we reached Shymkent in time. This city is bustling with activity, and it's not a small place (600,000 people call it home); here, my Italian passport saved me once again.
As we were approaching the city, the driver started asking the various passengers where they would like to be dropped off. The guy next to me asked me which hotel I was staying at (Hotel Altair), and when I told him the name I only got a blank stare in return. Great. I gave him my phone number and he called the hotel for me to get direction. Next thing I know, I was going to be dropped off at another hotel - the Bellagio (sic) because my original hotel was sold out. The guy figured everything out and without any hassle I got to my new hotel. I later found out that my original hotel was full, and so they had re-accommodated me at a comparable hotel (booking.com would later refund me the difference between the two hotels - great customer service). I can only imagine what I would have done without these folks helping me out! Since in this part of the country almost no-one (I am not even exaggerating) speaks anything but Kazakh and Russian, their help was invaluable!
The Hotel Bellagio was a rather new property, but nothing fancy really. Rooms were clean and big, and wifi was fast. The staff had very limited English skills, a pity given how pretty the woman working at the check-in desk was (grin). There is no doubting that Russian women are, on average, among the most beautiful out there. Period. I wasn't particularly hungry when I got to the hotel, and I did not have any Tenge with me since I had used them all to pay my driver; since there was no ATM to be found nearby, I just decided to stay in surfing the net. Needless to say, by 9pm I got pretty hungry, but I was too lazy to do anything about it and just called it a night early.
[url]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5610/15050204444_9cfd470f93_b.jpg[/IMG]
[url]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3948/15671750852_65cf7b690a_b.jpg[/IMG]
After a decent breakfast in the morning, I met my driver for my day trip to Turkistan. This modest town was once a stop along one of the many Silk Road trading routes connecting East and West, and it was thriving on commerce. Then Timur came, and he decided to build in Turkistan what's today the most astonishing architectural monument in the country: the Yasawi Mausoleum. Khoja Ahmed Yasawi was the head of a regional sufi order and he was the one who spread sufism across Central Asia. As such, he is revered among all Turkic people, and his mausoleum is a pilgrimage spot for all Central Asian people.
Turkistan is about 180 km away from Shymkent - roughly a 2-hour drive. the highway is mostly in excellent state - bar a few stretches under renovation. What's impressive of this drive? The scenery. The more we went northwest, the more we entered the famous Kazakh steppe. The landscape was neither arid nor prairie; it was something in between - which is what the steppe is, after all. I saw not many settlement and not many farms; the soil is too poor to sustain agriculture, but it's fertile enough to allow bushes and low vegetation to survive. This is the land that the renowned Kazakh nomads call home - and I saw a lot of them long the way indeed: herds of horses, camels, sheep came and went one after another in what certainly is a unique, surreal landscape.
This building was erected by Timur, who died before its completion. The interesting thing is that his death halted the construction of the monument, which still today remains only partially built. This is the only attraction the town has to offer - but it's definitely worth the effort to come here for a visit.
Once parked outside the complex, I walked towards the mausoleum through an ample boulevard lined by vendors and souvenir shops. There were a lot of pilgrims visiting, and as it was a very hot day retailers were busy selling water to the visitors. Once I reached the end of the lane, I could admire the mausoleum in all its beauty. The building is truly grand, in pure Timurid style. It reminded me of the equivalent of a Romanic cathedral - solid, well-planted, massive - but with the distinctive Central Asian tileworks that added a unique touch to the ensemble.
[url]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7556/15477375547_57763a65c8_b.jpg[/IMG]
[url]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7498/15043198353_e41d30c2b8_b.jpg[/IMG]
[url]https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7570/15660651461_e0884667ac_b.jpg[/IMG]
Next to the main temple lies the Mausoleum of Rabiga-Sultan Begum, Timur's great-granddaughter and wife of Abylkayyr Khan, a 15th-century leader of the then-nomadic Uzbeks.
The fortified walls of the complex still stand in a great state of conservation.
It's no wonder that this site has been declared UNESCO World Heritage - it's just too bad that, for now, getting here is not that easy.
Back to the car Ifound my driver waiting for my two-hour drive back to Shymkent. The entire drive was rather awkward, given that he didn't speak any English and I didn't speak any Russian/Kazakh. Imagine sitting two hours next to a person you cannot even say good morning to...! But I got absorbed into the scenery, dozed off a little, and in no time we were back to Shymkent. I somehow managed to get dropped off near the city center instead that at the hotel, as I wanted to explore the city a bit. Shymkent doesn't lack tree-lined boulevards and interesting Soviet-era buildings, and a fair amount of construction work is going on aimed at fixing the city's streets.
I got dropped-off on Tauke-Khan, not far the Mega Shymkent Mall. The area was bustling with activity.
The Mega Shymkent Mall is a modern and air-conditioned space with lots of stores and a food court. ATMs, a bank, a grocery store, and an ice rink are among the attractions. Here, the most bizarre thing ever happened to me. I was wearing my red Cornell t-shirt that day (go Big Red!), and while I was minding my business I hear someone calling "hey, Cornell!". I turned around and, to my surprise, I saw a group of young Americans standing in the middle of the mall. It turned out that was the US Wrestling National Team that was in Shymkent training for the Wrestling World Championships that would be held in Tashkent the week after. A rather odd encounter for sure.
Mega Mall
Ayran - Fermented Camel Milk
Laghman - SO delicious!
I then walked back to the hotel – around 30 minutes away – and spent the night blogging and watching a movie before going to sleep. My long journey back home would begin the next day.
All in all, Turkistan was amazing and Shymkent was worth a stop; while the former possesses an incredible architectural wonder, the latter provided me with a view onto a big Kazakh city removed from the glamour of Almaty or Astana. While Shymkent is not a pretty city, it’s definitely a vibrant place; what I was interested to see was how average Kazakh city dwellers fare in a big city. While not rich yet, it’s palpable that living standards are on the rise and that, sooner rather than later, this country will be a fully-developed nation with high living standards. Putin permitting, that is.
Kazakhstan doesn't possess many historical sites. Most of this immense land is steppe, and the cities dotting this huge continental mass have, more or less, been built in the last two centuries or so. But Turkistan is a notable exception.
Yet, before getting to Turkistan I had to get to Shymkent. This is the biggest city in southern Kazakhstan, and one of the least Russian-influenced ones - in fact, it's very much a Turkic city. My taxi run between the border and Shymkent was nothing short of interesting. First of all, the driver and the other three passengers spoke no English whatsoever (the passengers looked pretty Russian-Kazakhs, the driver more 100% Kazakh); second, all three Russian passengers were big - think football player big!; third, they decided to squeeze me in the middle seat in the back. Oh boy - I thought to myself - here we go on an unforgettable 2 hour drive to Shymkent. After a few minutes, one of them started to speak to me and asking me things in Russian; he was very disappointed when you saw I could not speak any Russian - and I believe the all the four other people in the car started making fun of me. Such is life. But this big fella did not give up in his intent of establishing communication channels with me, and he asked me what I thought was "where are you from?". I inferred that because he started to name countries in Russian, so I just said "Italy!", and brought out my passport. Magically - just as it had happened half a hour before at the Uzbek border post - these three Russian men started laughing and naming Italian singers that I myself barely knew and soccer players that I thought were known only in Italy. It was all very bizarre, but it sets the mood right for the ride (and definitely put me at ease).
The two-hour drive to Shymkent cuts through some hills but it's, overall, monotonous. It's not farmland but not steppe either. The road is in good condition and pretty trafficked, and we reached Shymkent in time. This city is bustling with activity, and it's not a small place (600,000 people call it home); here, my Italian passport saved me once again.
As we were approaching the city, the driver started asking the various passengers where they would like to be dropped off. The guy next to me asked me which hotel I was staying at (Hotel Altair), and when I told him the name I only got a blank stare in return. Great. I gave him my phone number and he called the hotel for me to get direction. Next thing I know, I was going to be dropped off at another hotel - the Bellagio (sic) because my original hotel was sold out. The guy figured everything out and without any hassle I got to my new hotel. I later found out that my original hotel was full, and so they had re-accommodated me at a comparable hotel (booking.com would later refund me the difference between the two hotels - great customer service). I can only imagine what I would have done without these folks helping me out! Since in this part of the country almost no-one (I am not even exaggerating) speaks anything but Kazakh and Russian, their help was invaluable!
The Hotel Bellagio was a rather new property, but nothing fancy really. Rooms were clean and big, and wifi was fast. The staff had very limited English skills, a pity given how pretty the woman working at the check-in desk was (grin). There is no doubting that Russian women are, on average, among the most beautiful out there. Period. I wasn't particularly hungry when I got to the hotel, and I did not have any Tenge with me since I had used them all to pay my driver; since there was no ATM to be found nearby, I just decided to stay in surfing the net. Needless to say, by 9pm I got pretty hungry, but I was too lazy to do anything about it and just called it a night early.
[url]https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5610/15050204444_9cfd470f93_b.jpg[/IMG]
[url]https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3948/15671750852_65cf7b690a_b.jpg[/IMG]
After a decent breakfast in the morning, I met my driver for my day trip to Turkistan. This modest town was once a stop along one of the many Silk Road trading routes connecting East and West, and it was thriving on commerce. Then Timur came, and he decided to build in Turkistan what's today the most astonishing architectural monument in the country: the Yasawi Mausoleum. Khoja Ahmed Yasawi was the head of a regional sufi order and he was the one who spread sufism across Central Asia. As such, he is revered among all Turkic people, and his mausoleum is a pilgrimage spot for all Central Asian people.
Turkistan is about 180 km away from Shymkent - roughly a 2-hour drive. the highway is mostly in excellent state - bar a few stretches under renovation. What's impressive of this drive? The scenery. The more we went northwest, the more we entered the famous Kazakh steppe. The landscape was neither arid nor prairie; it was something in between - which is what the steppe is, after all. I saw not many settlement and not many farms; the soil is too poor to sustain agriculture, but it's fertile enough to allow bushes and low vegetation to survive. This is the land that the renowned Kazakh nomads call home - and I saw a lot of them long the way indeed: herds of horses, camels, sheep came and went one after another in what certainly is a unique, surreal landscape.
This building was erected by Timur, who died before its completion. The interesting thing is that his death halted the construction of the monument, which still today remains only partially built. This is the only attraction the town has to offer - but it's definitely worth the effort to come here for a visit.
Once parked outside the complex, I walked towards the mausoleum through an ample boulevard lined by vendors and souvenir shops. There were a lot of pilgrims visiting, and as it was a very hot day retailers were busy selling water to the visitors. Once I reached the end of the lane, I could admire the mausoleum in all its beauty. The building is truly grand, in pure Timurid style. It reminded me of the equivalent of a Romanic cathedral - solid, well-planted, massive - but with the distinctive Central Asian tileworks that added a unique touch to the ensemble.
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Next to the main temple lies the Mausoleum of Rabiga-Sultan Begum, Timur's great-granddaughter and wife of Abylkayyr Khan, a 15th-century leader of the then-nomadic Uzbeks.
The fortified walls of the complex still stand in a great state of conservation.
It's no wonder that this site has been declared UNESCO World Heritage - it's just too bad that, for now, getting here is not that easy.
Back to the car Ifound my driver waiting for my two-hour drive back to Shymkent. The entire drive was rather awkward, given that he didn't speak any English and I didn't speak any Russian/Kazakh. Imagine sitting two hours next to a person you cannot even say good morning to...! But I got absorbed into the scenery, dozed off a little, and in no time we were back to Shymkent. I somehow managed to get dropped off near the city center instead that at the hotel, as I wanted to explore the city a bit. Shymkent doesn't lack tree-lined boulevards and interesting Soviet-era buildings, and a fair amount of construction work is going on aimed at fixing the city's streets.
I got dropped-off on Tauke-Khan, not far the Mega Shymkent Mall. The area was bustling with activity.
The Mega Shymkent Mall is a modern and air-conditioned space with lots of stores and a food court. ATMs, a bank, a grocery store, and an ice rink are among the attractions. Here, the most bizarre thing ever happened to me. I was wearing my red Cornell t-shirt that day (go Big Red!), and while I was minding my business I hear someone calling "hey, Cornell!". I turned around and, to my surprise, I saw a group of young Americans standing in the middle of the mall. It turned out that was the US Wrestling National Team that was in Shymkent training for the Wrestling World Championships that would be held in Tashkent the week after. A rather odd encounter for sure.
Mega Mall
Ayran - Fermented Camel Milk
Laghman - SO delicious!
I then walked back to the hotel – around 30 minutes away – and spent the night blogging and watching a movie before going to sleep. My long journey back home would begin the next day.
All in all, Turkistan was amazing and Shymkent was worth a stop; while the former possesses an incredible architectural wonder, the latter provided me with a view onto a big Kazakh city removed from the glamour of Almaty or Astana. While Shymkent is not a pretty city, it’s definitely a vibrant place; what I was interested to see was how average Kazakh city dwellers fare in a big city. While not rich yet, it’s palpable that living standards are on the rise and that, sooner rather than later, this country will be a fully-developed nation with high living standards. Putin permitting, that is.
Last edited by oneworld82; Nov 2, 2014 at 9:14 am