Unbelievably hot. Undoubtably dusty. Utterly mind blowing. That's Uzbekistan in a nutshell (well, at least in a sunflower seed, because they're more accessible at the markets.)
Given that Uzbekistan is a country that many people can not even locate on a map, nor comment on its culture or history, its sights and smells are an absolute beauty to the eye of every beholder.
From Samarkand we headed west to Central Asia's holiest city, Bukhara. Here we found an ancient city with plenty of pre-Russian history still omnipresent - beautifully preserved architecture including medressas, minarets, bazaars and a fortress. On the day of our group's walking tour, the temperature hit the mid forties, and we were all feeling the strain of heat exhaustion by mid afternoon. In the morning; however, we visited the Ismoil Samoniy Mausoleum (the town's oldest Muslim monument built in 905), the Chashma Ayub Mausoleum (12th to 16th centuries) and the memorial complex of Imam Al-Bukhari. We also saw the Boloi Havz Mosque (1718) next to the Zindon (an ex-gaol with exhibits including cells and the 'bug pit'). The Ark (fortress) which was a town-within-a-town was also fascinating. However the main attraction, and my personal highlight of the day, were the Kalon Minaret (built by Arslan Khan in 1127 and even spared by Genghis Khan due to its grandeur) along with the Kalon Mosque and the Mir-i-Arab Medressa. The luminous blue domes and tiles on the buildings in this section of the city are a sight to behold.
We spent our free time in Bukhara relaxing in the touristy Lyabi-Hauz plaza, meandering the dusty laneways of the Old Town and browsing for souvenirs (and carpets) in the bazaars.
From Bukhara we drove on to Khiva, a quaint little walled city with ancient architecture and friendly local people. In three hours we saw the entire city by foot, including an abundance of medressas, minarets, gates, mosques mausoleums and palaces - each as eye-catching as the next. We paid $1 to climb to the top of the Kalta Minor Minaret. We were prepared for the spectacular view... but not the sheer terror of climbing 130 steep, slippery steps in the pitch dark of the tower to get to the top. We were a little concerned when the old lady who collected our money wished us good luck as we began to climb, and begged us to be careful. We emerged unscathed, but our quad muscles hurt for days afterwards, due to the steep and perilous downward journey.
Let me side-step for a moment from my running commentary of our itinerary. You see, food has become a regular joke in our tour group. Most days we stop at a lonely road-side cafe for a quick lunch enroute to our next destination. Each cafe has its own charm and local vibe, but the food never changes. Before we even take our seats, we know that or options are limited to:
1. Plov (a type of infused fried rice with meat)
2. Shaslik (meat kebabs)
3. Jis (meat meat and more meat)
4. Soup (with meat, but who wants to eat soup when it is 40 degrees?)
As you can imagine, the vegetarians on our trip are slowly going crazy, and I've become very good at picking out the meat and fat from my plate of plov.
Uzbekistan was brilliant in so many ways, and as we drove across the unrelenting desert towards the Turkmenistan border, both Richard and I agreed that our time in this raw yet spellbinding country has left a significant impression on both of us forever.
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