Silk Road Cities - Bukhara

Central Asia's holiest city, Bukhara was one of the major stop-off points on the Silk Road. The city is home to buildings spanning a thousand years of history, and a thoroughly lived-in old centre that probably hasn't changed much in two centuries. It is one of the best places in Central Asia for a glimpse of pre-Russian Turkestan. Most of the centre is an architectural preserve, full of former madrassas, a massive royal fortress, mosques, caravanserais and the remnants of a once-vast market complex. Right in the centre (lyabi hauz square) there is a peaceful pool surrounded by relaxing waterside cafes where you can pay inflated tourist prices for traditional Uzbek cuisine.




Left: Mir i Arab Medrassa.
Right : Inside the medrassa.

Of all the wonderful buildings on show, one of the most impressive is the Kalan Mosque and minaret, built in 1127, which was the first to make use of the glazed blue tiles that were to become so common in Central Asian architecture during the reign of Timur. The minaret was apparently spared destruction during the rampages of Jenghiz Khan as he was so in awe of the construction. Now the path around the walls of the next door medrassa are taken over by women selling pottery, needlework, pillow/cushion cases etc.



Left : Kalon minaret not even Genghis Khan would destroy.
Centre & Right: Typical tilework from the many buildings

I travelled to Bukhara with two Japanese and a load of friendly Uzbkes on yet another overcrowded, mashroetkoe. On arrival, we hit the centre of town and looked for accomodation when a kind lady with perfect English offered us a place at her hotel. The Japanese had a place in mind which cost $7, so they asked if she cold beat that, she matched it and it had the added bonus of being right in the centre. On agreeing to stay we were given huge plates of grapes, melons and green tea to welcome us. This lady had been in the tourist agency since the 1970s and it was interesting to hear what she had to say about the rate of foreign visitors over the last 30 years. Since the split up of the USSR, the number of tourists dropped dramatically, the first few years of independence there were virtually no visitors to the new Uzbekistan republic, slowly this increased, but now for the last 5 or 6 years, there has been little change. Amazingly I bumped into here again in Tashkent two weeks later, this world is full of surprises.