March 19, 2004 - April 03,2004

Day 11  Monday  March 29, 2004                                                                 
Buchara, Uzbekistan
Submitted by Bob & Carol Okano 
For more pictures from Bob and Carol please click here

  Different religions contributed to the wealth of culture in Buchara        

We spent the entire day touring the old town of Bukhara.  Our guide, Dilya (“Heart” in Tajik) Ilfusah was the best!  Her knowledge and explanations were superb.  Bukhara compares to one’s imagination of a major Silk Road city—imposing city wall, beautiful tiled facades of mosques and madrassahs, turquoise domes, minarets, and bazaars.  It was declared a World Heritage city in 1994 and celebrated it’s 2500th anniversary in 1997.  Its land area of about 2400 square kilometers is surrounded by desert. The city’s population of 350,000 are predominantly Tajik and the languages spoken are Tajik and Persian. There is a modern section of the city as well as the old historic part.  The population of the region is about 1,300,000.  Bukhara experienced two “golden ages”, the first during the Samanid dynasty in the ninth century and the second under the Timurids, a century after the Mongol invasion in the thirteenth century.We started the tour at the Ark Fortress which has always held the palace for rulers.  It is an imposing structure that adjoins the city wall and faces the Registan Square where important activities of the city took place. 

 The fortress was severely destroyed by Russian military activity and now only 10% has been preserved as a museum.  The present form of the Ark is from the 16^th century when it housed over 3000 persons, the emir and his family and those engaged in government functions.  The interior is reached through the main gate on the Registan Square and up a narrow ramp lined with cells and torture chambers. 
We started our visit of the Ark at the small Friday Mosque that is now a museum of calligraphy.  It was restored in the 1920’s and the ceiling was recently painted with a colorful design.  Carved wooden pillars with deep stalactite works at the top support the “iwan” (portico).  We took a quick look at the ongoing archaeological excavations near the mosque and was able to get a glimpse of our hotel in the distance from the site.  We next came to the “chorsu” or crossroads of buildings.  To the left was the Coronation Hall and to the right would have been the stables.  Opposite the mosque that we had just visited was the Greeting or Reception Room.  The Coronation Hall or Throne Room  is mostly empty now but would have been lined with carpets.  A base where a throne would have been placed is located opposite the entrance.  It was last used for the coronation of Sahil Alim Khan in 1911.  Curiously, the door to the mint and treasury are in the Coronation Hall.  Through the chorsu are more rooms leading to the living quarters and harem.  They currently contain artifacts and collections of historical items.  In one of the rooms we saw an original mural depicting figures practicing Zoroastrianism, one of the ancient religions that engaged in fire worship.
Across the Registan Square from the Ark we saw the beautiful Bolo Hauz Mosque and minaret which are undergoing restoration.  Its 39-foot high “iwan” is supported by many gracefully carved wood pillars and the ceiling has been painted with elaborate colorful designs. 

We took a break from looking at history to visit a bakery in the old town.  The common round bread that we have had at every meal was made there.  In the center of the flat round of dough a design is stamped with a wooden tool that is imbedded with thin spikes about an inch long.  A worker with “asbestos” hands slaps the shaped dough onto the side of the stone oven that is heated by gas jets.  The warm bread was delicious!

The Abdul Aziz Madrassh and the Ulug Beg Madrassah are “kosh” or double madrassahs, meaning they face one another.  The Abdul Aziz, built in the 17^th century and has not been restored is the more decorated of the two.  The Iranian-influenced designs included colorful mosaic vases on the side panels of the entrance.  The madrassah of Ulug Beg, the grandson of Timur, built in the 15^th century, reflected the ruler’s interest in science by its geometrical designs.  The cells in this madrassah are used by craftsmen. 

Kalon Minaret is one of the symbols of Bukhara.  It stands 155 feet high,  23 feet across at the top and 30 feet across its base. The latest minaret at that location was built in the 12^th century.  The minaret rises from an octagonal base through ten bands of decorative brickwork, each of a different design.  At one time it was called the “Tower of Death” because criminals would be put into a sack and thrown to their deaths. The top may be reached by 105 steps.

The Kalon Mosque, a huge open-air mosque that can hold 10,000 persons, is the largest in Central Asia.  It is the Friday mosque for Bukhara and is also used for holidays.  The interior of the mosque is a plaza, 415 feet by 255 feet, of white stone surrounded by a tiled, arched colonade on all sides.  The mihrab niche, topped by a turquoise dome, has a prominent tiled face and is made of decorative gilded tiles.  Behind the colonade are bricked archways that support many 288 smaller domes.     

The Mir-i-Arab Madrassah that faces the Kalon Mosque is a prominent active madrassah for boys.  Of  the two hundred madrassahs that existed in Bukhara before the arrival of the Russians, only two remain, one for boys and the other for girls.  The Mir-i-Arab has a tall beautifully tiled portal flanked by two turquoise domes that cover a mosque and a lecture hall.  The first floor contains the classrooms and library and the second floor is living quarters for the students.  Students that have finished secondary school enroll there for religious studies only.  Then they may go on to Tashkent Islamic University.  Currently, two hundred boys from all of Central Asia study there.

We had lunch at one of the restaurants in the residential area.  While waiting in the bus after lunch we watched a funeral procession go by.  The coffin, covered with a white cloth, was carried and accompanied only by men.

Bukhara was the center for crafts such as pottery, weaving, jewelry making, embroidery, marble work and metal work.  Practicing these crafts was not allowed during the Soviet era.  Today three of the original bazaars survive, the Jeweller’s Bazaar, the Cap Maker’s Bazaar and the Moneychanger’s Bazaar.  Many small workshops and shops abound in the original bazaars, mosques and caravanserai.  They enjoy a favorable tax status.  We visited a silk weaving workshop and watched the tedious process of weaving with silk threads.  We were able to purchase beautiful ikat scarves and fabrics.

After an afternoon of intense shopping we met at the Lyab-i-Hauz that symbolizes the original chaikhana or tea house.  It is a place where people came to relax and visit with friends and enjoy a cup of tea.  The center of the complex is a shallow pool with 500-year old mulberry trees surrounding it.  Near the complex is the Nadir Divanbegi Madrassah whose portal is faced with colorful mosaics depicting two fantasy birds clutching white does under a smiling sun.  Near the madrassah is another statue of Khodja Nasreddin, the wise man of Central Asia, sitting on his donkey. We hurried back to the hotel to take in a musical show presented in the auditorium.  A troupe of eight or nine musicians played native instruments and sang while dancers in elaborate native costumes performed.  The show concluded with models dressed in the beautiful silk fabrics of the area.  Dinner in the hotel ended a very busy day!