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Published: October 26th 2014
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One of many Medressas in Bukhara
Most house multiple souvenir shops Nurata mountains October 21, 2014
Bukhara has been a great place to chill out.
We have stayed in an excellent guesthouse, Sarrafon B&B. The whole family were so welcoming and helpful. The guesthouse was right in the tourist centre. The rooms were spacious and clean and the wifi excellent. Abdul spoke very good English and his Dad some too. They helped change money, with directions, phoning future guesthouses and with how to get to Nurata even though he was offering his own inclusive tour to the area. In return we educated Abdul about AirBnB.
With their LP reference they had a steady flow of independent travellers. We linked up with Larry and Suzie from Seattle for dinner one night. They were a very well travelled couple and we agreed we were both members of the non-cruising club. Suzie and Jane could see eye to eye! They had lived in Ismir in the 80's and it was fascinating to hear Suzie talk about the impact of US internment on her family during WWII as Japanese Americans.
Bukhara is a relatively small city and has some fantastic Islamic architecture - mosques,
Ceiling in Medressa
One of many exquisite geometric patterns in Islamic architecture medressas and forts. For many years in the 18 and 19 th centuries it had its own sultanate and has been a centre of Islamic learning for much more than that. The central minaret built in 1127 was for many years the tallest building in Central Asia at 49m.
This is big attraction for the tour buses who focus on this area and then rush off to Khiva or Samarkand. We had a happy time wandering around the areas off and on over the three days we were there and also enjoying other parts of the town.
Our first full day was a Sunday and the Somsa (Uzbekistan meat pie) shop we hoped to eat at was closed. We were wondering where to get lunch when two school students came up to us and asked if we could speak English with them. They were doing an intensive course at the local college and had been told to go and find tourists to talk to. So Jane said, "No problem, show us where to buy lunch". They took us to the Kility Bazaar. There first choice was also closed and we ended up at a
Somsa shop up the street. The manageress was so pleased to see us as she had not had tourists before. We had pies and tea and had a happy time talking to the boys, Bahzom, 17 and Makhmud, 18. We took photos to send to them. They were overjoyed with the time we spent with them.
Just before we parted Makhmud pointed out how he was in fact Tajik and so were the Somsa shop workers. In fact many in Bukhara are Tajik. There are also Kazaks, Uzbeks and Russians. The political boundaries in the Stans, created originally by Stalin in the late 1920's, often do not have any resemblance to any 'tribal' boundaries.
Prior to independent there were also a large number of Bukharian Jews. Most have left for Israel since and only a small number remain. They have their own dialect, Bukhori, as version of Persian (Farsee) written uniquely in the Hebrew script. Following Larry and Suzies's lead we found one of the synagogues in the old Jewish quarter. It was a poignant place, clearly a centre of a community and yet with the look of a fading congregation.
Dried fruit and nut seller in Kility Bazaar, Bukhara
We could talk to her through the students we had met The tourist centre has numerous bazaars selling souvenirs. Bukhara is a famous handicraft centre in Uzbekistan and we toured the UNESCO sponsored silk carpet weaving workshop. You could see artisans doing woodwork and metal work and sewing susanis. The latter are silk embroidered or crocheted coloured patterns on silk or cotton. Susani wall hangings, table clothes and cushion covers were a typical part of local girls' dowries.
We picked up a few souvenirs and were actually more interested it visiting the local out of town bazaars. In particular I was keen to buy a traditional Uzbek chapan, a shin length coat traditionally worn by men in the colder months. First we had to find one the right size and then barter an acceptable price. Unfortunately with its padding it has added some kgs to my rucksack. It will keep me warm as we move up to Almaty.
We had lunch at the cafe in Karvon bazaar. The chef cooked somsa by sticking them to the inside of a tandoor oven. We got pies straight from the oven - he scraped them off the side with a long metal spatula and caught them in a
basket. They were excellent with green tea.
In the Kolkhoz bazaar we met Azim and his wife. Azim spoken some English. He had an household electrical store and was able to replace the UK electrical adaptor Jane had lost. I did not realise that the Gulf States, the source of many imports, use the UK electrical socket system. Azim kindly gave us tea just when we needed it too.
With our first good internet connection since Baku we have been able to catch up with family on Skype and book onward destinations. Our next stop is the Nurata mountains several km North of Bukhara and a rural stop before our next city, Samarkand. Like Bukhara the mountains did not disappoint.
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