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We Don’t Need No Education….at least not any more!!

Saturday, April 29th, 2006

Wow….the Silk Road and it’s amazingly rich history is really fascinating. This is an area of the world you just don’t learn enough about in Western history classes and we both feel that’s very disappointing. Central Asia, the Silk Road, the power shifts, religious influences, and assimilating cultures all present an opportunity to learn about a truly unique part of the world. Over the past two weeks we have been in awe of depth of this region and look forward to sharing that with each of you.

After our glorious jaunt through golden Samarkand we pointed our camel (well, car) out west to Bukhara, the religious center of all Central Asia. But before we reached Bukhara we made a quick stopover in Shakhrisabz, the hometown of Timur, who is proudly honored in Uzbekistan as the ruler of the vast “Kingdom between Two Rivers” after the fall of Jenghiz Khan’s descendants. Timur is credited with bringing together the many fallen empires to the people of Central Asia and they are extremely proud of his Central Asian origins. The town itself can be seen in the middle of green meadows as you descend from the Zarafshon Mountains and was popularly known as Timur’s summer getaway. It consists of a very small population but the tourist trade is alive and well with proud Uzbeks coming from all over to honor their past leader. The sights are a bit sparse as many of the building, monuments, and mosques where razed by egomaniacal Khan’s after Timur’s descendants lost power in outerlying regions. However, due to the hordes of local tourists you get quite an opportunity to see Uzbek life in a relaxed state. Something we really enjoy is interacting with these local tourists, answering the “Hellos”, and snapping photos of some of the adorable children.

Additionally, the shopping bug finally bit us in Shakhrisabz. As many of you can imagine it is almost impossible for us not to buy everything but we have been budgetarily responsible for too long. In travelling through the old Silk Road towns you can’t avoid the beautiful Suzanes (hand-crafted silk embroidery). Each of these masterpieces has it’s own regional designs, bright colors, and many of the women selling them have had them in their family’s homes for decades. To handcraft a Suzane each family from certain artisans in town take the responsibility of sewing a piece and the a ‘master’ puts them together in their final design. Ceramics, artwork, knives, jewelry, carpets, hats…..they are everywhere you turn and meticulously hand-crafted, locally designed and brightly colored so you can’t possibly avoid them forever. We found that “unavoidable” Suzane just outside Timur’s Crypt and Becca enjoyed playing with the seller’s children while Jeff negotiated the price. Can’t wait to show it off to all of you when we finally have a home of our own, again!

As we have previously mentioned Bukhara is Central Asia’s holiest city and one of the seven Noble Islamic cities of the world. We didn’t have the foggiest idea about those facts and were amazed with the depth of education we received here. Just a few hour jaunt from Shakhrisabz on the famous Silk Road Bukhara seems to be teeming with activity just as it was centuries in the past. While many famous sights were built during Timur’s period in his capital of Samarkand, Bukhara contained (and still does!!) a mosque or medrassah on almost every corner as the Islamic faith entered this region in the early 9th century far before Timur’s and, even, Jenghiz Khan’s rule! Fortunately for us the man’s tomb whom is credited with popularizing Islam as well as studies like art, science, and mathematics throughout Central Asia had been covered by sandstorms before Jenghiz’s armies marched through Bukhara. This allowed us to view one of our favorite architectural structures of the entire trip. Ismail Samoniy’s tomb is delicately constructed with terracotta bricks in creative directions so that the look of the building changes as the sun shifts. We could have stood there and watched it for hours but the rest of Bukhara’s fascinating history was calling us. As we moved through the city we encountered the Great Ark, where the evil 17th-18th century Emirs lived and the Ark plaza where the Emir would employ brutally public executions……we marched up the hundreds of stairs inside the Kalon Minaret to view Bukhara from above….and strolled through many a mosque as Babur educated us on the inner workings of Islam. The evenings in Bukhara allowed us the opportunity to explore the old town with it’s quiet corridors and lively children as well as enjoy the fabulous cuisine of Uzbekistan, Bukharian style.

After a few days in Bukhara we saddled into the camel (or car) again and were off again on the Silk Road to Khiva. As we knew in advance, the trip to Khiva was not a short one. The trip takes you down a tight stretch of highway in the Khorezm province, which is neatly situated between two mighty desert. The drive itself is interesting as you get a chance to view Turkmenistan over the drying Amu Darya river as well as thousands of desert turtles that are slowly negotiating there way across the bumpy highway. It’s quite something to think that many an explorer did this on camel or horse back during the treacherous winters and dry hot summers of Central Asia or to think of the many nomadic herders whom still spend their time frocliking among tumbleweeds and desert snakes.

Khiva is an extremely sleepy town with many different customs from the rest of Uzbekistan as it lays far to the west and was controlled by many different cultures during its history. We arrived fairly late in the evening and settled into our medrassah-turned-hotel (cool, huh!) for the night. In the morning we were introduced to Khiva and its UNESCO-protected, old city of Ichon-Qala. This is a very interesting place in comparison to the other old cities of the Silk Road we have encountered. The Khan of Khiva in the 1800’s decided to relinquish his town to the Russians after much subterfuge in order to spare many of the historical relics. This act saved the beautiful Khivan monuments from the complete demise of many of the other city’s monuments. Additionally, the Russians found it a wonderful money making opportunity during their reign over these lands. The ancient inner city is completely restored and well cared after by the locals. The past and current governments have limited city-dwellers to only those families who have resided there for previous centuries so the streets are empty until the tour buses empty out at the western city gate. And on Sunday afternoon that they did!!! The streets were packed with school kids and teens and as usual we stuck out like two sore thumbs. Now, if you ever want to know what it feels like to be a celebrity enter a scenario such as this. You are constantly bombarded with stares, snickers, and unsolicited photos. Frequently, teen age girls and guys will giggle while they try to figure out how to ask for a picture with you. We enjoy being as accommodating as possible and offering to take a few pictures with ‘our fans’….especially Jeff when he is swarmed by the local harem. As we only had a solo day in Khiva we made it worth it by enjoying a great local meal for lunch, viewing the city from far above in the Minaret (yes, another climb!!), meandering through the Khan’s old harem quarters where four wives and forty concubines resided, and finally hearing about the local legend of patron saint, Pahlavon Mohammad, a Khivan champion wrestler who lost his only match in order to appease his opponent’s dying mother.

The history lesson finished and the western Uzbek section of the Silk Road fully explored we jumped a plane back to Tashkent and met Tahir, our guide for the onward journey to Eastern Uzbekistan and the Uzbek-Kyrgyz border of Dostlik.

It’s Mutton, Honey!! (Get It?)

Monday, April 24th, 2006

We realize our writings have been a bit deliquent but we have returned to the world of high-speed internet access and the friendly confines of a Russian-run internet cafe to relay the stories, sights, and education we have experienced over the past 10 days.

Our Silk Road Adventure started April 16th in luxurious style (apricot juice in champagne glasses on arrival) at the Markazy Hotel, smack dab in the middle of Tashkent. Now, we had already experienced quite a bit of Tashkent including the National History Museum, Tashkent Tower, and Friendship Square so we were ready for something new. Courtesy of C.A.T.S., our local Uzbek guide company we hooked up with Babur (of previous mention) and begin our 25 day catered adventure. Yea…that’s right, no dissecting city streets, confused ‘Language Barrier’ looks, unknowingly stepping into a crappy dining experience, or finding various modes of transportation….we paid the money and were ready to be waited on. Babur and our driver, Mr Abdur Rashid exceeded expectations!!

Our first order of business was getting a look at old city Tashkent, the real Tashkent, before departing on the Silk Road. Babur introduced us to the dominant religion of Tashkent and Uzbekistan with a trip to the Islamic Institute, a viewing of one of five original Osman Korans (7th century) and Kukeldash Medrassah, one of two working National medrassahs. This was quite an different educational endeavor after months and months of Buddhism. The Kukeldash Medrassah actually has a public relations director that meets you as you enter. He generously takes the time to walk you through the educational process of the school, from computer classes to Koran studies. Afterwards, Babur enlightened us with his knowledge of traditional Muslim architecture from minarets to medrassahs to mosques as well as the different styles of artistic design from different historical periods…more to come on this later!! Most fascinating was our trip through the Chorsu (English translation:Four Roads) Bazaar which was our first encounter with an actual Silk Road reality. The people, the colors, the smells, the commerce……wow!! After some of our other Asian bazaar encounters this was a CLEAN, unintrusive undertaking that we relished as we sampled and purchased many of the tastes that made this trade route so famous. Next stop (and the last in Tashkent) was Gulnara B and B for a true home-cooked Uzbek meal.

Let’s take some time to introduce you to Uzbek cuisine. Start with a platter full of multiple fresh salads that you can choose from. Everything from the best tomatoes you’ve ever tasted to mayonaisse-cumin mixed julienned veggies to fresh stalks of dill and coriander. At the same time you also get to sample endless amounts of regionally-specialized bread. Uzbekistan is not for the Atkins dieter. The bread is really unavoidable and since it varies from region to region you have to try it all, right? Next, soup!! We can’t say that we had any soup that didn’t have a chunk of mutton in it…..well, wait a minute maybe one, nope ALL!! These are very tasty soups even with the mutton….they include anything from fresh giant yellow carrots to crispy potatoes to dumpling filled with what else…..mutton. Region to region they are all fabulous and again…you’ve got to try them all!! After soup it’s usually a choice of three things….plov (rice with veggies and mutton), shashlyks (meat BBQ’d over a thin rail of hot coals) or samsas (giant bread envelopes of meat and veggies)……sometimes ALL THREE!!! Yes, we are eating well! and packing on the LBS to prove it, check the photos. Thanks to Babur are introduction has been all-encompassing and we are happy to say this food rivals any other cuisines we’ve tasted even if mutton is ever-present. We would be remiss if we didn’t mention the bevvies as they each add a distinction of Central Asian culture. Black tea to warm up, green tea to cool down, vodka at every meal, and regional beer…..YUM….don’t forget the world’s second most recognized (1st..NY Yankees) brand, Coca-Cola!

Okay…now that you are hungry let’s get on the road to Samarkand, cultural capital of Uzbekistan. Ah….mystical Samarkand, home to one of the most coveted sights in Central Asia, the Registan Square, as well as many other historical sights to see. In structured education style Babur first took us to visit the tomb of Uzbek hero, Emir Timur, to begin our Central Asian historical lesson. Timur is to Central Asia what Alexander the Great was to Macedonia and Jenghis Khan to the Mongols. In fact, Babur’s (our guide) namesake is Timur’s grandson whom installed the Mughal Dynasty in India for a 300-year reign. Obviously with a stature like this the nationalist Uzbeks and all Central Asians allow Timur to dominate the sights of almost every Uzbek city. After seeing many of Samarkand’s sights (we won’t list them all) we were awe-struck with the artistic design, architectural enormity, and completely unique international style. A few of our favorites were Shakhi-Zinda…a underground necropolis built for Timur’s female dynasty, and the Sherdor (Lion) Medrassah with its towering domes and gorgeous Timurid-style 16th century mosaics.

We tremendously enjoyed soaking up all the history and information especially the dynastic changes and religion. We were shocked at the breadth of world powers that wanted into Central Asia…why?? What is here?? Well, mountains filled with gold, marble, and endless supplies of gypsum….plains encrusted with oil, salt, and fresh subterranean water…and most importantly for world conquering armies, miles upon miles of green grass and vegetation for those hungry horses and soldiers. The history is extremely long but begins with Alexander’s entry in 300 BC continues with Arab invasions, Persian occupation, Jenghis Khan, Timur, Turkic rulers, and all the way up to the giant Khanates that ruled before the Giant White Army from Tsarist Russia took it all away. All though each culture added to the historical depth of this area we were really saddened to see what destructive armies do to regional treasures when conquering lands. Most of the sights have been restored delicately but really the only way to avoid destruction is to either build below land or hope the sand swallows up your structure before the invaders arrive….guess you can’t do that with a 45 meter high Minaret.

Additionally, the religious transitions and adoptions has been amazing. But enough of our historical brain dump (Can you tell we have been learning new things non-stop for 10 days?) for now….we will wait on our religious diatribe for when we reach the religious capital of Central Asia (as well as one of 7 noble Islamic cities)….Bukhara!

 

Back to The Future!!!

Monday, April 24th, 2006
What an arrival into Uzbekistan!!! The lovely state-run Uzbekistan Airways flew us in on a gorgeous Boeing 777-ER (Thanks for such a comfortable ride, Dad!) over the breath-taking Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges. It's really quite shocking to continue ... [Continue reading this entry]

Pictures of the Plan B Adventure

Friday, April 14th, 2006

Hello readers.....

As we have been documenting our trip on this blog we have also been posting additional pictures on another website. The link to that website is located on the lower, right-hand side of this page under the title Our ... [Continue reading this entry]

Becca: “I’m never eating Indian food again!!”

Monday, April 10th, 2006
Back in the present-day capital city of Beijing after a wonderful four day visit to Xi'an, the old capital of China. Considered a medium sized city in China, Xi'an is home to over 7 million inhabitants and we walked the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Loyal Fan Technology FYI

Saturday, April 8th, 2006
Ok folks...we are going to (in the cheesy words of that chef you all know and love) "kick it up a notch"!! You can now receive email updates when we post to our website. With a few simple set-up steps ... [Continue reading this entry]

The ‘Friendlies’ Invade Beijing and the Great Wall

Wednesday, April 5th, 2006
"Welcome to Beijing", we hear as we step off the painless, China Southern flight from Hanoi. Little did we know.....those would be the last English words we would hear in our week visiting Beijing, the capital of China. No just ... [Continue reading this entry]