Uzbekistan

Preface to Central Asia posts: I did a bad job writing while on this trip. I'll post my general impressions and highlights, and then more specific details in bullet points. The bullet points are taken from the itinerary my mom put together which I've adapted for my use. 


TASHKENT

Day 1: Thursday, Augusts 8, 2013 Tashkent, Uzbekistan

I arrived in Tashkent, Uzbekistan with all of my family except Selina from  London via Istanbul. Selina met up with us there coming in from Singapore. We were there at the very end of Ramadan and Eid, so the city seemed strangely deserted. According to Bek, our tour guide who we all came to love for his humor and laid back attitude, it was just because everyone was at home with their family for the holiday.

Converted Madrassah

My first impression was of a pretty modern city that was empty of people and super spread out.

Unlike cities in the US where you have packed blocks where all the buildings are right next to each other, Tashkent buildings were very spread out. I never really felt like I was actually downtown, more just in a sprawling suburb with big buildings. This may be due to the fact that Tashkent doesn't have much ancient history and was mostly expanded during the Soviet Union so it doesn't feel like a city that has grown organically. 

We came back to Tashkent later and visited the big bazaar on a non-holiday day and it gave me an entirely different view of the city. The hustle and bustle of huge crowds of locals shopping made the city seem more alive than during our first visit. We also saw more of the populated areas, rather than the government buildings and historic monuments of our first trip.

Memorial to deaths under Stalin

As I said, Tashkent doesn't have too much history. Highlights for me were the massive bazaar in its huge building, the surprisingly beautiful art nouveau subway stations, and the oldest Koran in the world.

What we did:

•  Tashkent Institute of Textile and Light Industry for a seminar and meeting with faculty.
• Applied and Decorative Art Museum- lovely building
• Khast Iman Complex with Barak Khan Medreseh and Mui Muvorak (oldest Koran).
• Looked at the metro to see cool Art Deco decorations. Rode the metro to the Independence Square to see the WWI Memorial with Young Mother + Eternal Flame
• Memorial to deaths under Stalin
• Timor Statue in Park
•  Walk to Uzbekistan Hotel for dinner at restaurant on top floor with view of city

SAMARKAND

Day 2: Friday, August 9, Tashkent to Samarkand

Samarkand was one of the few names I was familiar with from before the trip. It sounds exotic and exciting, and I was curious to see what the city would be like. Samarkand is situated on a river and used to be the capital of the ancient empire of Timur, the man the West refers to as Tamerlane. Because of this, Samarkand is rich in history and monuments. Unfortunately, a lot of the ancient buildings in Central Asia were destroyed by the Mongols and those that survived faced damaged from Alexander the Great, Czar Russia, earthquakes and WWII bombs. 

I also found it unfortunate that of the remaining monuments, many had been completely reconstructed. This gave a fake feel to the buildings as they appeared too modern and perfect, without the ancient atmosphere that I love. In general Samarkand felt pretty modern as well. I had expected something that felt more chaotically Asian or exotically Arabian, but the everyday buildings weren't very interesting.

Mausoleum of Timur

Also, I found that many of the mosques, mausoleums and madrasahs were very similar with their layouts and decorations of blue and turquoise style so after seeing many they began to stand out less individually. However, Samarkand did have some very important monuments to see though and a lot to learn about. 

One of my favorites was the Mausoleum of Timur because that's where Bek gave us the history of Timur and his empire. For a man that conquered a huge amount of land, I was surprised that I had never properly learned about him. We also brushed up on some history of Alexander the Great. Other favorites include visiting a traditional paper mill and seeing the process of turning mulberry bark to paper, going to a wine tasting (who knew Uzbek dessert wine was so good?) and learning about ancient scientist at Ugul Bek's observatory. As always, I also loved the market. Markets tend to be one of my favorite places because I enjoy the liveliness of local crowds. Unfortunately the main square in Samarkand, one of the most landmark spots, was closed off along with Daniel's tomb. Despite those disappointments, I enjoyed learning a lot of history in Samarkand. 

Water wheel

We also learned a lot about Uzbekistan thanks to Bek, guide books, Internet and observation. Uzbekistan has the most cultural/historic sites in Central Asia so they get more tourists and are very protective of that, leading to some not warm feelings with neighboring countries. Uzbekistan is practically a police state, with 4% of the population being policemen and an oppressive and closed government. Although the population is almost all Muslim, it is a secular country and it is constantly fighting against fundamentalism for fear of facing problems like the ones in Afghanistan. We didn't see an burkas or big beards and our guide said that religious groups are closely watched. Overall the country felt a lot less Islamic than I thought it would.

What we did:

• Drive to Samarkand (300km) -2750 years old.
• Stop for lunch at Jizzax for samsas
• Mausoleum of Timur (XIV Century)

Day 3: Saturday, August 10, Samarkand

• Ulugbek Observatory and museum (XV)
• Konigul Mulberry Paper Factory –interesting, felt very Japanese. Relaxed with tea and snacks in garden afterwards.
• Shahi Zinda Ensemble –ancient necropolis (dramatic but rather too overly renovated) + new cemetery 
• Lunch at a local family’s house: Muborak House
• Registan Square (closed for upcoming Independence Day celebrations –no access. Shame!!)
• Visit local artist Sharipov Toir. Several hours visit and talk
•  Filatov wine museum and factory with wine tasting –fun!

Day 4: Sunday, August 11, Samarkand- Bukhara

• Bibi Khanum Complex (wife of Temur)
• Food and Vegetable Bazaar (buy lots of dried fruit and nuts as snacks for car drives etc. )

BUKHARA

Many of the cities we were in used to be part of the Great Silk Road, but Bukhara in particular was famed for its silk carpets. Bukhara perhaps most closely fit my vision of what I thought desert cities would look like. The old part of Bukhara consisted of sand colored, flat roofed stone buildings and a big square with a decorative pool and trees. The square would fill up in the evenings with small children playing and old men sitting by the water drinking tea. One of my favorite things was just sitting in the square, as it was the most kind of busy, cafe scene that we has come across. 

There are hundreds of monuments in Bukhara, but we ended up having limited time to see them. Lorelei had an issue with her leg that was possibly a dangerous blood clot from the plane ride so she and my parents went to see a doctor while Chantal, Selina and I shopped and relaxed in the square. After the doctor said that it was probably a clot, but a non-life threading one we took up our touring again. 

My favorite things from Bukhara were the tall, intricate minaret from pre-Genghis Khan, the giant Arc fortress, and the carpet store. The carpet shop included a lesson on how carpets are made and the different types of carpets. The lesson was given by a young woman who was really engaging and funny and made the whole process memorable. We also saw a gorgeous small mausoleum that was decorated not by tiles but by intricate patterns made by the way the bricks were used.

What we did:

• Drive to Bukhara through Malikchul Desert and Zerafshan river (300km). Stop by ancient Karavan Serai Gate  (XI) and well
• Stopped in Gijduvan at 2 ceramics Centers. 
• Sitorai Moni Hossa –summer residence of Bukhara Emirs –beautiful! Looks very Russian.

Day 5: Monday, August 12,  Bukhara

• Lorelei and my parents went to see a doctor, worried about Lorelei's pain in her leg. They said it should go away by itself.
• Chantal, Selina and I spent the morning by the pool in the main plaza and then shopped a little.
• 1pm Lunch at Magistral for the national Plov dish (we paid) (Bek was unaware that we were meant to have lunch with Zulya’s parents and we only found this out when Zulya called in later to check on Lorelei. A shame as that would have been a very special occasion)
•  Ismail Samai (IX)
• Chashma-Ayub (XII-XVI)
• Bolo Hovus Mosque (lovely wood pillars)
• Huge Fortress-Ark Iman Agzam
• Poi-Kalon Complex with minaret (XII), Mosque Kalon and Miri Arab Medreseh (XVI)
• Bukhara Silk Carpets Factory: explanation by Sabina + view workshop
• Fashion Show + Dinner at Nadir Divan Begi Madreseh
• Jewish Quarter and Synagogue (400 years old) + Mayoki Attari Mosque
• Back to Silk Carpet shop and bought rugs