Trip to Uzbekistan Part 1 - Bukhara

For fall break this year we decided to visit Uzbekistan. At the beginning of the year, the country changed its visa laws and really opened up for westerners. Some of my colleagues had visited and everyone who went raved about how nice it was.  We decided to go - even if Yulia was a bit apprehensive at first - instead of making our usual trip to Europe somewhere for fall break.

We bought tickets from Astana to Tashkent and Yulia had booked our train travel and hotels ahead of time, so our travel itinerary was set.  I was in charge of the day to day sightseeing stuff.  I didn't do as good of job of planning as Yulia usually does, but we managed things quite well.

Our flight to Tashkent left at about 8:00 a.m. on Sunday.  The flight was just over an hour and a half and there was a 1 hour time difference (earlier), so we arrived around 9:00 local time.  The passport control and customs process was very quick.  Our online $20 visas were accepted with no problems and we didn't have to declare anything.  We changed some money, got some more money out of an ATM, and then made our way out of the airport.  

We made it through the gauntlet of taxi drivers - insistent, but not even as pushy as the ones at the airport and train station in Astana - and walked to the bus stop.  At the bus stop we figured out which bus we needed to get on and then rode it to the train station.  At the train station we bought some snacks and water and ate them and then went in to wait.  Our train was in the early afternoon so our wait was about 4 hours.  We found a little cafe in the station and had plov (pilaf, but so, so awesome) and some other yummy food while we waited.

Our train ride from Tashkent to Bukhara took a little over seven hours.  We did a lot of sleeping along the way.  When we arrived at the train station it was after dark.  We got two taxis and after a bit of an adventure finding our hotel, arrived at the Kok-i-Noor hotel around 10:00.  We were met by Sabina, who spoke a little English and who was fluent in Russian.  We got our room keys and settled in for the evening.  We were in Bukhara, Uzbekistan!

Our train route from Tashkent to Bukhara.

Waiting in Tashkent.

Boarding the train.

Trains!

Train rides make me sleepy.

And Nika, too!

Kids' room at hotel.

Our balcony. View from kids door. Our door is first one on right.

Looking down into courtyard.This is where we ate breakfast each morning.

Looking down on breakfast.

Breakfast.

Our hotel was in a little alleyway of regular houses near the "Choor Minor" or four minarets.  It was the gatehouse for a Madrassa (religious school) that was built sometime in the early 1800s.  Its architecture is different from anything else around.  We had a great view of it form our hotel.  Downtown Bukhara was less than a mile walk from our hotel through narrow alleyway streets.

Our first day we got up and ate breakfast (delicious all three days) and then went out exploring.  Our first stop was at the Choor Minoor.  The storks on top are fake, but in the old photos there was a time when all four minarets had a nesting pair of storks on it.  Storks are a symbol of good fortune, and these fake storks are on a lot of the buildings in Bukhara.

We paid a few extra s'om to get in and climb up to the roof.  A dollar was equal to about 9500 s'om, so we were carrying around some serious money!

Choor Minoor

Fruit trees and grape vines in the courtyard.

Pottery that reminded us of our trip to Greece last year.

The old buildings had these stone windows that let in light and air and they were beautiful.

Climbing up the stairs.

Narrow streets and walled houses.

Sophia

This was the back of Choor Minoor - our hotel was about 100 meters to the right of where this picture was taken.

a paved street with a water channel.

Adobe walls were common.  Reminded me of growing up in Ephraim, Utah!

We walked from Choor Minoor toward the downtown.  We really liked the feeling of walking in the alleyways and feeling part of the ancient city.  We passed some interesting things on the way, like a grave outside of one of the houses.

The first thing we came upon was an old wall.  As we walked around we found the main square.  The wall was that of a Madrassa that had also served as a caravan or place of shelter for groups traveling the Silk Road. Inside we found our first Uzbek souvenirs.  Yulia really only wanted a bread stamp - a device to make beautiful patterns in flat bread - and since it was her birthday we got her two!

Inside the Madrassa entrance.

Sophie and Lina standing next to carved wooden door.  The doors in Bukhara were amazing.  My grandpa Willardson would have loved them.  These two are taking woodcarving classes, so this was fun for them, too.

The main square had been made up very well with nice walkways, benches, and shady trees.  There were little irrigation canals running through the city and one ran through this area as well.   There was another Madrassa nearby so we looked at that and then sat in the shade and rested for a few minutes.

Main square with shade and nice walkways.

A statue of a character from folk tales in the region, Khodzha Nasreddin.

One of the Madrassas.  This one (like many of the others in town was a souvenir place.  They made jewelry and other crafts inside and sold them right there.

Inside the Madrassa. There was also a little cafe.

The whole family posing for a picture on the main square of Bukhara.

The beautiful tile work was unique and beautiful.

Just the two of us!

The man-made pond in the center of the square with traditional restaurant seating.

Canal running down the main thoroughfare.

One of the things that we had read about was a synagogue in Bukhara.  The town used to have Jews on one side and Muslims on the other.  There is still a small Jewish population, but it is mostly gone now.  There is still a mosque.  We ran into a lot of school kids on their break as we explored the little alleyways.

The man on the left with a stack of bedding is taking it from a wash place to a guesthouse. That was a regular set up in Bukhara: guest houses on one side of the street and washing facilities on another.

Near the main market. Lots of nice signs.  Bukhara was really ready for tourists!

After walking around and seeing the sites, we went back to the hotel and rested for about an hour and then we went back to a restaurant where a lady had told us to come and eat.  She was a babushka who was standing outside and calling out to tourists to buy things and come eat.  We told her we'd be back, so we came back.  We had a wonderful meal that was very reasonably priced! We quickly fell in love with mealtime in Uzbekistan.

After lunch we walked and found the old fortress, or the Ark.  It was pretty impressive from the outside and we went inside and looked.  They had an exhibit about writing and the Koran and a number of old books that had been copied by the scribes working in Bukhara in the Madrassas.  They had a distinct style of calligraphy that became very popular.

Much of the interior architecture reminded us of the forts in Agra and Jaipur that we visited in India a few years ago.

Wooden porch with decorative beams.  The beams were wooden.  Similar porches were in India, but many made of stones.

Looking out over the battlements.

Pottery at the market.

Throne under the porch at Ark.

Courtyard, view from near the throne.

Restored areas.

An example of a Koran

A little museum inside the fort.

Outside the fortress looking back toward the main madrassa and tower and central market.

Entrance to Madrassa with beautiful inlaid designs.

Late afternoon sunshine in a beautiful peaceful area.

This tower on the main madrassa in town is the symbol of Bukhara. It is quite impressive and can be seen from all over downtown.

Looking from one side to the other. 

Papa and the girls inside the madrassa courtyard.

Looking out from the courtyard.

Main market.

I am not sure what I am looking at. Probably trying to keep the kids from spending money!

Selling cloth and embroidery work.

Tourists at the market.

We had a full afternoon of exploring.  We explored the Ark inside and out and then went and looked at the Madrassas.  The one Madrassa was the only working one in the Soviet Union.  Ramzan Khadirov's father studied there in the 1960s.  We walked around the market and then walked home to the hotel.  On our way we passed a funeral procession of men carrying a coffin and chanting.  They were moving quickly because they needed to get him buried before sunset and it was already after 4:00 p.m.  Behind the men came a whole line of cars, probably to take them from the mosque (which was near our hotel) to the cemetery.  It was very interesting.

We rested for about an hour and then ventured out and found a little restaurant.  We were the first ones seated and had a nice meal (see the yummy salads!) together.  It was Yulia's birthday, so this counted as her birthday dinner.  I think she had a pretty nice birthday with more walking done than she usually does on her special day!

Chor Minor at night!

Yulia got these bread stamps (to stamp designs into flat bread) for her birthday.  It's what she really wanted even before we went.