Bukhara: Day 1

Bukhara, located on the Silk Road, has been known as a city of merchants, a city of trade for literally thousands of years. Bukhara means "cloister" or "monastery" in Persian. Before we got to town, we were told that Samarkand (the town we left yesterday) was like a beautiful woman with make-up, and that Bukhara was a beautiful woman without make-up. This was a fairly appropriate comparison, as you will soon see...

Our first stop of the morning was built in the late 9th, early 10th century, called the Mausoleum of Ismoil Samoniy. He was the first representative of the dynasty that occurred after the Arabs, the Samkoniy Dynasty. That period was described as the Golden period of Central Asian history.





Our next stop was another mausoleum. It was the Mausoleum of Chashma-Ayub, built in the 12th-14th centuries. He did something important, but my claustrophobia got the best of me and I couldn't listen to the guide's description inside the small, crowded space...


Then we walked to what is called the 40-pillared mosque (even though there are only twenty). It is called the 40-pillared mosque because if you view it from across the pond, it reflects and makes 40. Its true name is Bolo-Xauz, and was built in the 18th century.








Those of you who know her may be able to spot Holly in this last picture (above).

We then walked to the Fortress Ark. It was the winter palace of all Bukhara rulers, and dates back to the 1st to 4th centuries. It was destroyed and rebuilt several times throughout history, and was last rebuilt in the 16th century.


Our last stop of the morning was the Chor Minor. It used to be a madrasah, but unfortunately all that is left now is the entrance, which was built in the early 19th century. Chor means "four" in Persian and minor means "minaret". No surprise that it has four minarets! It is currently being used as a shop.


We then had lunch at the hotel, and then set out in the afternoon to the outskirts of town. There we saw the Sitorai, or Mokhi-Hossa, which was the summer palace of the last ruler of Bukhara. The name means "the stars like the moon". The outer parts were built in the middle of the 19th century, and the rest at the beginning of the 20the century. I thought the inside was awful, and extremely tacky. Part of the palace (the harem) was converted into a museum which displayed several suzani (the hand-embroidered wall coverings described previously).





We then went to what was described as a traditional dance show. At the beginning of the show, I felt that I could have been in 1,001 Nights, but it quickly devolved into nothing more than a fashion show, shamelessly featuring the wares of a local shop, which was unfortunate because it really could have been something special...

We then went to a local house were we were treated to a cooking demonstration, followed by a delicious meal! After copious amounts of vodka, we made our way back to the hotel and went to sleep to prepare for the next day's sights!


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