Holy Fish!

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We had a free day in Samarkand - it was a bit of a lazy day for me . The next morning we headed out on our way to Bukhara. We had a Yurt stay planned and then a visit to Nurota and the Holy Fish!

The Yurt stay was quite surreal. Most Yurts/Gers we have come across in the past were in the middle of nomad pastures … this one was smack bang in the Uzbek desert. After around 6hrs of driving on main roads we left the bitumen and headed along desert tracks. It was flat boring desert but we eventually came into a dip in the sand and here was a yurt camp complete with camels. It was a really nice night. Very peaceful and a good rest…..

The following morning we continued our journey to Bukhara. We stopped at a place called Nurota. This was the location of a mineral spring with Holy Waters. People come from far and wide to gather the Holy Water. The lucky fish that live in the Holy Waters are not allowed to be caught or harmed in any way. So there are hundreds of fat trout enjoying the gifts that the pilgrims bring on their visit to Nurota. There was a mosque there …. But more exciting for me (though not quite as exciting as the Holy Fish) was the fort of Alexander the Great that was up on the hill behind the fish pool. That was fun to have a wander on the fort.

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