Mosques, Minarets, Madrassas and Mausoleums

Uzbekistan is where the history of the Silk Road comes alive.

There are countless mosques, minarets, madrassas, mausoleums, palaces, fortresses, bazaars and caravanserais and the sights themselves are interwoven with fascinating history, from ancient conquerors and empire builders such as Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Timur to the 19th  Century struggle for power in the region between the modern empires of Britain and Russia, known as ‘The Great Game’.

There is no camping for us on this section, partly down to government restrictions but also because most of the sights are found in the cities, some of which date back more than two thousand years.

Our first stop was the beautiful town of Khiva, which is virtually a living museum. We spent three nights in a converted Islamic school (known as a madrassa) inside the walls of the old city of Ichon-Qala, and had plenty of time to explore the sights as well as getting a guided tour.

On the Silk Road in Uzbekistan

Our madrassa hotel in Khiva

One of the gateways into Khiva's old town

Kalta Minor

Jodie & Mohamed try out the traditional local dress

Emma, Juan & Angela

Entrance to the Kunha Arc

Juan & Mark buying new footwear from the "slipper lady"

Kathie checks out some silk scarves

Mohamed showed us the sights of Khiva

Dave & Christine in the wood-pillared Juma Mosque

The harem int he Khan's summer palace

Khan solo - Paul is shocked at the lack of women in the harem...

...oh wait, there they are!

Most of us also found time to check out the bustling market that was just outside the mud walls, some saw acrobatic or musical shows, and a few people enjoyed the outdoor cinema which showed movies of classic Uzbek tales (fortunately with English subtitles, though unfortunately without popcorn!).

Statue of Al Khorezmi (the "father of algebra")

Another one of Khiva's beautiful madrassas

The Islam Khoja Mosque and minaret

Some of the group enjoying the outdoor cinema

Steven - loadsamoney!

Khiva market, just outside the city walls

Mark puts Angela to the sword

Puppets and pottery

Amanda takes a sunset stretch on the arc's watchtower

Boney M are showing their age...

View over Khiva

A fairly long and bumpy drive through the Kyzylkum Desert brought us to the city Bukhara. Although it was virtually destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1220, it still contains buildings spanning a millennium of history and our Uzbek guide showed us many of them on a walking tour of the old town.

Watch out it's the police... or is it?

Our hotel in Bukhara

Amanda enjoying the hotel's breakfast buffet

Lyabi Hauz at night

Penelope with an illuminated camel caravan

Be gave us a city tour around Bukhara

Mark reads about Hodja Nasreddin 

Lyabi Hauz pool, the heart of Bukhara's old town

Nadir Divan-Begi Khanaka

Samanid mausoleum

Jonathan & Louise find the cake stall

Emma checks out the local treats in one of Bukhara's markets

Bek tells us about Uzbekistan's flag

Bolo Hauz mosque

Lindsay & Jonathan make friends

The Registan Square and Arc Fortress in Bukhara

Some of Bukhara's many monuments

The Miri-Arab Madrassa

Beautiful turquoise-tiled domes are one of the highlights of Uzbekistan

Emma & Angela

Bukhara is not just a place for marvelling at the monuments, it’s also a great place for shopping. Perhaps the traders and merchandise in the bazaars and shops have changed a little since the days of the Silk Road, but you can still buy everything from exotic spices, through ceramics, metalwork and embroidery, to beautiful silk carpets – so some of the group enjoyed a little ‘retail therapy’.

Engraving artisan in Bukhara

There are plenty of ceramics to buy...

...or spices and gourds

Bird shaped embroidery scissors

Lamps

And local figurines

Watching carpet weavers at work

Sabina shows us some Bukharan silk carpets

Kathie tries out a flying carpet

Jodie at Char Minar

Staying in towns and cities also gave everyone a chance to try the local cuisine and in Bukhara we visited a local house to try the ubiquitous Central Asian rice dish ‘plov’ and watch it being made.

Our local host making plov

The group at a local house for plov making and eating!

Juan inside the house

Paul & plov

Lindsay & Angela, dressed for dinner

Next we travelled on to the fabled Silk Road city of Samarkand, one of Central Asia’s oldest settlements and former capital of the Timurid Empire. Now it is something of a sprawling modern Soviet city, but within it are some amazing historic sights, some of the highlights of Uzbekistan. We visited Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, where Timur himself is buried, the incredible Registan complex, with its spectacular azure domes and mosaic tilework, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, and the Shah-i-Zinda avenue of mausoleums. The area around Samarkand is also known for its wine-making so we paid a visit to the Hovrenko wine factory to sample some of the local wines and cognacs, which was a fun evening.

Russian Orthodox church in Samarkand

Gur-e-Amir

Inside Timur's Mausoleum

Mark and Louise in the Gur-e-Amir

Samarkand's famous Registan complex

Our 2015 Istanbul to Singapore group in front of Registan Square

Sher-dor madrassa

Inside Sher-Dor madrassa

Tilla-Kari madrassa and mosque

Reflections

The Registan

Wine tasting at Hovrenko winery

Ruth & Lindsay try some local cognac

Juan, Mark and Emma enjoy the tasting

Seven down, three to go!

Strange flora (and fauna!) on the streets of Samarkand

Some of the group enjoying cold beers at a local bar

Penelope, all spruced up and ready to go

Somsas baking in a clay oven

White storks are common in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, was once the 4^th largest city in the Soviet Union and is home to over 2 million people. It doesn’t have all the Silk Road monuments and sights of the other towns we have visited but still has plenty of interest.

Louise & Jonathan at the railway museum in Tashkent

Can we keep her?? Jodie with the kitten we found near the hotel

Emma, Angela, Steven & Chris go for ice cream in Tashkent

The crew had to leave early to take Penelope empty over the Kamchik Pass to Fergana, but the group had a day to explore the city and even organized a group ten-pin bowling tournament!

The Odyssey Bowling Team

Jonathan aims for a spare

The winners' podium

The group and local guide took cars from Tashkent over the Kamchik Pass to Kokand, where they visited the Khan’s Palace, then they went to a factory to see the process of silk being made before being re-united with the truck and crew at the hotel in Fergana. After all of the hot weather we’d been having in Uzbekistan, everyone was also quite excited to find that the hotel had a swimming pool.

Juan & Mark at the Kamchik Pass

Silk factory visit

Paul at the hotel pool in Fergana

Ruth, Kathie & Amanda go for an evening dip (and find it a bit colder than Australia!)

After all the hotels and history it was time to leave Uzbekistan and get back to camping and nature, so we headed for the border and on to Kyrgyzstan.