Richard writes:
Kyrgyzstan is naturally beautiful, Uzbekistan is not. We left the rolling mountains behind us as we crossed the border and entered the baron, dusty and flat landscape of Uzbekistan. What Uzbekistan lacks in natural beauty however, it makes up for in quirkiness, warmth of people and man-made sights.
When planning our trip through Central Asia, it had been the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva that inspired my desire to travel through the region. After just a few days in the country, I have already seen that Uzbekistan has so much more to offer than these iconic Silk Road cities.
I mentioned quirkiness, and there is nothing more bizarre than the country's money. One US$ buys you approximately 2,300 Sum using the official rate, however if you wish to partake in the black market currency exchange you can actually get 3,000 Sum to the dollar. What really sets the currency apart from all others I have ever used though, is the denominations. The highest note in circulation is the 5,000 Sum note (about $2), but these are in short supply, for this reason, in practical terms the highest value note is 1,000 Sum (40 cents). This would lead one to believe everything is exceptionally cheap, but it's not! A bottle of Pepsi costs around 4,000 Sum, entry into a museum is about 5,000 Sum and a meal out might cost 15,000 Sum. Admittedly these prices are not expensive, but they are high enough to require a massive number of notes to be carried around with you at all times. Every financial transaction results in laborious counting and double counting, and when eating out in a group, the pile of notes in the middle of the table is enormous and looks like a drug deal is being completed. Taking into account differing price levels, imagine in Australia having to conduct financial transactions with your highest value denomination a one dollar coin or in the UK a 50p piece.
The Kyrgyz people were quiet and reserved, whilst the Uzbeks are confident, friendly and excitable. Our first few hours in the country reflected this contrast, with the border guards warm and full of smiles and our first interaction in a shop (buying liquid to combat the ferocious heat) awash with handshakes and welcomes to their country. We are frequently approached by Uzbeks practising their English, requesting photos with us and car horns hooting us as they overtake the truck we are travelling in. Even a police car got into the act in Samarkand, sounding its siren as it began to overtake to gain our attention and as it drove past, the several policeman inside manically waving, smiling and shouting hello.
Our first night in Uzbekistan was spent in the city of Fergana. A small, quiet and exceptionally clean city, built by the Russians at the end of the 19th century. There was nothing of note to see in the city, but it provided a perfect break, before travelling the 300 kms or so to the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, the following day. To break up this drive, we visited a silk factory and the city of Kokand, which had been the capital of the region, until the early 20th century.
We had a couple of nights in Tashkent, and it is safe to say, we will not remember it as one of favourite cities of the trip. There is nothing to specifically dislike about the place, but its clean organised grid of streets lacks character. This can probably be attributed to the city having to be almost completely rebuilt after a massive earthquake in 1966, resulting in a massive soviet rebuilding project. Despite our lack of love of the city, we, with some friends from the tour had a pleasant day walking the streets, visiting the bazaar and the Khast Imom; the official religious centre of the republic. The complex contains several mosques and the Moyie Mubarek Library. The library is the home to what is claimed to be the oldest Quran in the world from the 7th century. The book is huge and certainly well worth the 6,000 Sum admission fee.
Next stop after Tashkent was the incredible cities of Samarkand and Shakhrisabz. Both cities are intrinsically linked with the 14th century tyrant Amir Temur. Shakhrisabz was Temur's birthplace, whilst Samarkand was the capital of the vast empire he controlled that spanned between Istanbul and Delhi. Samarkand's roots date back as far as the 5th Century BC, but what remains was built after Genghis Khan obliterated the city. The most spectacular sight in Samarkand is the Registan. This collection of madrases, surrounding a square, marks the centrepiece of the city and would have been the commercial centre of the medieval capital. Having the opportunity to see such a beautiful scene marks one of the highlights of the trip for me. We also visited Temur's mausoleum, Bibi-Khanym mosque (at the time of building, one of the largest mosques in the world) and the Shah-I-Zinda. The Shah-I-Zinda is a beautiful hilltop avenue of mausoleums with exquisite mosaics. Buried here are various members of Temur's family and Qusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Mohammed, who was said to have brought Islam to Central Asia.
Shakhrisabz, a Unesco World Heritage listed site, situated less than 300km from the Afghanistan border, is a quiet dusty town, famous for the ruins of Temur's summer palace amongst other buildings from his reign. It was interesting to contrast the restored buildings in Samarkand with the barely standing remains in Shakhrisabz. Ak-Saray Palace, Kok-Gumbaz Mosque and Khazrati-Imam Complex made a great day trip, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Casey and I both agree that seeing this part of the world on a tour has many advantages. We have without doubt seen things (especially in Kyrgyzstan) that we would not have had the chance to independently. Inevitably, the group dynamic can be challenging and it is not possible to like everybody, but we have met some fantastic people that we would love to stay in touch with after the tour finishes in the Turkmenistan capital, Ashgabat. One such person that we will stay in contact with will be Sarah, from Brighton, Ontario. As a tribute to our newly forged friendship we have invited her to be a guest writer in this blog!
Sarah writes:
I first met Casey and Richard at the hostel in Bishkek. I had just put on my backpack and was about to leave when the door beside me opened up and there they stood. After the usual hostel introductions including where we were from, Casey asked what I was up to that day. We soon figured out that we were all heading to join the same Dragoman tour. They quickly offered me a seat in the taxi they had booked and I gladly accepted as I had been heading out to navigate the busing system. It was awesome to meet friendly, normal people that were on the same tour! Kyrgyzstan was truly beautiful with its mountains. The camping was amazing and I found I had a lot in common with Casey and Richard. Between hiking, talking, and sometime complaining too (it's a tour....it's going to happen) I have been very lucky to have such lovely people to hang around and do stuff with. The best bit about travelling is when you know you have made new life long friends. I'm looking forward to the next two weeks of adventures with them and hopefully more adventures in the future!
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