Khiva Decorative Architecture

Khiva is smaller than Bukhara or Samarkand, but its architecture and decoration are just as impressive, intricate, and exuberant. From our MIR tour brochure:

"It was for hundreds of years a stop on the old Silk Road and a fortress town, but it was not until the 16th century that Khiva became the capital of the Khorezm Khanate. The khanate ruled the surrounding area for over 300 years, and was a well-known slave-trading center. To- day, Khiva evokes a most remote and exotic feel with its compact old walled city full of minarets, a khan’s fort, cobbled alleys, mosques and tombs. "

Khiva Celebration

A festival was beginning as we entered Khiva, and the exuberant dancers and musicians seemed to be really enjoying themselves.

Khiva Multitudes

From Bukhara we drove across the Kyzl Kum Desert to Khiva. As we entered the outskirts of Khiva, we saw a huge pile of melons for sale by the side of the road. (Melons are among the real treats of Uzbek food - sweet and succulent.) A little while later, having checked in to our hotel and walked a few blocks to the old walled city where a festival was beginning, I saw a long line of young men, sitting and waiting to begin their dancing.  The structural similarity of the two scenes leads me to juxtapose these two pictures.

Bukhara Doors

 The houses and shops on the back streets of Bukhara have some wonderful carved wooden doors. Here is a selection.

Bukhara Folk Music and Dance

 On our last evening in Bukhara, we were entertained by traditional musicians and dancers.

Bukhara Puppet Master

A few short, winding Bukhara streets from the suzani master, we visited the workshop and display room of a puppet master. In the last two photos, our tour leader, Abdu, is helping the puppeteer display his work.

Suzani Master

"Suzani" is the Persian word for embroidery, an art form which has been taken to a very high level in Uzbekistan. We were taken to the workshop/museum/salesroom of one of the great masters of the craft, in one of the back alleys of Bukhara, whose creations range in size from pillow cases to room-size rugs. Our tour group members indulged themselves.

Bukhara Bazaars and Zindan Prison

The first four photos sample the variety of fine arts and crafts on display in the Bukhara bazaars.  

For contrast, the exhibit below is from the infamous Zindan Prison and its even more infamous “bug pit,” or “black hole,” the cell where two of Britain’s finest Great Game players, Colonel Charles Stoddart and Captain Arthur Conolly were imprisoned before their execution.

The Disappearing Aral Sea

We had a mid-morning coffee in a cafe near this interesting water tower with sight-seeing deck in Bukhara. In the lobby of the tower is this terrifying series of pictures of the Aral Sea, formerly the world's 4th largest lake by area, as it was shrunk, by drainage and source diversion, to irrigate cotton farming in the former Soviet Union over 60 years. 

Bukhara: 10th C Mausoleum

The Samanid Mausoleum in Bukhara, which dates from the 10th C, is remarkable for its age and for the complexity and variety of its brickwork.

Bukhara: Amelia Hotel Scenes

We stayed in the delightful little Amelia Hotel in Bukhara, with a full-length mural in our room, lavishly decorated public rooms, and very helpful staff.