Bukhara

The train ride between Samarkand and Bukhara was pretty similar to the first one we took, except there were fewer snacks on offer. The trip was smooth and uneventful, just the way we like it!

The train station in Bukhara is unexpectedly far from the city, and we were surprised to see lots of empty shops and mud/gravel streets. Apparently this is because there is a lot of renewal in the area so streets are being rebuilt and new hotels are being constructed.

We arrived at the hotel Valida which is a gorgeous guesthouse, which like everything in the area, had to tie into the character of the old town. There were ornate geometric iron balustrades, moulded and coloured cornices, intricately painted feature walls – lovely!

Our guide met us at the hotel for a walking tour of the old town. We saw a plethora of restored buildings with the signature blue tiles, mosques, caravanserais, madrasah, a caravanserai that was mistakenly pronounced to be a madrasah by the imam doing the launch, so a madrasah it became.

Being an important stop on the Silk Road, there are a number of the old trading domes restored and now used for shops. In fact, building on what we saw in Samarkand, pretty much everything that wasn’t a working mosque had shops in it.

The standout sight of the first day was the Death Tower square, which houses two facing madrasah and a tall minaret that apparently our pal Genghis Khan didn’t knock over because as he looked up at it, his hat fell off and he bent down to pick it up, thus bowing to the tower. It’s not all fun and games though – the reason it’s sometimes called Death Tower is that as well as being a watchtower and spot to call to prayer, one of the emirs apparently threw people off the too when he wanted to execute them. Ugh!

We waved goodbye to our guide and headed into the cultural show at the madrasa in the main square, our tour company having bought our tickets in advance. Unfortunately we had some dramas with the staff believing we had prepurchased tickets which put a damper on the evening, but the music, dance and fashion parade were enjoyable. Afterwards we headed to the closest restaurant for dinner.

Our second day involved a second tour, starting off out of the old town at a mosque and mausoleum which didn’t usually see a lot of tourists, judging by the surprised looks and requests for photos we got from the locals there.

Another stop was the Summer Palace, which is a mix of influences from all over the place, and included a bunch of peacocks, and a many-windowed tea room looking out over the gardens.

We also visited a very different mausoleum, decorated in geometric brick work rather than the tiles we’ve come to expect.

Our final stop was the Ark Fortress, the huge walled city within the city. This is still in stages of being dug up and restored, so there are a variety of museum areas (and shops) and then a photo spot looking out over the city from the dig.

In the evening we wandered out for a bit of a souvenir hunt. After walking through the trade domes and squares, I stepped into one of the high end silk shops, accidentally organising to have an ikat robe made for me that night, since we were leaving in the morning.

While we waited, we stopped into an alleyway restaurant called Aladdin for dinner, which had music and dance, and also a bunch of stray cats and kittens begging for food. Everything we could have hoped for!

Next stop, Khiva.