Uzbekistan: Khiva

We arrived in Khiva at night, after that slightly scary plane ride. Khiva is an old city with a high, earthen wall around it. As we approached, we could make out the notches in the wall and barely see the silhouette of the minarets. It felt like it could have been centuries ago.  The walls go all the way around the inner city and have 4 gates, one at each cardinal direction. Khiva was established around the 10th century and was a main trading depot on the Silk Road. Today, there are still 260 people that live inside the old city walls. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and considered a "museum city". Everywhere we went in the city was stunning. 

A crescent moon, a minaret and a murder of crows early in the morning. 

Empty early morning streets.

A man and his wheelbarrow. 

The same man and his wheelbarrow. 

That large tower behind Nic was literally about 10 feet from our hotel door. 

The courtyard of our hotel, which was once a madrasah. 

Nic trying the local hats. 

City walls. 

Our guide for the day, showing us how the local hats work in the summer as sunglasses and in the winter for warmth. We later learned he was a Peace Corps counterpart while PC was in Uzbekistan. 

Puppets for sale. 

This impressive minaret is 29 meters tall. Had it been completed, it would have been 80 meters. 

A private courtyard room. They used the tiled area in the summer, where there was shade and they could catch the north wind, and in the winter they set up a yurt in the sunny courtyard.

A view of the city from the watchtower. 

Our crew in the watchtower. 

A very old well. 

Woman working together to weave silk rugs. 

A carpenter shows us one of the many positions of his book stands. 

Bread is a big part of the Uzbek diet. Before baking, the bread is stamped with any variety of designs, from flowers, like this one, to geometric. 

After being stamped, the bread is sprayed with water and stuck to the inside wall of this very hot earthen oven (you can see the ones inside). When it's done, it is peeled off the side and sold piping hot. 

A very old and spacious mosque with amazing acoustics. 

This may look set up, but we simply stumbled across a coppersmith's shop. He invited us in to have a look. 

Men about town. 

This is a stunning harem. 

The harem from the balcony. 

Nic and I at the end of the balcony corridor. 

The harem ceiling. 

We were so happy to have a recuerdo photo even in Uzbekistan...can't you tell? 

Looking over the city from the top of a minaret. 

Notice the mounds in the lower right corner. These are graves. Before Islam came to the area, and while it was still new there, Zoroastrianism was the main religion. Zoroastrians believe that soil is scared so they built cemeteries above the ground. 

The steps down the inside of the minaret. 

The minaret we climbed. 

This woman wanted her picture taken with Nic so badly she barged right through our group and conversation and sat down right next to him. 

Tifin and a sweet stray flea bag share a moment. 

Taken from the wall. It is so flat there that many people ride single-speed bicycles around town. 

Walking the walls.

What can I say?

The next day we hit the road for an 11 hour bus ride from Khiva to Bukhara. We traveled through one of Uzbekistan's two deserts. For about half the trip, we were following a brand new road that is 80% complete. No one is permitted to drive on this road yet, so we lugged along on what was, at its best, a dirt road, and it's worst no road at all. 

We stopped for lunch not in a town, but literally at one or two cafes in the middle of the desert. We had tea, bread, lagman (a fresh noodle dish), coke and vodka on the patio.

Our bus on the second half (when there actually was a road) of our journey.