Trip to Uzbekistan Part 2 - Bukhara

For our second full day in Bukhara (October 1), we divided the day in two.  During the first half of the day we walked to see the sites that we hadn't yet seen in the downtown area.  In the second half of the day we arranged for a taxi driver to pick us up and take us to three sites on the outskirts of town. The day was beautiful - around 75 degrees or so and sunny and we had a lovely time.

Arabic writing on a plate on display.  Versus from the Koran were inscribed everywhere.

We walked back to the area of the Ark, and just around the corner to the prison.  The Zindon.  We hiked up the steps and paid to take a tour of the prison complex which really made us appreciate modern jails that are not in the form of pits into which prisoners were thrown for months and years on end.

Zindon jail from the outside.

Up close view of the fort.

Our climbing prisoners!

Scenes of prisoners.

Punishment!

A museum of different tools they used for punishment/torture from the late 19th and early 20th century.

The pit for the debtors.

Enjoying a bright sunshiny day!

We next walked to the Bolo-Hauz mosque.  It is still a working mosque.  It has a lovely pool out front (that they were repairing) and beautiful wooden columns and wooden porch.  This mosque was still working during the revolution when Bolshevik troops came to occupy the city.  We really enjoyed the spirit of the place and tried to be as respectful as possible since there were people coming to pray.

Taking a picture in front of the mosque.

Looking at the front of the mosque with its decoration and columns. 

Papa and Lexa.  I injured my elbow in our bathroom the first night!

After the mosque, we walked down through a park (with a Soviet style "Luna Park") to an old mausoleum from the 14th Century: Buyan Khuli Khan Mausoleum.  The mausoleum was made of bricks that were really interestingly done.  There was a lady there who was trying to make people pay to see it, so we just peeked in and looked at the outside. It was worth it and the park itself was very lovely.

Park complex.

Walking down the avenue.

Mausoleum.

After the mausoleum, we walked back through the bazaar to give the girls a chance to do some souvenir shopping.

These lovely outfits and cloth are famous.  Sophia and Veronika bought outfits for their souvenirs.  Lina bought a neat wooden box.  Lexa got a bracelet and some other small jewelry.

Musical instruments for sale.

Nika looking at the instruments.

Lexa resting in the shade.

After resting for an hour at our hotel, our driver came and picked us up.  The first place he took us was the Bakhautdin Naqsband Mausoleum.  It was outside the city a ways, but one of our favorite places.  The complex had a mosque, a madrassa, and lots of gardens.  It had a very sacred feel to it and we really enjoyed being there.

beautiful inlaid tiles with some different colors than usual.

Mausoleum.

This was the actual mausoleum.

The miniature tower like the one in downtown Bukhara but shorter.

Walking through the complex.

Beautiful garden pathway.  There were lots of people here.  It is a site of pilgrimage for Sufi Muslims.

The complex had a pond that had geese, ducks, and swans swimming in it.

Our next stop was the Sitora-i Mokhi Khosa, or the summer residence of the region's emirs.  The residence was modeled after the summer palace in St. Petersburg, but on a much smaller scale.  It was built a few years before the Russian revolution and is being restored as a museum complex.  There were different displays, including a collection of vases, a collection of clothing, and other interesting items from the life of the emir.

Outside view of the residence. Porches on a smaller scale.

Inlaid with stone and metal. Fake Fireplaces.

Vase collection.

Different items from the emir.

This was a tower from which they could watch swimmers in the pond.... and keep an eye on all the Emir's wives.

Pond at the palace.

The last site we visited was that of Chor Bakr.  It is the burial site of a couple of 10th century holy men and has a  few mosques, an extensive cemetery and various areas where pilgrims used to be accommodated. We liked this site, but it was at the end of a long day so we didn't stay too long.

Down the walkway were various doors that led to courtyards with burial grounds.

Grave sites within the complex.

After we had visited all the sites for the day, we stopped at a little cafe near the Chor Bakr site.  It is the area that is supposed to have the best "Shashlik" or lamb kebabs.  We were the only non-locals there and they sat us outside by ourselves.  We ordered salad, bread, and shashlik.  It all was very delicious.  We arrived back at our hotel at around 5:30 p.m. or so and spent the rest of the night resting our weary bones.  We felt like we had seen the sites in Bukhara and we had a wonderful time doing it.

Trip to France - Day 4 - Versailes and Paris

We ate at McDonald's near the metro station every morning in Paris.  They had special French breakfasts (with yummy hot chocolate and little pastries) that was cheaper than the other options around. On our last full day in France, we loaded up on a big breakfast because we had a big day ahead of us.  We were going to Versailles.

To get to Versailles we took the train.  We figured out the tickets and the trains without too much trouble and had a nice ride out through the city to Versailles.  We arrived there at about 10:00 in the morning when things were opening and there was already a huge line.  We had decided not to go in since we had been in lots of palaces in Russia and had seen some of the remnants in the Louvre.  We came for the gardens.  

Riding the train (notice the ceiling!)

The front side of the palace. 

The gardens were huge. We really enjoyed them and walked a few miles on the paths there (all for free).  We were a bit sad that the flowers hadn't been planted yet, so it was still quite barren, but it was peaceful and beautiful and historic.

Looking down from the palace at the gardens and the lake.

Looking down toward the garden and the lake. Men cleaning the fountains to prepare them for the summer.

Walking in the gardens and forests.

Looking back up toward the palace.

Ducks swimming in the fountains/pond nearest the lake.

Selfie at Versailles!

Foxy  lady at the upper fountain.

We realized that the Paris Temple was close, so we looked up how to get there and walked about a  mile from Versailles and found the temple.  It is built to blend in with the landscape a bit, but was still beautiful.  The best part was that it has a large garden inside the compound (there is patron housing, some missionary housing, and a visitor center as part of the compound) that was very beautiful.  The flowers at the temple were growing and the garden was peaceful and beautiful.  We went in to the visitor center and learned about the challenges that had to be overcome to build the temple in France. 

We hadn't come prepared to do a session so we didn't go inside, but we were very glad that we made the stop.  It was a highlight of the trip.

Front entrance to temple complex.

Christus statue inside the garden.

Enjoying the garden and the flowers.

Returning to the train station after our Versailles adventure.

We stopped for lunch at a little tourist place, and Yulia bought a few souvenirs and then we got back on the train to head into the city.  We got off at a different station where we caught a train to go to the Paris Catacombs.

The Catacombs ended up being one of our favorite attractions. The bones of millions of people were moved from the cemeteries of Paris during a period of time.  The bones were placed in old limestone mines underneath the city.  The bones were stacked very carefully and the overall tone and experience was one of respect and peace.  It was interesting being so far beneath the city in the mines.

We waited in line for about thirty minutes before we got in, and spent about an hour walking through the Catacombs.  We exited in a different part of the city and had to walk for a ways to get to the metro system.  We caught the metro to our station.  We stopped by a little pastry place and bought some treats before heading to our hotel where we rested for awhile before going out to our last meal in Paris.

We ate at a little restaurant about 2 blocks from the hotel.  It was modern cuisine focusing on roasted meats of various kinds.  It was a yummy meal.  We were the first ones in the place again (we got there at 7:00) but it was filling up when we were leaving.

These metro trains rain above ground (elevated trains) and were on regular tires.  It was interesting.

Inside the corridors of the old mine going toward the ossuaries.

Stacked bones. Hundreds of piles like this filled up rooms and rooms under the city.

Information about source of the bones.

Pastries in Paris!

Some treats for now and some for later to bring home to the kids.

At the train station waiting to board our train to the Airport.

The train station had scientific equations written all over.

Friday morning we woke up, packed, and headed to the metro.  We stopped for breakfast at our little McDonald's as usual.  We made our way to the main station, transferred to the airport line, and made our way back.  Our flights back to Kazakhstan on Belavia were pleasant and uneventful.  We had a quick layover (about 90 minutes) in Minsk and made it back to Kazakhstan at about 3:30 in the morning and back to our apartment at about 4:30.

We had left Astana and returned to a newly-renamed capitol - Nur-Sultan - and a new "acting president." Interesting things happen in Kazakhstan while we are away. A few summers ago they renamed the airport after President Nazarbayev while we were traveling.

We had a wonderful time in France. It was a nice anniversary trip and we were both very happy that we had the opportunity to go together.  The kids would have loved it, but it was nice to have a couples trip, too.