bukhara, uzbekistan
from july -- more historic sights along the silk road in uzbekistan -- i annotated as best i could -- have a look!
more:
buxoro, o'zbekiston (founded 6th century bc; pop 275k; 5th largest uzbek city)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bukhara
old city gates
early islamic saminid mausoleum (b. 892-943, rediscovered in 1934)
salty groundwater damage
old city walls date back to the 9th century, with additions for centuries afterward
master metalworker
apprentices
chashma ayub well - the exact construction date is known 1208-09
the elegant bolo hauz - the emir’s mosque - just outside the ark
water tower shukova - (b. 1927) by famed soviet architect vladimir shukov
someone fell, so you can’t climb it anymore -
looks like there were great views of the ark fortress
the ark fortress - built & rebuilt since the 4th century bc
this was all covered in rugs back when the rulers held court
the final throne has survived (b.1669)
looks a bit like the usa southwest or texas along here…sorta
a very good business to be in when it’s 100+ degrees everyday in the summer!
miri arab madrassa (b.1530-35) -- one of the few functioning in uzbekistan
students were on break due to eid al fitr holiday
poi kalyan ensemble - (b. 5th century, partly reconstructed in 1514)
mammoth kalyan minaret (b.1127) - the base diameter is 9 meters
madrassa
a white minrab
colorful, psychedelic minrabs
note the minrabs reflect the cave where the prophet got his visions & function to help you pray
ulug bek madrassa (b.1417)
fyi -- for rugmaking they are paid per knot
trading domes -- there are several surviving trading dome areas that are still well in use
left is ulug beg madrassa and right is abdul aziz khan madrassa (b. 1651-52)
magoki-attori mosque -- (b. 12th century); there is an earlier mosque underneath it --
and moh and zoroastrian temples under that - it all sank and was uncovered in the 1930s
this last trading dome ceiling here is toki zargaron - zargar means goldsmiths
a sufi khanaka or dorm (b.1620), part of the lyab-i khauz, the central square of old bukhara
one more from another angle
the lyab-i khauz complex is basically the main square in old bukhara, it’s lively+nice day & night
i was told this is the oldest tree in town
wedding shots & ikat silk fabrics
some guise chillaxin -- btw it is 112 degrees, no humidity though thankfully
nadir divan begi madrassa on the square
weekly cultural show -- they close up the whole madrassa for a couple hours at night for this
it’s a great idea, it is very popular w/tourists and visiting uzbeks alike
our hotel
walk thru a neighborhood to chor minor (b.1807, disputed, more likely in the late 1600s)
you can pay a few som to climb to the roof
the uzbek government maintains the old soviet style of roadside propaganda everywhere:
“uzbekistan - we are one of the great motherland!”
“beautiful and sacred land betakrorimsan sacrifice my life uzbekistan!”
(these are regarding 2016 being the 25th anniversary of independence from russia)
a rare sighting of non-white cars
chor bakr necropolis (b.1560-63) -- it means 4 brothers
early graves here are thousands of years old
this place outside of town was very atmospheric -- might be my favorite site of all
old dorms
*unfortunately, we saw a large new pen that was all built and were told they are going to pen all the peacocks up soon, i don’t know why, but no one is happy about that
new apt bldgs
the wood pillars are still sometimes decoratively used in new construction, i liked that
on to the ensemble of naqshbandi aka the mecca of central asia
naqshbandi was the spiritual advisor of tamerlane & advocated living simply
his philosophy was based on “dil ba joru, dast ba kor” (heart with god, hands at work)
last is sitori mohki-khosa palace, the last emir’s victorian era summer home (b.1912-18)
it’s time was short, it was turned into a museum by the soviets in 1927
this bldg on the grounds is a suzani museum
goodbye bukhara!
on the road in uzbekistan
this place in the middle of nowhere is malik-i-rabat darvoza & caravanserai (b. 1006)
the caravanserai is across the highway from the darvoza or watering hole
unfortunately, it was destroyed in the 1960s earthquake & the portal damaged
interesting -- uzbek nuclear plant, i think mostly to power navoi, an area of industrial businesses
and several bumpy road hours later we are approaching the next silk road city…. samarkand
*** i hope you enjoyed all the sights and poking around in historic bukhara, uzbekistan
***