Amelia Hotel Bukhara

"Yout" camps or non-nomadic nomads<br><br>Friday October 16, 2009<br><br> We are heading out of town today to spend the night at a &#8220;yout&#8221; camp. Took me a bit to realize that our guide meant Yurt Camp. I had spent a night in Mongolia in a yurt camp and enjoyed it as the scenery was grand, the camp gave us some real insight into nomad life and our guide regaled us ...

... This was a 1718 mosque and built by the Emir. Its main part of glory was its 20 columns in the front holding up the outside ceiling. There was a very skuzzy pond in front of this mosque and at the point when it was built and being used, this pond was probably clean and lovely and thus this mosque became known also as the mosque of 40 columns because its columns were reflected in the pond. Well, the columns are ...

Inevitably at some point on every part of the journey, language fails me. In fact, I could spend the next decade searching the English language for enough superlatives to be able to give Samarqand it's due praise, and I would still come up short. Words like 'magnificent', 'awesome' and 'spectacular' sound so trite and cliche at the footsteps of the domes and facades that ornament this ancient city. I don't even know how to describe the exquisite beauty of it's ...

... br>We drove across a vast expanse of cotton fields on route to our next accomodations in the Kizulkum desert. Cotton is one of Uzbekistan&#8217;s major exports, as well as silk. While it is the fourth largest producer of silk in the world, it is the number one exporter of silk &#8211; most of it going not to the fashion industry, but rather towards the production of parachutes! While mulberry trees line the fields (each farmer is required to grow mulberry, as its branches are ...

... the mosques. The square between the buildings was alive with young guys playing football or kids circling on their bicycles. The odd tourist marveled at the 360 degree spectacle that accosted their senses from every direction.<br><br>One of the main attractions, set amongst the medressa and Kalon Mosque, is the famous Kalon Minaret. Sprouting some 47 metres out of the ground the 850 year old minaret boasts the first use of glazed blue tiles, which today are omnipresent throughout Central ...

... russian military regalia, jewellery and countless carpets. Happily, these markets are used as much by the locals as they are by travellers in search of souvenirs. Lunched around the Lyabi Hauz &#8211; the central pool area &#8211; and finally got around to eating some shashlikh. Another central asian tradition, it is very good, but essentially it's just meat on a stick.

... Again as in Khiva the locals have been moved out so the real feel of the city is lost and you are forced to use your imagination. I preferred the local markets and bazaars in Iran and Libya to these Ye Olde Worlde empty versions. <br><br>Bukhara was the capital of the Saminid state in the 9th and 10th centuries and was known as the pillar of Islam. Jeghis Khan beat the city into dust in 1220 and the city only came back to life in ...

... we did have BBC television. That WAS a plus. And how could we complain - we were so fortunate to be in one of the most romantic and historic cities in the world!<br><br>Sometimes too, we felt that we only saw the negative side of things because on many occasions we were absolutely exhausted. I laughed one day with Alan that I knew I was getting tired when the lack of perforations in the toilet paper stressed me out!<br><br>This was my first encounter with the Uzbekistan Internet. An ...

... This sort of generosity has been a common occurrence for us during our travels.<br><br>For five hours we drove at breathtaking speed through the Kyzylkum Desert from Khiva to Bukhara. Kyzylkum means &#8220;red sand&#8221; (as opposed to the Karakum &#8211; &#8220;black sands&#8221; of Turkmenistan). The desert was dead flat and hot. Naim told us that temperatures here can soar to over 50 degrees C. And we were blasted by a hot furnace of air through the open ...

... the usual longdrops but these had resident stag beetles - or should that be dung beetles as they were at the bottom of the drop and living in the poo. When I went to the loo quite late on I thought the ones I could hear was a rat as it rustled about in the paper below me. No exaggeration it's body was at least 6/7 cms long, as seen by my head torch. At least it wasn't a rat. There was a complimentary camel ride included too but I think only one person took up the offer. It was ...