Today we hired a taxi and driver to take us around three sites outside of the city. One week into my Uzbek holiday I’d found it far easier to ditch the sunhat and used my sarong/scarf all the time. It served as a sunshade, head covering for mosques and extra layer in evenings.
First off was Bakhauddin Nakhshbandi Essemble. It is a most revered site to Muslims. Holy sites all have ablution chambers on entry where the religious cleanse themselves. Past this point were the beautiful buildings.
There was a lot to see at this site but once sated we hopped in the taxi and the driver wove his way through traffic at speed to our next site. Seatbelts would have been a comfort.
The next site was a Ruth treat. The Sitorai Makhi Khosa, Emir’s summer palace, was built in 1911 by the Soviets keen to encourage the Emir our of Bukhara into a lazy, and hence forgettable, abode. The guide book described it as both fascinating and tacky - I was sold.
The buildings are a mix of Russian and Uzbek building styles but once inside the Russian creativity broke loose and there is a riot of colour. Stained glass, tiles, mosaics and paint all collide into a dizzying display of opulence. This was the throne room (also called the white room) which was the most restrained.
From there the dining/ballroom was resplendent with its autumn look (it had one for each season).
And I loved the tea room. Such lovely light and glass.
The Emir’s hareem was close by. I can’t imagine it was a particularly fulfilling life being a concubine but I suspect there was little choice in the matter.
The Emir had a zoo, but once the Emir was deposed in the late 1920s he fled to Afghanistan, his family were taken to St Petersburg and his elephant to somewhere else in Russia. Today there is a flock of peacocks scratching around in the dry soil.
We then sped off to our third location, Chor Bakr Necropolis. This was noted in the guide book as crumbling and it certainly was, except for those sections which appeared to have been knocked down and rebuilt.
From what we’ve seen the Uzbeks don’t refurbish monuments, they seem to either raise them and build again, or plaster over them sticking a brick frontage on. Many of the tombs in this place, dating back to the 10th century, were in remarkably good nick and it seemed the Bukhara effect of renovating to the point of losing its character was happening here. We were offered the opportunity to climb onto the roof by the local caretaker who also sold bird feed to entice the pigeons to eat off your hand (thanks but no thanks). It was a sweet 5 USD for a good view of Bukhara. My scam alert was alive and kicking so we declined. JC then hopped up the stairs to find a view of Bukhara if he’d taken his telescope with him. Considering we pay 2/3 USD each time to visit a site, 5 dollars to walk up a flight of stairs was a payment too far.
We returned to our hotel then headed out to souvenir shop. We’re further from the desert here, more near the flood plain of the river. The goods for sale in the bazaars are a little more refined, and the price has jumped to reflect that. There are no camels, not even as a lonely tourist attraction. And the camel hair garments here are soft; in Khiva they could double up as loofahs and the camel hair hats were wonderfully large and mad. They sell hats here but they are faux fur and smaller. I sort of miss the rough and readiness of Khiva.
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