Uzbekistan: Khiva

Khiva is really the first stop on our upstream tour of the Silk Road. An important post on the Silk Road, Khiva was razed and rebuilt many times throughout history. Much of what we see today was built/embellished in the 18th & 19th century, long after the decline of the silk trade. By them Khiva was thick into the slave trade. If it were not for the labors of the slaves, Khiva would not have the multitudes of tourists descending upon it today.

Walking around Khiva is like being on a movie set, it is exactly like what one might imagine what a Silk Road post would look like. The core of the inner city consists of palaces, mosques, madrassas, and mausoleums, surrounded by the inner city wall (~3km). There is one marketplace (tim) and one bath (hammam). I imagine most plebeian activities would have taken place between the inner and outer wall, however nothing survived there, save for part of the outer wall.

Just inside the Northern Gate, a former madrasah is now an upscale hotel. Its unfinished Kalta Minor Minaret is more than amazing.








The main street.
voice





A glimpse inside the old mosque.


People live inside the old city, concentrated around the so-called White Mosque and the Southern Gate.










The main square.




Mausolum and tombs.






The 57-meter tall Islom Hoja Minaret.






The market in front of the former Russian school.


Inner City Wall. Some portions of the inner wall contain tombs. Some parts are indergoing repairs. Our hotel had a city wall view.










Outer City Wall.

Uzbekistan: Nukus

From TashKent, we took a flight west to Nukus, located in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan. Nukus itself is a city established only during Soviet time. Our only objective is the much touted State Museum of Art.

With only a casual glance at the collection, one might be mistaken for being at the Musee D'orsay for the colors and styles. Only upon closer inspection, do the very regional and edifying themes of the works reveal themselves. We enjoyed the museum very much, and only wished they had more of their collection on display. One building was completely closed. I later realized the admission fees to the museum is the highest in Uzbekistan, 50% higher than the next highest, the Samarkand Registan, an absolute crown jewel.

Nukus may have changed a lot in recent years. Although the guidebooks make it seem like a desolate place, we had a quick walk around town and it seemed like a perfectly liveable place.

In addition to paintings, the museum displayed some sculptures, textiles, and ceramics by regional artists.








The museum is known for its Russian avant-garde paintings; however only 20 or 30 were on display.












The Aral Sea, which borders Uzbekistan, is drying up. The museum had several rooms dedicated to the people, boats, and waters of the Aral Sea.








Uzbek artists painted the people and activities of the region; families, farming and the Silk Road.




















The two paintings below by Islam Dhahsybaev are related, no?



After the museum, we strolled through the market, and across the river to the new mosque. The market was super busy. We spotted large bundles of cotton for sale.






From the market, it's a short walk across the river to the Muhammad Imam Iyshan Meshiti (Mosque). A young man insisted we let him take our photo. OK.










Then back to our hotel via a park with amusements and fast food.












For dinner, we found a busy corner restaurant with young uniformed English-speaking wait staff, and chowed into a couple of salads and a cheese pida.