Playing chess on a street of Bukhara

Shah-i Zindah Tombs

It is a magic place! One feels like seating and staying, and breathing the calm and the tranquility of the place, looking at the colors, the forms, the textures of the materials around us. Just to stay and contemplate for a long time, to get soaked with calm.

The Shah-i-Zindah complex includes mausoleums and other ritual buildings of 9-14th and 19th centuries. Its main entrance gate dates back from the first half of the XV century. The ensemble includes about twenty buildings. The complex is set on a hillside, the buildings set along narrow alleys, up and down the hill. Some of them are in naked bricks, others are covered, both inside and outside, by intricately elaborated and colorful patterns of mosaics.
We spent hours there watching everything over and over again.

 

  

Faces of Uzbekistan

Central Market of Samarkand

Situated next to the mosque and mausoleum of Bibi-Khanum, the central market of Samarkand is a place not to be missed. Apart from the vegetables and fresh fruits, there are nuts and dried fruits, traditional sweets and bread that come from various regions of Uzbekistan and other parts of Central Asia. There are also a few stalls and stands with local huts and clothes.

Around the market, there are chai-khanas (pavilions for tea drinking) that are filled with the atmosphere of Uzbek hospitality. People that are drinking their tee invite us to join and start a "conversation" that does not require words.

Characteristic Samarkand bread - "obi-non"

Selling huts

Eating and drinking in a chai-khana

A family in a chai-khana

 

Inviting us to join

 

He is watching over the Shah-i Zindah Tombs

A guard of the Shahr-i Zindah Mausoleum at Samarkand

A lovely hotel in Bukhara

If you go to Bukhara, Lyabi House is the place to stay. We spent three nights there and we loved it. Located in the Old Town, it combines authentic old-Bukhara design with modern amenities and friendly efficient service. Highlights are the spectacular dining room and an imposing aivan with carved wooden columns where breakfast is served.

Lyabi House Hotel : the aivan

The dining room of Lyabi House Hotel

Detail of the dining room of Lyabi House Hotel

Lyabi House

How easy it is to travel

We got a very cheap flight (around 500 Euros) to Tashkent, via London and Moscow. Because we were arriving late, we booked rooms in advance at Poytaht Hotel that turned out to be a fair place to stay a couple of nights. We did not reserve or organize anything else. We did not find any difficulty in getting around or finding accommodation. There is a cute train running between the main cities and there are many nice and affordable hotels.  Everybody tries to help; even if they only speak Uzbek and/or Russian (only young people speak a few words of English). But there is no problem at all: it is amazing how we could have long talks and the information could be effectively exchanged without saying a single word! And everybody wants to talk and to help. Last, but not the least, it is a very peaceful and safe place for travellers. Unfortunately, the situation for locals is different and non-governmental human rights watchdogs have repeatedly expressed concern about wide-scale violation of basic human rights.