We arrived! We rested (this was very much needed) and then were ready to go. Alongside Amelia we had a local guide Tanya for the day. After lunch we headed out to our first site of the trip.
Museum of Applied Arts, pulling up alongside a quite an unassuming building we entered a lovely courtyard with an oak tree providing the only shade. The exhibits of suzani and jewellery led us round and museum and gave a small taste of the culture.
Suzani
Next up was The Khast Imam Complex. This is a vast square surrounded by a couple of minarets, a mosque, the Abu Bakr Mohammed Kaffal Shasi (16th Century) and the Barak Khan Madrasah (16th Century).
Khast Imam Complex
One of the funniest things about Uzbekistan is that many if not most of the madrasahs are now filled with tiny shops selling an array of souvenirs and local items.
We saw many of them over the whole trip but it was as exciting as it was the first time stepping into these tiny shops to see what was on offer. Stuart did make the first purchase of the trip from a man selling many wooden Koran stands. Not that Stuart brought a Koran stand but a phone stand. The man had one for iphones, one for Samsungs and so on! (The stand has brought about many conversations in the office back home!)
The Muyie Mubarak Library, home to the world’s oldest Koran was unfortunately closed when we visited – much to the annoyance of Tanya after she ran across the square to try and get us in! Hopefully we will be able to visit this site too one day!
Lucky Pumpkins
The last stop of the day was a brief walking tour through the Chorsu Bazzaar – our first taste of an Uzbek market. It didn’t disappoint, stall upon stall of meats, vegetables, fruits, clothing and lots and lots of non! Uzbekistan knows how to do markets!
Inside the Bazzaar
Orange Lemons
After dinner in the outdoors we headed back for some well earned rest!
Happy Travelling!
Up next from Uzbekistan:
What else we have been up to:
