Descent into the underworld

Asia » Uzbekistan » Tashkent
July 27th 2005

Published: December 25th 2005

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Metro Ulughbek

The metro is unfortunately one of those places where you are not allowed to whip out your camera.

I wake up with a terrible cold and a running nose. Today's plan is to reach Nukus by air, but the plane does not leave until late in the afternoon. I decide to go sightseeing somewhere and inspect my new map, which has some nice colour photos of interesting places, and point the finger towards Kukeldosch Medressah near the Chor-Su bazar and metro station. The first step is actually reaching the metro, and I decide to give it a try on foot. Sure enough it doesn't take that long, but in doing so the heat has my skin soaked with water.

Since I practised riding the metro with Shoista yesterday it turns out very easy for me to find the proper transfer point at Pachtakor and switch to the Uzbekistan line. However, my plan is foiled as the train refuses to stay at the Chor-Su station and drops me off at Tinchlik instead. My clever compensation to ride the train back again is of course doomed to fail as we swoop by once more and I'm off at Ghafur Ghulom station. I try to ask for directions from a security guard and a gigantic tollboth woman and follow a winding

"Get me a make on a pink pimpmobile"

Where is Felix Leiter when you need him?

dark corridor up to prospect Gadura Gulyama, which seems to be in the absolute middle of nowhere. Sand is blowing in my face but the big brown and yellow silhouettes in the dust are not a those of a camel trading caravan but machinery at a construction site. I wander around aimlessly for a bit until I can see the rooftop of a building I recognize, the Sirk. I head in its direction and seek shelter in the shadow of a large tree and unfold my map again.

First a young Uzbek boy comes up and looks at my map explaining a big "Woooooow!" and points me to the direction of the medressah. A passing Russian expat family visiting their old hometown also confirms the right direction to the old city and accompany me for the short walk to the mosque and medressah which are both just next to the bazar. There's lots of people about, even though the heat is maddening. I walk around the area and wander through the various sections of the bazar. I am thankful my cold is preventing most of the smells from the butcher's stands from overwhelming me and I can walk around

Sirk

My traveller's ego got itself a dent when I, thinking I was completely lost, found out I was standing just behind the Sirk.

in the rather smelly indoor section where dozens of merchants are offering various bloody pulps of goat spare parts.

Finally I need to seek shadow and sit down at the stairs in front of the medressah and watch the people and traffic pass by. Boys with baby carriages selling fresh bread, an old man carrying a big rubber duck, young fashionable Russian and Korean women, an imam and his young aide, policemen resting with their patrol cars in the shadow, an old woman selling bottled water, and so on. This is the first truly magic moment of this journey and a strange feeling of accomplishment comes over me. When the clock nears four I wander back towards the metro again. Passing by the fountains at Sirk the wind suddenly carries the water astray, splashing me all over. Yet in this terrible heat my clothes dry in mere minutes. As I finally make it back to the Malika, Otabek is already there waiting for me.

Even though I am nearly exhausted from my trip I quickly pack my belongings and check out from the hotel. We bargain with a driver to take us downtown before going to the airport.

LuAZ-969M

Also known as the Ukrainian Jeep

Getting a taxi in Tashkent basically means flagging down the first car that stops. You explain where you want to go, and then you bargain for the price. A useful word here is "Skolka?" roughly translating to "how much"? We spend some time walking through a flea market in the park before heading to the airport. I am delighted to learn that the flight to Nukus will be operated by a Yak-40, taking a maximum of 32 passengers. I end up in the back next to the crossword puzzle solving Interior Ministry guard and the flight attendant. Since the flight is peaceful (and the inflight service consists of a glass of juice) we have an opportunity to have a pleasant chat.

Finally arriving in Nukus the sun is already down and it feels decidedly exciting finally being here, in the forgotten realms of Central Asia. We are met by a representative from the Aral Sea Fund and the man who is to be our driver for the coming days. He drives a brand new UAZ 469 Hunter jeep which has me drooling all over it and it looks more than capable to handle the job. We drive the short

A day in the life

journey to Hotel Nukus which looks rather nice, not at all what I had imagined. They drop us off and Otabek and I celebrate our arrival and pending departure with some Asian style fried meat with bread and soup in the hotel restaurant and wash it down with lots of tea. I have decided not to get ill on this trip, so anything fresh will be turned down no matter how appealing it might be.

After some minor discussions on the room rates it turns out that we are being installed in the big suite of the Soviet days, featuring four rooms and two bathrooms and a full complement of mosquitoes. It is impossible for me to sleep so I wander around swatting bloodsuckers like crazy, yet as soon as I put my head on the pillow I hear the maddening whine from yet another one. Trying to escape them by closing the door and pulling the blanket over the head is an even worse idea, as it is impossibly hot. I don't get very many hours of sleep this night.

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Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain...more history