Turquoise domes & other delights

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Arrived into Tashkent Airport on the 4th October evening to find no-one at the visa office. After hanging about for 45 minutes and hassling every official looking person I could find, finally a man came up to me, asked for my visa number and passport, and just ran off with them. Before I could stop to wonder if I would ever see my passport again, he was back after 10 minutes with the visa, asked for US$60, and then took himself off again.

Customs was mayhem with every local loaded with all manner of goods. No time to be polite; you've just got to elbow your way through like the post-Xmas sales or you'll be there for hours.

We have travelled to Tashkent, Samarkand, Shaakhrisabz, and Bukhara. I have been totally gobsmacked by the magnificent mosques and medressas in Uzbekistan. There's been a wonderful mixture of restored buildings which gives you an idea of how beautiful they were in their heyday, and those left in their natural state. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I took so many of them that it was difficult to narrow them down - Enjoy!

The countryside has been really interesting too, as one would expect travelling along the Old Silk Route. In one instance you will see vast dusty steppe or sandy desert, and in the next moment - cotton fields, fruit trees and vineyards. We have feasted on lots of shashlyk, salads and fruits (the melons and grapes have been especially delicious).

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Photos

Hast-Imom, Tashkent
With the Friday Mosque in the background

Suzana
Wonderful silk embroidery on cotton cloth

Ceiling detail
In the Museum of Applied Arts in Tashkent

Home cooking
Majority of the group having dinner at a restaurant in a private home in Samarkand.

Guri Amir Mausoleum, Samarkand
Wonderful tile detail at the entrance

Guri Amir ceiling
Directly below are the tombs of Amir Temur (aka Tamerlane), his two sons and two grandsons including Ulughbek (great astronomer).

Guri Amir exterior
We went back after dinner to check out the lights. Dilshod (our guide) convinced the caretaker to let us into the mausoleum again.

Family photo
Outside the Registan in Samarkand.

Ulughbek Medressa
The oldest medressa in the Registan, completed in 1420 by Ulughbek. It contained teaching halls, dormitories, and a large mosque.

Tilla-Kari Medressa
The middle medressa, completed in 1660. Contains a lovely courtyard garden with lots of souvenir shops, and photos of how the Registan looked before it was renovated.

Mihrab
Niche inside the Tilla-Kari mosque facing towards Mecca

Sher Don Medressa
Located opposite the Ulughbek Medressa in the Registan complex; completed in 1636. The entrance portal is decorated with tiger-like animals, which goes against the Islamic depiction of live beings.

Medressa interior
There were 2 levels of dormitories, which are now used as art and souvenir shops.

Iwan
Arched portal in the medressa with fantastic tilework

Bibi-Khanym Mosque
This recently restored mosque was destroyed by an earthquake in 1897.

Sampling sweets
At the Siab Market

Nice hat
Trying on the national skull cap called "dopi".