Fountains of the State Museum of the Temurids in Tashkent
Our high-speed train from Samarkand to Tashkent had us arriving in the Uzbek capital city in the evening. After driving down wide modern boulevards, we were a little surprised to find our hotel located on what appeared to be a residential street. The hotel itself was nice, though, and a short walk to a major road and the Russian embassy. When our city guide, Marifat, arrived the next day, we discovered that the hotel was also a short drive to many of the main sights as well as conveniently located to the airport.
Our first touristy stops in Tashkent were at the Khast Imam complex (16-20century), billed as “the spiritual heart of Tashkent” followed by Barak Khan madrassa which has one of the oldest extant copies of the Quran. Both of these were beautiful, particularly the large mosque of the Khast Imam complex, but they were similar to the Five M’s [mosques, minarets, madrassas mausoleums and markets] we’d seen across Uzbekistan.
In borrowed modest attire with Marifat in the lovely Khast Imam mosque
At this last stage of our Uzbekistan travels, I found myself intrigued by the differences Tashkent offered from the other places we’d visited. Tashkent suffered extensive earthquake damage in the past and has been largely rebuilt. This makes for a more modern city than other stops on our journey. The huge domes of the Chorsu bazaar were a step beyond any market we’d seen.
Dome of the Chorsu Bazaar
Descending from the bazaar into one of the spectacular Soviet-era metro stops was a real treat. For about 10 cents apiece, we rode the métro to the Cosmonauts stop, decorated entirely in a space theme with art honoring the first cosmonauts and even the Apollo-Soyuz handshake mission from 1975. The subway cars themselves were mostly vintage but, as in Moscow, the stations are really magnificent.
Tashkent Métro stops
Exiting the Cosmonauts métro stop, we rendezvoused with our driver near the circular domed glass Interpol building. Our next stop was the Amaliy San’at Muzeyi (Applied Art Museum) of Tashkent housed in a beautifully tiled former mansion. We enjoyed the displays of fabrics, suzani, carpets, musical instruments, furniture and ceramics. The rest of our tour involved a drive down wide boulevards past the vast Independence Square the State Museum of the Timurids, Amir Timur Square and other gleaming modern buildings. David and I made note of interesting places to return on our own later, but first we were hungry! We’d postponed lunch to finish our tour, but now we asked Marifat to recommend somewhere to eat and asked her to join us.
The Uzbek restaurant Marifat originally recommended in an upscale strip center was completely full, but we spotted a Chinese restaurant, Dimsum Bamboo, a few doors down. The change in cuisine sounded great to us and Marifat was intrigued. We had a great time visiting with Marifat whom we found charming. She shared her worries about a new job with a Canadian tour company that was set to start in a couple of days. The job was a huge deal to her and would entail being in charge of her first big group and a two-country trip. All had been well until she’d gotten a call the night before from her new employer questioning whether she was ready for the job and asking her to take yet another test. Marifat also shared more personal issues and the challenges for a young single woman in her country wanting to make her own way. We felt no doubt she’d succeed in whatever she tried and told her so. We’ve stayed in touch since our return and have rejoiced with her as her new job has gone well and she’s gotten rave reviews from people in her tours.
After a quick refresh and rest in our hotel, we used the Yandex Go* app to summon a ride and headed back to Amir Timur Square to do a little exploring on our own. We wandered the square, then crossed the street to admire the Timurid museum before heading back through the square to “Broadway” a pedestrian street we’d noticed when with Marifat and our driver. Broadway turned out to have more of a carnival vibe than we expected. We joined families, couples and groups of friends strolling between booths of games and fair food. *[Note: Marifat recommended Yandex Go and I’d read about it before leaving, but didn’t find the right app. It’s important to search “Yandex Go” not just “Yandex” when looking for this app on Google Playstore. There are lots of apps with the name Yandex. What we used is Yandex Go which has a simple icon with a rectangular yellow bar on the top and two equal squares on the bottom, one white and one black. Alternatively, use the above link and choose the download option from the dropdown menu. Yandex Go works like Uber or Lyft, but we paid cash rather than loading a credit card. Rides were plentiful and very cheap.]
Exploring Tashkent on our own. From top left: Amir Timur Square, State Museum of the Temurids, Broadway, Independence Square fountains, festive street lights, Memorial Square
We decided to use Google Maps to find our way back to Independence Square, a made our way past a large police station where lines of uniformed police gathered in formation for some sort of ceremony. With the sun dropping low, we passed an enormous new Hyatt, turning to walk along a wide, colorfully-lit boulevard past a concert hall and a haunting memorial square with a large statue of a grieving figure bent towards an eternal flame.
White Chevrolets make up the majority of Uzbek automobiles
We finally reached Independence Square just as evening was falling. A basin of fountains separates Sharaf Rashidaf Avenue from the vast square which boasts a wide colonnade the center of which is crowned by a sculptured stork atop a globe. Beyond that in a park stands a bronze-colored globe which replaces a statue of Lenin.
Independence Square
With daylight disappearing, we used the Yandex Go app again to hail a car to take us back to the strip center where we’d lunched with Marifat. This time the restaurant she’d recommended, Afsona, had a table available and we enjoyed a topnotch final Uzbek dinner.
Back in Samarkand after our day in Shahrisabz, our first stop continued the Timur theme of the day before with a visit to his mausoleum. Our guide, Amin, was stuck in traffic, so driver Umid got our tickets and told us to wander on our own inside and that Amin would find us when he arrived. We didn’t mind the time alone as we knew about the site already both from the audiobook on Timur I’d been listening to and from what we’d learned the day before. During his lifetime, Emir Timur planned his tomb to be Shahrisabz. He died in 1405 on an aborted invasion of China. The mountain passes to Shahrisabz were closed due to snow at the time and Timur was buried in Samarkand in this mausoleum, originally intended by him for his grandson and heir who predeceased him.
The Timur Mausoleum and its 64-ribbed dome
A fluted dome, boasting 64 ribs representing the age to which Mohammed lived (63, by western counting, plus 9 months of gestation) tops the octagonal mausoleum. In the ornate central chamber decorated with kilograms of gold, a dark green jade headstone marks the burial site of Timur which is actually located in a crypt directly underneath the main chamber. The jade stone had formerly been an altar in the Chinese emperor’s palace and then the throne of Duwa, a descendant of Genghis Khan. It is surrounded by tombstones of Timur’s younger two sons and two of his grandsons as well as Timur’s spiritual teacher.
The gold encrusted chamber that houses the Timur’s tombstone
When Amin arrived, he told us that a Soviet archaeologist opened the tomb and removed Timur’s remains for analysis in 1941, two days before Hitler invaded the Soviet Union. Word spread that the tomb was cursed, and a legend arose about cryptic warnings supposedly inscribed on the tomb and inside the sarcophagus cursing anyone who disturbed the ruler’s rest. Stalin either believed in the curse, or at least wasn’t taking any chances, and ordered Timur be reburied. Emir Timur was reburied with full Islamic burial rites in December 1942, about a month before the Soviet victory at Stalingrad. In the 1970’s the Soviets began restoration of the greatly deteriorated mausoleum, apparently intending to keep on the good side of the dead Emir.
Another interesting bit of history is displayed in the courtyard of the Timur Mausoleum: a large stone vat used by Timur’s soldiers. Before heading off on one of their almost constant military campaigns, the vat was filled with pomegranate juice. Each soldier would then drink a cup of juice. On the army’s return, each soldier would again drink a cup of juice from the refilled vat. The number of casualties would then be calculated based on the difference in the amount of juice left in the vat. The more juice left by the returning troops, the more men had been lost in battle.
Our next stop was the heart of ancient Samarkand, a gorgeous, sweeping public square known as The Registan. [lead photo above] The Registan is bracketed by three former madrassas each with distinctive Islamic architecture and design. The buildings now house a museum, shops and small tea houses, and a mausoleum. Interestingly, a tombstone in the plaza itself is not that of a ruler or imam, but of a butcher. A wealthy butcher agreed to supply meat to the builders of The Registan asking only that he be allowed to be buried there, probably not expecting it would take nine years. He kept his end of the bargain, though, and got his promised reward.
Amin suggest we come back to The Registan in the evening around 9pm for a sound and light show. We made it our last night in Samarkand. After several false starts, we were treated to some frenetic lights and a gaudy light show. We didn’t stay till the end. In my personal opinion, The Registan looked much lovelier in its normal nighttime lights before the show began. Nevertheless, the show was undoubtedly popular.
I prefer the regular nighttime lights on the Registan.
Our hotel in Samarkand, Zilol Baxt, stands among high-end international boutiques at the head of a long narrow park occupying the center of wide University Boulevard. A large seated statue of Timur commands the opposite end of the boulevard park. Fountains lit at night and scattered statues ornament the tree-lined path in between. University buildings flank this narrow park. There are newer, posher hotels now in Samarkand including large international chains, but Zilol Baxt was clearly something special in its day and it still retains a bit of period swank and boasts an attentive staff with someone always ready to swing open the wide front door.
I’d asked Zokir* to book a nicer restaurant with “local flair” for our first night in Samarkand for my birthday dinner. Not only did he book a restaurant, Samarkand Restaurant, but he commandeered Umid to drive us there which meant Umid had to leave his own family on his younger daughter’s birthday to drive back into the city. I felt terrible about that and we sent him back home after he dropped us off since a Google Maps search showed our hotel was only a 20 minute walk away. Samarkand Restaurant turned out not to be at all what I’d imagined. [*I worked with Zokir at Silk Road Destinations to plan and organize this trip. For details see my first Uzbekistan post.]
We entered into an ornate marble-floored entryway with a soaring ceiling and crystal chandeliers, through a large, equally elegant dining area packed with wedding celebrants in elaborate dress eating and dancing under colored lights to blaring music. (Big glitzy wedding venues, bridal couples posing for photos, and wedding dress shops abound in Samarkand where weddings are clearly big business.) From the flashy wedding party room, we climbed stairs to discover a kitschy rustic Russian dining room with wooden beams, log cabin walls and an eclectic decor featuring old radios. Hmm.
Samarkand Restaurant and its interesting variety
Groups of locals and tourists sat at mostly larger tables, but we were led to a 4-top and presented with a menu of Uzbek and Russian dishes (happily containing photographs since there was no English). When we asked for a bill, we learned our meal was paid for, a final birthday surprise from Zokir and Silk Road Destinations.
On another night in Samarkand, we decided to try something other than Uzbek food of which we’d had a lot. I’d spotted a photo on Tripadvisor of a plate full of grilled vegetables and sliced chicken breast and the idea of a lighter meal was irresistible. This led us to La Esmeralda a short distance from our hotel. La Esmeralda focuses on fancy coffee (with edible personalized selfie photos in the foam) and pastries which it touted on a television screen near our table, entertaining if a little out of place in the upscale dining area. The owner is clearly ambitious about expanding and very into self-promotion, appearing frequently on the television loop and in a painting hung prominently in the restaurant. Our fancy western dinner for two came out to a whopping-for-Uzbekistan 160,000 sum (a little over $13US). The food was good, not great, but still an enjoyable change of pace from our beef/lamb/plov/samsa/bread/tomato-and-cucumber salad diet of the previous week.
A fascinating stop in Samarkand is the Ulugbek Observatory founded by Timur’s grandson Ulugbek, a brilliant astronomer and mathematician. The observatory was destroyed long ago in an earthquake, but a portion of it was excavated giving a glimpse at what was once a huge sextant. A circular terrace marks the outline of the former observatory. Using the observatory, Ulug Bek and his scientists were able to calculate many astronomical events with amazing precision. A small museum also sits on the property as well as a large statue of Ulugbek.
Remains of a giant sextant at the Ulugbek Observatory
Konigil village with its ancient paper factory and other handicrafts turned out to be beautiful and more than we anticipated. A stream ran through a lush green property with scattered wooden buildings, turning waterwheels that powered wood pulping machines and a large grinding device that extracted cotton and other oils. Craftsmen and women demonstrated their skills and answered our questions via Amin. Paper goods went beyond the expected to include colorful paper clothing, purses, wallets and more.
Konigil Village: paper making, paper clothes, ceramic figurines and oil press
We enjoyed the Siab Bazaar, the oldest continuously-operating bazaar in Samarkand, where a dazzling variety of goods was on offer: produce, spices, clothes, nuts, live plants, ornate knives and more. We bought pomegranate juice, pressed for us as we watched, and saffron from a friendly vendor who spoke surprisingly good English.
The enormous Shahi Zinda Complex of mausoleums and ritual buildings stands next to the bazaar. The complex was begun in the 11th century and was built over eight centuries. Legend says a cousin of Mohammed was buried there hundreds of years before construction of the current complex began.
Samarkand has so much to see that our time there flew by. We had a final lunch with Amin and Umid at a favorite spot of Umid’s where we lounged on a topchan enjoying Uzbek staples while a man sang.
Enjoying the music while we wait to order lunch
After lunch, we visited the Afrosaib Museum which displays artifacts including wonderful wall paintings from an ancient settlement of the same name. The excavated ruins of Afrosaid sprawl across a hill beside the museum and date from 9-8 B.C. to 7-8 A.D. We had time for a stop at the tomb of Saint Daniel (or at least part of him, as Timur brought back spoils of war which included a portion of relics said to belong to the saint). After a surprisingly full day, Umid dropped us off in the afternoon at the modern Samarkand train station. We had to pass through security, which included a luggage scan, before entering the stylish station. Our high-speed train arrived promptly for the 2h 10m ride to our last stop in Uzbekistan, the capital, Tashkent.
Samarkand Train Station and the very nice high-speed train
Formerly known as Kesh or Kish (“heart-pleasing”) and “the Green City” and more than 2,700 years ago, Shahrisabz is one of Central Asia’s most ancient cities. Zokir at Silk Road Destinations had arranged for our first full day “in Samarkand” to be spent on a daytrip to Shahrisabz. Despite the lure of mystic Samarkand, I wasn’t disappointed. I’d been listening to an audiobook biography of Timur (a/k/a Tamerlane) during our travels and this trip to his birthplace and original capital intrigued me. We know about Ghengis Khan in the west, but we don’t learn much (if anything, at least in American schools) about Timur who ranked with Alexander the Great in conquests. Timur ruled a vast empire stretching from modern-day India to Iran to Russia with its heart in Uzbekistan. Never defeated, he is a figure of national pride in modern Uzbekistan despite the bloodthirsty methods and ruthlessness of his times. He killed or enslaved millions, demanding surrender and fealty and dealing mercilessly with those who opposed him.
Our driver Umid drove us and our guide, Amin, south out of Samarkand. We stopped at a small roadside parking lot with a big billboard for a 1973 German movie called “Apachilar” (Apache) which was filmed on the rocky hillside just above us. A few souvenir stalls offered snacks and trinkets reflecting the movie. Distinctive rock formations mark the area, particularly a large one with a heart-shaped opening that featured in the film and is now covered in graffiti and visited by Uzbek lovers of the movie. Umid and Amin seemed a little disappointed that we’d never seen the movie, apparently not thinking that Americans are more likely to watch American westerns filmed in, well, the American West. We climbed up to the signature rock to admire sweeping views of the hazy valley ahead, declining the offer to pose for photos of a gap-toothed faux Apache in straight black wig and fake buckskins. Apparently, roadside kitsch is a thing the world over.
We passed over low mountains to get to Shahrisabz, pausing at a high point for a dramatic view towards the city before continuing on. Manicured grounds and wide walkways lead to the main site, the ruins of Timur’s spectacular Ak-Saray Palace. [top photo above] Although once covered in colorful tiles and topped by blue domes, it was also known as the “White Palace” because of the way it looked in the moonlight to caravans approaching. Construction of the White Palace began in 1380. Only remnants of its gigantic 72 meter gate-towers survive, parts still adorned with intricate blue, white and gold tiles. Above the entry of Ak-Saray are words meaning: “If you challenge our power – look at our buildings!” The message, the ruins and the large statue of Timur nearby called to mind Shelley’s poem Ozymandius.
We walked through the gates and palace ruins to the Timur statue, down a wide walkway flanked by more garden greenery towards the mausoleum Timur had built for his eldest son. Beyond the greenery on either side, large empty hotels and restaurants lined the way. The Uzbek government had been so excited to promote a Timur-focused Shahrisabz as a tourist destination and UNESCO-designated history site that they razed a two-kilometer, 70-hectare swath of medieval residences that once surrounded the palace ruins and were also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The destruction began in 2014 and continued despite some attempts to stop hotel construction. The modern construction replacing the medieval “mahalla” districts including the broad boulevard, parking lot and long plaza were described by UNESCO as a “modern theme park with tourist kiosks.”
A bridal couple at the Timur statue on a portion of the wide green area that now replaces the old medieval mahalla districts
Clearly the “if we build it, they will come” attitude of the Uzbek government did not pan out. It was sad to see that the destruction of a historical area resulted only in empty buildings and scattered vendors with few customers in sight. The Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), an intergovernmental organization to promote development, trade and investment opportunities in Asia, has selected Shakhrisabz as its tourism capital for 2024, so maybe that will help boost business.
En route to the mausoleum, we dropped into the gallery of Aziz Akhmedov, artist and historical architect. For his thesis, he created a masterpiece model of the White Palace with intricately placed miniature tiles to mimic the work and research he has done on the real palace. He proudly told us about his years of study of Ak-Saray, pointing out the details of his maquette. Many of his paintings adorned the walls and we ended up buying one depicting a caravan camped at night outside a city.
Aziz Akhmedov’s model of the White Palace gates in their prime
The Hazrat-i Imam mausoleum complex contains the Dorus-Saodat, the tomb Timur had built for his eldest and favorite son, Jehangir, who died in battle in his twenties. When his second son, Umar Shaikh, also died young before the tomb of his half-brother was complete, Timur planned to buy Umar Shaikh there as well but the location of his actual interment is lost to time. The small adjacent mosque is said to house the tomb of a revered 8th century imam, too, and was busy with worshippers on the Friday we visited.
Behind the Hazrat-i Imam is a bunker with a door leading to a small underground chamber, discovered by archaeologists in 1943. One stone grave occupies most of the space and inscriptions indicate that it was intended for Timur, but he was buried in Samarkand. When opened by the archaeologists, this tomb was found to contain two unidentified corpses.
From Hazrat-I Imam, we walked back across the wide green space leading to the White Palace, past a wide pool and between long hedges of lush green and purple basil. Women gardeners were trimming the hedges and the smell of basil filled the air. Basil is used to flavor ayran, a popular drink made from sour milk, spring water and herbs, and sold from carts in the area. Our guide, Amin, assured us the drink is refreshing and cooling on a warm day, but we passed on sampling it. As we approached the large Kok Gumbaz Mosque / Dorut Tilovat Complex we could hear the singing of prayers. This “Friday mosque” was bustling with worshippers who overflowed the mosque to fill a large terrace. The mosque, capped by a large blue dome, was built in 1437 by Ulugh Beg (Timur’s grandson and a great astronomer and mathematician) in honor of his father. Behind the Kok Gumbaz Mosque is a lovely tiled mausoleum built by Ulugh Beg as well, but never used for burials.
Beyond the pool are basil hedges lining the walkway to Kok Gumbaz Mosque/Dorut Tilovat
Just as we finished up our time in Shahrisabz, services at the mosque let out and it was a traffic free-for-all (of mostly white Chevrolet sedans) in the parking lot. Amin managed to coordinate by phone with Umid who had been waiting for us and we jumped in as soon as he pulled up to avoid provoking more horn blasts in the melee.
Even though it was already early afternoon, we all agreed that it made no sense to try and fight the after-mosque hordes for a spot at a restaurant in town and Umid had a place in mind back up in the mountains anyway. We enjoyed a leisurely meal lounging on a mountainside topchan, the fresh mountain breeze a welcome respite from the heat in Shahrisabz.
Topchans at our lunch restaurant
Afterwards, Umid drove us to another such spot he’d shown us video of days before. This restaurant was a little more downmarket than our lunch spot, but still pleasant and absolutely packed with diners. Umid told us the restaurant cooked 100 lambs per day, 200/day on holidays! The lamb carcasses are butchered on site and marinated overnight with local pine and spices, then cooked four at a time in big clay tandoor ovens. The lambs are hung on hooks in the woodfired ovens, which are then covered with cloth and packed with dirt. Once again, it seemed Umid had friends everywhere. He took us behind the scenes to watch the cooking, pulling off a crusty piece of meat for us to try. It was delicious! When he suggested we buy some to takeaway for a meal in our hotel room with one of my birthday wines, we jumped on the idea.
Tandoor ovens covered with cloth and packed with soil while the lambs cook
While we waited for our order, we walked up to a dining deck and saw lots of topchans there and at other levels down the mountainside, full of diners or people napping between meals. Umid said this place was well known and people from Samarkand liked to spend the day here, arriving for breakfast and never leaving, just lounging an sleeping on a topchan until it was time for another meal. Judging by what we saw, he got this bit of local information absolutely right.
I woke up the last morning in our Bukhara hotel thinking that I’d be sleeping in a yurt that night and hoping I wouldn’t regret having chosen this little adventure. I’d been told there was the possibility that we’d have to share the yurt with another couple. Not great. And what about cleanliness? Vermin? Heat? I knew it got cold at night, but the closest weather forecast I could find showed warm daytime temps and there certainly wasn’t going to be air conditioning. Oh well, we were committed and it would probably be fun, right?
With these concerns in mind, we asked Umid to leave an hour later than our originally planned 9am and to take his time getting us to the yurt camp. We had some stops to make along the way, and it was a long drive into the desert.
Our first stop was at Rabiti Malik, a brick cistern reservoir dating from the 11th century, one of many such domed structures that were constructed at various points along the Silk Road. Water still collected in a deep spot inside. Darting across the highway, we checked out a caravanserai, a place where caravans could shelter for the night. As with most of the historical sites we visited in Uzbekistan, much restoration had been done on both the cistern and caravanserai.
Rabiti Malik cistern and caravanserai
About 2.5 hours from Bukhara, we arrived in Nurata where we enjoyed one of those ample Uzbek meals while lounging on a cushioned topchan, a raised platform with a low table in the center. Afterwards, Umid dropped us off to explore the remains of Alexander the Great’s Nur Fortress and the Chashma Mosque complex and its “miracle” fish situated below it. Perched atop a hill, the fortress dates to the 4th century BC and is probably the oldest surviving ruins in Uzbekistan. It’s now very eroded, looking much like a sandcastle obliterated by a wave.
The Chashma Mosque complex consists of a large main mosque, a smaller mosque and a few other even smaller buildings set on a paved courtyard. A deep pool behind the smaller mosque feeds into a narrow paved canal where we watched men filling large jugs with water. The pool and canal were home to many fish, 10″ or so long, that Umid claimed were never fed, but miraculously lived off nothing but minerals from the water. (I’m skeptical.) I read later that one of the legends about the place claims a meteorite fell on the site of the complex thousands of years ago, causing a spring with healing powers to flow at the site of the fall. Local residents began to call this place “Nur” meaning “light” after the glow of the comet and eventually the town became “Nurata” (nur – light/ray, ata – father = Father of Light). Pilgrims still flock to the site, drawn by the lure of healing waters.
Chashma Mosque complex and ruins of Nur Fortress on the hill
After another hour of driving into the desert, we arrived at Aydar Lake, a vast manmade lake from the Soviet era where waves lapped on a barren shore. [This stop brought us another of Umid’s interesting versions of history: Umid told us the lake was created by an earthquake in the 70’s. Cool story! But wrong.] We stopped at a lonely convenience store and sometime café (now empty) where, as always, Umid seemed to be great friends with the locals. He greeted the proprietress then stretched out on a topchan with his buddies while David and I walked down a low slope and across a wide empty beach to the water. A fresh breeze blew off the lake which felt great, but didn’t encourage us to swim as Umid had suggested.
Aydar Lake
When we wandered back up to find Umid, he clearly feared we’d want to leave too soon. He bought us a cold beer and brought pillows to ensconce us on a topchan a distance from his own where we had total privacy and could lay back enjoying the breeze and the pleasant-if-desolate view of the lake.
Enough stalling! The day was cooling and we were ready to drive on to the yurt camp. Umid knew the way, but new acquaintances of his (a new driver and his Scottish client) needed help. So, we set off across the desert with this car trailing behind us. When we came to an isolated town where Umid was ready to turn off into the desert again, we realized the other car had stopped a block back. In typical unabashed fashion, Umid proceeded to blare the horn, then get out to yell across the distance at the rookie driver to come on and follow us. Of course, we drew the attention of everyone else in town. Finally, the other car caught up to us, the rookie explaining he’d lost his Google Maps signal. Umid scoffed at this and told him to forget Google and follow him. Good advice. The “roads” to the yurt camp were unmarked save for the occasional tire half-buried in the sand.
We arrived to yurt camp in the afternoon with the day cooling nicely and eager to scope out our yurt. A canvas cloth lined with a thick wooly pelt covered the two rickety saloon-type doors to the circular structure. Clean sheets, blankets and pillows waited on two of the five single beds. We were to be the only occupants. Hooray! The center of the domed ceiling rose high above and it and the walls were decorated with long strips of embroidered fabric.
Interior of our yurt
We headed over to where several two-humped Bactrian camels waited. We were joined by David, the Scotsman who’d been in the car behind us. In no time, the two Davids and I were seated and riding high atop our camels through the scruffy desert, camel drivers in local dress escorting us. As the sun dropped lower, the whole scene took on a storybook aspect. This was fun!
Dinner was served in a communal building where drivers and guests ate together. Most of the drivers (who spoke no English or French) sat together at a separate table, but Umid joined us as did our new friend, David from Scotland. Umid’s English, though not perfect, was a huge benefit and other travelers often came to him to ask him to translate things to their own drivers. He was also fun, and a serious food pusher. His own appetite never flagged and he seemed always worried that we must be starving. In addition to our table of English-speakers and the drivers’ table, there was another table of with a small group of English-speakers and a couple of other tables of French tourists traveling together. The camp was clearly nowhere near at capacity which was nice, but there were still enough people to make the atmosphere festive. Shot glasses of vodka were served all around which started a chorus of toasts. The meal was typical Uzbek, hearty and plentiful.
After dinner, we sat round a central campfire listening to a local musician. He played on a two-string instrument made from apricot wood and sang folk tunes that Umid later told us were love songs. The musician was talented and the music far exceeded our expectations. With the stars thick in the inky sky and the air crisp and clear, we relished the experience.
Around yurt camp
Bedtime meant a trip to the communal toilets (separate for men and women) and washing sinks (near to the toilets and for both sexes). There was also a shower or two, but we decided to hold off until we got to a hotel and I think nearly everyone did the same thing. The toilets were immaculately clean and well-stocked with paper. There was also plenty of hot water for washing. I’d wondered about sleeping: Would we be able to hear the other people? Would it be comfortable? Hot, or maybe cold? It turned out to be pretty quiet once the two drivers in a yurt near us stopped talking. They yammered on for 45 minutes or so after everyone else had quieted, sounding like they were standing next to my bed. I could hear someone snoring off in the distance, but they were far from us, thankfully, and not an issue. The beds were comfortable enough and heavy blankets kept us snug as the temperature dropped. No need for a heater on this September night.
The next morning was my birthday, and I woke with a smile to think where it was starting out. At breakfast, Umid presented me with a bouquet of flowers and a box of dark chocolates from Silk Road Destinations and I got a rousing version of “Happy Birthday” from everyone present, too. Totally unexpected, but great. Umid was extremely proud of himself for producing such gifts in the middle of the desert. When the owner of the yurt camp gave me a bottle of local red wine, Umid stated he had a bottle of white wine as well for me. I was overwhelmed.
Umid was nearly as pleased with my birthday flowers and chocolates as I was.
The birthday treats kept coming as we stopped for lunch at a guesthouse in Mitan village. As I stepped out of the car, our hostess greated me with a bunch of roses she’d just cut from her garden, wishing me “Happy Birthday” via Umid. Clearly, Zokir or Umid had called ahead. We spent a delightful break checking out the grounds of our host couple with its flowers, chickens, fruit trees, grapevines and beehives. Our hostess demonstrated baking traditional bread and samsas on the walls of an Uzbek tandoor oven, then let me try it myself. She also made the best plov we had during our entire visit. Lunch was a feast.
Lots of protective gear is required for this type of baking.
After the meal, our hostest brought out a birthday cake and gifted me with a headscarf while her husband brought me a cloth bag of raisins from their own vines. Such generosity touched me and really made this a special birthday.
In borrowed finery (and my birthday scarf and roses) with our charming hosts
All in all, yurt camp and all the stops along the way were big fun and a real change from the Five M’s (mosques, minarets, madrassas, mausoleums and markets) that occupied much of our time in Khiva and Bukhara.
Our driver, Mr. Timur, picked us up at our Khiva hotel at 9am to start the 6-7 hour drive to Bukhara. Hopefully, there will be a fast train between the two cities available next year, but for now an air-conditioned private car appealed a lot more than the old train currently connecting Khiva and Bukhara.
Potholes and construction make the going less than smooth for the first part of the trip and it was nice to sit back and let Mr. Timur navigate. Near Khiva, we passed fields where groups of people picked cotton by hand. Roadside fields and greenery soon gave way to desolate desert.
Looking across the Amu Darya (river) into Turkmenistan
We paused at a barren overlook to gaze across the Amu Darya (darya=river) to Turkmenistan before continuing on for some hours until we reached a truck stop with gasoline, toilets and a small restaurant. Opting to buy stuffed meat-and-onion samsa pastries to eat on the road, lunch put us back all of $1.05.
Good luck had us arriving at a shared auto-and-train bridge just as a short train passed. In his limited English, Mr. Timur explained other cars had been waiting for half an hour while the bridge was in train mode, but we were able to cross quickly as the bridge was opened to auto traffic as soon as the train crossed. With our quick lunch and bridge crossing, we arrived in Bukhara a mere 6 hours after leaving Khiva.
We got our first glimpse of the Ark Fortress as we drove into Bukhara.
The Old Bukhara Hotel is a small hotel on a narrow residential street a block away from the main Kalon Mosque and minaret in Bukhara and a wide street lined on one side with high-end brick-and-mortar shops and with souvenir market stalls on the other. Our host welcomed us in the paved courtyard of the two-story hotel where three people chatted in Russian at a table while sipping tea and nibbling sweets. Leaving our luggage in our first-floor room, we headed back out to explore on our own.
In five minutes, we were in the plaza of the Kalon Mosque complex with its 12th century Kalon Minaret and facing madrassa [lead photo above]. We knew we’d visit the interior with a guide on the following day, so only snapped a few photos before strolling along the vendor stalls to a domed covered market over an intersection of four wide pedestrian roads. There, a skillful musician playing a sequence of exquisite hand-made instruments captured my attention. I ended up talking to him several times over our stay in Bukhara and eventually contented myself with buying one of his CD’s. The beautiful mother-of-pearl inlaid string instruments, particularly a long-necked “tor” called to me, but the price was high and I struggled to imagine how I’d get it safely back to Paris and then home to my musician son in Wisconsin.
Traditional Uzbek instruments along with others including an Indian sitar and a Russian balalaika (The tor is second from the right on the lower row, first on the right of the instruments on that row.)
Bukhara, much larger than Khiva, proved to have an abundance of markets and shops in its sprawling and picturesque old town and we spent much of our free time browsing the beautiful goods and bargaining for a few items. We bought our favorite souvenir in Bukhara, a beautiful Damascus steel knife with ornamental handle destined for our kitchen. We enjoyed talking to the knife maker who is a fifth generation blacksmith and who travels yearly to a handcrafts festival in Santa Fe.
Bukhara blacksmith and that gorgeous knife
We met the guide that Zokir had arranged for us in Bukhara the following morning. Niso, a friendly young woman, took us on a walking tour of the city starting with the Kalon Mosque and continuing on the the raised Ark Fortress, former home of khans. We spent a busy morning exploring the city focusing on the Four M’s (mosques, minarets, madrassas and mausoleums)–which on further thought I’ve decided should be the Five M’s, adding “markets” to the mix. Niso was happy to add a stop when we spotted an old synagogue. The woman proudly showed us her small synagogue’s treasures including an ancient Torah, a mini scrolling Torah and photographs of visiting dignitaries including Hillary Clinton.
A perfect lunch spot at Layb-i Hauz
Left to our own devices for a late lunch, David and I walked back to the Layb-i Hauz area, a beautiful open square bracketed by tiled madrassas and centered on a “hauz” the Persian word for a pool. A pretty indoor/outdoor restaurant with tables circled the pool and we claimed a spot on the water’s edge. As always, the cheap price of a lovely lunch surprised us. A .5l beer, enough to split, cost just over a dollar. We enjoyed the meal so much we returned the next day.
The following day brought driver Umid into our lives. We were to spend the next five days together and he was a font of local history (some of it wrong, but highly entertaining) and customs. A stoutly built former military man with a round head and short crewcut, Umid spoke enough English to allow us to communicate a fair bit and even to joke, something we found to be rare among the other drivers we encountered as we crossed paths with other travelers. Several times, others would use Umid to translate their questions and needs to their own drivers. Even though we had guides along sometime whose job included speaking English, our trip would have been so much less enjoyable if we’d had no way to communicate directly with Umid.
Inside the Sitora-i-Mokhi-Khosa summer palace
Umid drove us and Niso out of town to Naqshbandi, a sprawling Islamic complex and then to Sitora-i-Mokhi-Khosa Palace, the ornate and somewhat westernized summer residence of Bukhara’s last emir. We made a brief stop at Chor-Bakr, an ancient cemetery covering 3 hectares (7.4 acres). Back in Bukhara proper, we parted ways with Niso at a final stop at Chor Minor Mosque with its unique four minarets and former caravanserai.
At Chor Minor Mosque with Niso
We had fun in the evenings searching out rooftop restaurants to enjoy views of Bukhara as the sun set and lights came on. Even a posh spot atop a boutique hotel cost us just $10.55 for dinner. [The lead photo above is of that view at dusk.] Paris prices are going to seem steeper than ever when we return!
Sunrise view of Khiva from the door to our 2-bedroom suite in the Orient Star Khiva Hotel, a former madrassa
A conversation with French friends put the idea of a trip to Uzbekistan in my head. My friends had visited some years ago and been impressed by the religious tolerance in Uzbekistan as well as the friendliness of the people and the unique beauty of the sights. I started researching and was hooked. My wonderfully agreeable husband gave the idea a thumbs up and I started planning.
Uzbekistan is very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter, so peak tourism times are spring and fall. We have lots of guests coming to Paris this year, so I had to find a time that fit on our calendar and fell within periods of reasonable weather in Uzbekistan. Happily, that allowed me to book a ten-day trip to Uzbekistan that had my birthday landing right in the middle. Fun!
Although my friends had been on a group tour to Uzbekistan, David and I wanted a private trip. Unlike our usual travels of the past ten years, which have had us wandering for two to three months at a time, this one-country trip seemed to call for something a bit more organized. Research indicated that language and transportation between cities were going to be something of an issue. So, I checked with several Paris tour companies and researched the internet before settling on a private tour organized by Zokir of Silk Road Destinations. Zokir got great reviews on the internet, his prices were competitive, he was quick to respond, and his English was good.
Before I could commit to anything with Zokir, though, I needed to find flights. His packages did not include flights and I didn’t want a package with flights. For some reason, all the tours I found that did include flights from Paris to Uzbekistan seemed to use Turkish Airlines, which meant a layover in Istanbul and all the delay and attendant chance for lost luggage that a layover entails. I discovered that Uzbekistan Airways has non-stop flights from Paris (and London) to Uzbekistan at prices slightly less than Turkish Airlines. I knew nothing about Uzbekistan Airways, but they got decent reviews for timeliness and Zokir said they’d never had a problem with them canceling a flight (my main worry since I’d be committing to an itinerary that included hotels, drivers, guides, etc.).
All the tours I found also had international flights into and out of the capital city of Tashkent in the far east of Uzbekistan followed by an immediate hour-long flight back across the country to Urgench in the west where the typical tour begins in Khiva and then works back across to Tashkent to fly home. By sheer good luck, I was able to find a direct flight from Paris to Urgench and a return flight from Tashkent, eliminating that first flight and giving our trip a much simpler and less sleep-deprived start. [See bottom of this post for the full itinerary we settled on.]
Air Uzbekistan and an early arrival at Urgench
We left Paris at 8:30 pm (an hour late after a delay boarding and a delay on the tarmac that I’m not sure had anything to do with the airline) and arrived in Urgench in the dark around 5:30 am the following day. The plane was modern and clean, the staff pleasant, and the food almost laughably abundant as we tried to make room for it all on our trays. Uzbekistan is three hours ahead of Paris so the 6-hour flight really wasn’t bad and just felt like we stayed up really late. A driver was waiting as promised to take us the 45 minutes to our Khiva hotel.
Despite arriving to road closures due to the Ethnosport Festival going on in Khiva, we were soon settled in beautiful and historic Orient Star Khiva Hotel located in a former madrassa just inside the walled city (“Ichan Kala”) and beside its famous landmark blue-tiled Kalta-Minor Minaret. As promised, Zokir had arranged for an early check-in. The man at the front desk was funny as he surreptitiously slipped me the key and told me to keep it out of sight because he couldn’t do an early check-in for the French tour group that had also just arrived. Stuffed after the abundance of food offered on the flight, we skipped breakfast and enjoyed a 3-hour nap. We felt plenty rested and eager to go when it was time to meet our guide at 11 am.
Ethnosport model and photographer atop the Kunya Ark palace; beyond them is the Kalta-Minor Minaret and the former madrassa with the high arched entrance that was our hotel.
We’d heard loudspeaker announcements periodically outside our room and discovered that the weekend-long International Ethnosport Festival was in full swing with “mas-wrestling” happening just outside our hotel doorway. With guide nowhere in sight (we figured she was probably held up by the blocked roads we’d encountered earlier), I texted Zokir so he could coordinate with the guide, then we turned our attention to the sports.
Mas-wrestling consists of two competitors on a small “court” with a 12-16″ board stood on end between them. The wrestlers sit on either side of the board with their feet planted against the board just opposite each other. The referees give them a stick which, when the competition begins, they then try to wrestle away from each other. The competition tends to go pretty quickly with one wrestler sometimes being pulled up and over the board before the stick is fully jerked away from them. We watched pairs of men and of women compete. The athletes were very buff, the men competing shirtless in shorts and the women in shorts and t-shirts. Milling around the courts were competitors in team jackets from all the “stans” as well as from Mongolia, Turkey and other regional countries.
Mas-wrestling on the terrace just outside the front door of our hotel
Our guide, Ms. Zilola or “Lola,” arrived soon and we began our tour. We were eager to see this amazing “Arabian Knights” city we’d glimpsed from the balcony outside our hotel door. Unfortunately, Lola thought it best to walk us a short distance back outside the city walls to stand by a parked van to explain Uzbek history to us. Note to tour guides: Put yourself in the shoes of tourists and let them see the sights while you talk! We would have been so much happier if we could have walked the fascinating streets while she gave her lecture, but no such suggestions seemed to register. Oh well, the information she gave was useful and we made it past the lecture and past another lecture in the courtyard of our own hotel (a historic site) to finally (over an hour later) start actually exploring the city.
What can I say? Khiva is gorgeous, magical, everything we’d hoped for, and a perfect first stop in Uzbekistan. The lavishly tiled buildings and markets filled with colorful adras fabrics in ikat patterns, traditional chugirma fur hats, bright ceramics, embroidered suzani, knives, spices, souvenirs and more are a treat for the eyes. In Khiva, we had our first exposure to what we came to call Uzbekistan’s “Four M’s”: mosques, minarets, madrassas* and mausoleums. Tourist sites definitely lean heavily to these four and, while there are similarities, each offers its own history and beauty: intricate tiles, colorful paint, carved wooden or stone pillars. [* There are lots of spellings for “madrassa.” For the sake of consistency, I’ve picked this one and will stick with it, but it may appear differently in copied text as in the itinerary below.]
Munshid singing in Pahlavan Mahmoud Mausoleum
Khiva has been greatly restored to its current state as have many of the sites in Uzbekistan. Earthquakes, wars and the passage of time reduced many old buildings to ruins. While Russia and the Soviet Union were responsible for some of the destruction (both Tsarist Russia and the Soviet Union held dominion over the area), the Soviets also instigated some of the reconstruction. Much of it has been done by the Uzbek government as well since Uzbekistan gained its independence in 1991.
The Islom Khodja Minaret, the tallest in Uzbekistan
The name of the wide blue Kalta-Minor Minaret refers to its “short” stature. Although it is large, it is unfinished and was originally intended to be three times as high! It is an iconic symbol of not only Khiva, but of Uzbekistan itself and appears in pictures across the country and on the 100,000 sum bill.
Sum is the local currency and it was over 12,000 to the USD while we were there. This made for a bit of a shock on first viewing prices, but once the conversion was done, we found prices to be cheap nearly everywhere. Food was particularly inexpensive by western standards and we spent less than $10US for dinner for two most nights (including a large .5l beer shared). Dollars and euros are often, but not always, accepted in Uzbekistan. Credit cards are accepted in some places, but many do not. We found plenty of ATM’s with fair exchange rates in the cities we visited.
Market fun in Khiva, clockwise from top left: trying on chugirma fur hats, chess, puppets, silk scarves, vendor stalls and multiple-position wooden bookstand carved from a single piece of wood
Uzbeks are hearty eaters with a diet heavily focused on meat (usually beef or lamb), rice, onions, tomatoes and cucumber salads, and bread. Plov, a pilaf with regional variations, usually consisting of small beef slices served over rice simmered with julienned carrots, onions, raisins and chick peas, is ubiquitous as is a tomato, cucumber, onion and fresh dill salad. Samsas, fried or baked pastries stuffed most often with ground meat and onions and lagman, a meat and udon-type noodle dish are very popular. A round bread with a stamped flattened center is also a staple. Other small salads and fruit often round out a meal of generous proportions.
Rug makers and a kitten at the Khiva Silk Carpet Workshop
Some highlights of our Khiva tour included the 19th century Kunya Ark palace of the local khan with its extravagantly tiled open-air prayer areas, throne room and mint; the Juma mosque with its forest of 200 carved wooden pillars, some dating to the 10th century; the Islom Khodja Minaret, the tallest in Uzbekistan; and, of course, the Kalta-Minor Minaret and our own hotel. Our hotel room actually consisted of a two-bedroom suite that was once a dormitory room for students of the madrassa. We had a great view over the city from our front door and could see the Kalta-Minor Minaret standing just outside the main entrance to the hotel from the wide center courtyard.
The Juma Mosque
In addition to the usual sights, Khiva was bustling on our first day with Ethnosport events. In addition to the mas-wrestling, there was archery, weightlifting, traditional horseback games, performances with swords and even pistols by troupes of children in Ghengis Khan-type costumes and more. We lunched on the raised terrace of a restaurant overlooking a wide square where the children performed. We also watched some of the closing Ethnosport ceremonies in the evening when victorious athletes were honored by the playing of their national anthems. That evening, we climbed to the ramparts of the Kunya Ark palace to watch as sunset gave way to the lighting of the city. The following day gave us a chance to stroll Khiva in its more usual quiet state before leaving for a 6-hour drive across the desert to Bukhara.
PRACTICAL INFO:
Our full tailor-made itinerary (with names and phone numbers of guides and drivers redacted). Zokir provided this updated itinerary with contact info for guides and drivers the week before we left, something I really appreciated. Everyone was on WhatsApp and, with our American T-Mobile service offering included international internet, we were able to stay in touch save for the times we lost connection when traveling in the middle of the desert. There is a train from Khiva to Bukhara, but after watching a YouTube video of an old, uncomfortable, warm and dusty train, I opted for a driver and an air-conditioned car. A new high-speed train is slated to open next year, but locals expressed some skepticism about whether that was a realistic timeframe. We pushed back some of the start times as well since we often found that it wasn’t necessary to be up and out by 9 am and waiting until 10 am or later made for a more relaxed day.:
Day 1 __.09.2023 Arrival to Urgench and Khiva city tour Flight from homeland to Urgench , Uzbekistan. Arrival in Urgench at 04:50 Welcome by driver at Urgench International Airport. Driver _____ Transfer to hotel. Early check in and Breakfast included. Rest Until 11:00 .Meet your guide Mrs. ____ Sightseeing starts from entering the Ata gates at Itchan Kala Juma Mosque is 10th -18th century mosque in Khiva. Kunya Ark fortress was Khiva rules residence and citadel. Kalta Minor is Khivas unfinished minaret clad in turquoise tiles Mohammed Amin Khan Madrasah was built in 1851 now it’s a hotel Tash-Kauli Palace is harem was built in 1832-1841 Mausoleum of Pahlavan Mahmud is richly decorated Mausoleum of Sayid Allauddin The tomb of a famous Nakhshbandi Madrasah of Islam-Khodja and biggest minaret in Khiva Madrasah of AllaKuli Khan Overnight at the hotel .( Orient Khiva)
Day 2 __.09.2023 Khiva – Bukhara (by car) Breakfast at the hotel . Meet our driver at 09:00 Driver Mr. _____ Drive to Bukhara 435 km . Transfer to hotel . Overnight at the hotel . ( Old Bukhara) Tailor made program for ____
Day 3 __.09.2023 Bukhara Breakfast at the hotel. Meet guide Ms _____ ( at 09:00) Walking city tour Ismail Samani mausoleum is one of the oldest buildings ( 10th century) Chashma Ayub mausoleum also known as a Museum of water Bolo-Hauz mosque is built in 1712 looks elegant and splendid Ark Fortress where king khans use to live Poi-Kalyan complex ( madrasah,mosque,minaret) Ulug Beg Madrasah one of the first madrasa built in 1417 Abdulaziz Khan Madrasah is a medieval madrasah built in 1651 Tim Abdullah Khan it is an old trading Dome Magok-I Attari Mosque the oldest building in Bukhara (12th century) Lyabi-Hauz locals favourite place to come and spent time Overnight at the hotel . ( Old Bukhara)
Day 4 __.09.2023 Bukhara Breakfast at the hotel . Meet your guide M. ____ at 09:00 Places to visit: Chor Minor Mosque has a unusual but unique look ( four minarets) Naqshbandi Complex is most religious place and always crowded Sitora-i-Mokhi-Khosa Palace summer residence of Bukharas Emir Chor-Bakr Complex ancient cemetery equal to 3 hectares. Overnight at the hotel. ( Old Bukhara) Tailor made program for ____
Day 5 __.09.2023 Bukhara-Nurata-Yangi Gazgan Yurtas Breakfast at the hotel ( No guide this day) Meet your driver at 09:00 Mr. _____ In the morning taking a ride to the Nurata. Rabat-i-Malik ancient caravansaray Sardoba medieval water keep Lunch at the local house. Ruins of Citadel of Alexander the Great Yurt camp and Dinner in a desert around the fire. Overnight in the Yurt.(no guide this day) Day 6 14.09.2023 Yangi Gazgan Yurtas-Mitan village-Samarkand Breakfast at yurts. Meet your driver . Mr. ______ Drive to Samarkand via Mitan village . Arrive to Mitan village have lunch. See how locals live in the villages. Drive to Samarkand. Overnight at the hotel.( Zilol Baxt)
Day 7 __.09.2023 Samarkand-Shahrisabz-Samarkand ( by car) Breakfast at the hotel . Meet guide at 09:00 Mr. _____ Taking ride from Samarkand to Shakrisabz (90km) Places to visit: Palace Ak Saray it means “white palace “( Timurs residence) Dorut Tilovat is house of recitation was built in 1438s Statue of Amir Temur Ko”k gumbaz Mosque Blue dome mosque built by Ulugbek ( 1436) Dorus Saodat complex house of power was built Timirids dynasty Drive back to Samarkand. Overnight at the hotel. ( Zilol Baxt) Tailor made program for ______
Day 8 __.09.2023 Samarkand Breakfast at the hotel . Meet guide Mr. _____ at 09:00 Starting the sightseeing from heart of old city. Guri Amir Mausoleum Registan square has three madrasahs Bibi Khanum Mosque was the biggest at that time (1399) Siab Bazaar oldest keep operating bazaar in Samarkand Shahi Zinda Complex Overnight at the hotel( Zilol Baxt)
Day 9 __.09.2023 Samarkand –Tashkent(train) Breakfast. Meet your guide at 09:00 Mr. _____ Places to visit: Ulugbek observatory Mausoleum of Hodja Daniyar Afrasiab museum Konigil village ancient paper factory Transfer to train station at 16:45 and take train to Tashkenat at 17:30 Arrive to Tashkent and transfer to hotel. Overnight at the hotel. ( Art Deluxe)
Day 10 __.09.2023 Tashkent city tour Breakfast . Meet guide at the hotel 09:00 Ms. ______ +998932896002 Starting the sightseeing at the capital city. Khast Imam Complex Spiritual heart of Tashkent (16-20 century) Barak Khan madrasah has oldest extant copies of the Quran Chorsu bazaar one of the busiest bazaars in Tashkent Take a ride at metro soviet and modern designed underground Amir Temur Square Independence square favorite resting place for residents. Applied art Museum of Tashkent Overnight at the hotel.( Art Deluxe) Tailor made program for _______
Day 11 __.09.2023 Tashkent –Home town Breakfast at the hotel. Our team will transfer you to airport at 11:00 Driver Mr ______ Take a flight at 13:50 Free time waiting for the flight. End of our service. Drivers and guides may change due to personal reasons but will be changed by others immediately. 24/7 Support Operator Mr Zokir ( I have whats app also ) Feel free to contact me at any time!
