Mosaics, Mosques, Minarets, Museums, Mausoleums, Medressa

Mosaics, Mosques, Minarets, Museums, Mausoleums, Medressa – they’re all here in abundance in Uzbekistan.

Tashkent is a fairly modern city as a result of largely being rebuilt after an earthquake in the 60’s. Among other attractions, it has a great bazaar, some nice parks to wander, and a metro system to get to these places. The metro was designed as a nuclear shelter and unfortunately no pics are allowed so we can’t show you the pretty designs inside some of the stations.  An introduction to the great buffet breakfasts to come throughout our stay in Uzbekistan, plov (a version of pilaf or fried rice) for lunch, and Vietnamese, Indian, Italian or local dishes for dinner – take your pick. A few of us attempted to hunt down a once ‘Lonely Planet rated’ Syrian restaurant,  a mission that took us round back streets of Tashkent, walking kilometres and working up an appetite in the process. Unfortunately we found it had closed down, perhaps when Syria also closed down? Anyway, a blessing in disguise as it led us back to a great Italian restaurant called Amaretto, complete with live violinist, Vino classico, soon to become legendary, and good pasta and pizza.

Jacq's curious fan club

Nigel H

Tashkent's Chorsu Bazaar

Next stop was Samarqand with one of our best hotels of the trip thus far – and 3 days to explore. You’ve heard about the wine tasting, which was the beginning of a super evening and a fun start to our time in Samarqand, despite the pretty terrible wine.

Ann H

Ann S & Teresa

Anne W

Cathy & Toby

Next day saw us walking around the city sights, starting with the Registan Square - medressas and mosaics, once the commercial and trading centre of Samarqand, it’s architecture and design is beautiful, inside and out. The striking turquoise domes are decorated on their inside with finely detailed designs, often in gold.

The history of the area is rather overwhelming and hard to keep up with, for some of us, but the sights are no less magical. The Bibi-Khanym Moque, Ulugbek’s Observatory, and the Shah-I-Zinda and Guri Amir Mausoleums. Such grand burial chambers. What was particularly moving about the Shah-I-Zinda was to see the graves of citizens alongside the tombs of the rich and famous.

We had another fun couple of nights out and in, in Samarqand. Some discovered an Armenian restaurant that served the biggest kebabs to date, and at the invitation of a rather glamorous lady also enjoying a night out at this particular restaurant, we joined her on the ‘dance floor’ in the small area between the tables.

My, what a big kebab you have there Nigel C!

Jacq’s birthday was also celebrated in Samarqand with a cheese and wine (or snacks and drinks, leave out the Uzbek wine) in the courtyard of the hotel.

Nigel H, Jacq, Norm, Al & Simon

Toby, Paul S, Nigel C & Andrew P

From there it was on to Bukhara, with Calypso sporting a lovely new front window after a small incident with a stone...

Simon affixing the new window