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Published: November 1st 2005
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Some people claim that Bukhara with its quarter of a million citizens is the holiest city i Central Asia, and I begin to see where they got the idea from. On a day like today, the sun shining brightly on a clear blue sky, and the sand coloured buildings shining back just as brightly, it is hard not to be mesmerized by her true beauty.
Last night's adventure means we get to start a bit later this morning, and after a couple extra hours of welcome sleep we start moving around the city's captivating structures, one place after another. We start in one of the most obvious point, the big square between the Kalon mosque and the Mir-i-Arab medressah. Both these structures are gigantic and amazingly beautiful. Naturally, this is also a focal point for street vendors and persistent hawkers that swarm around us and the other tourists in the area. Walking just a short distance from here you can find another two medressahs on each side of the street, the Ulughbek medressah catering to the sunni, and the Abdul Aziz Khan medressah aimed at the shia. While the group is inside looking at the textiles and other souvenirs sold
at the Abdul Aziz Khan medressah I sit down in the shadow outside and just enjoy the environment this calm morning. Some locals walk by exchanging greetings and two young kids run up and want to have their photo taken. Looking around the skyline is refreshingly free from modern highrises, the only towering building you can see is the massive minaret of the Kalon mosque.
We return to the hotel for lunch and quickly return outside into the hot afternoon air. We walk around sweating in the Samani park desperately seeking out the sparse shadows under the trees. There are some famous structures here, the most interesting one being the Ismail Samany mausoleum. We quickly return to the relative comforts of our bus and go across town to the famous town centre known as the Lab-i-Havuz. This square is centered around a big pool of water, which used to be one of the pools where the old city got its water supply. The pools were natural meeting places in the city, but their rather obvious lack of hygien lead the Soviets to tap the water and fill them with stone. For some reason the most interesting buildings in Bukhara
seem to come in pairs. In this case you will find the Nadir Divanbegi medressah and the Nadir Divanbegi khanaka.
Bukhara is also famous for its Jewish minority, and the Lab-i-Hauz is a good starting point for visiting their neighbourhoods. We leave the bus behind and go for a walk in the narrow alleyways among their homes and small shops. The sun is on its way down and the afternoon is ideal for walking around. When we reach the end of the planned tour Shoista is surprised to find the bus not being where it was supposed to be, and after some further investigation she can only conclude that it is missing in action. We don't mind though, and are excited to continue the walk through the small residential neighbourhoods back to the hotel. Back at the hotel I rest a bit before we head out for dinner, again returning to the Nadir Divanbegi-medressa by the Lab-i-Hauz.
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