Well I am on a “5 Stans Tour” think of it as all the Stan’s except “Afgani” and Paki” although there is also “Dagi” but nobody goes there without body armor on.
Think of it as a trip along the Silk Road well the middle bit anyway.
We are starting in Uzbekistan not overly big it is the 56th country by size and 41st by population at 30 million.
We are starting in Uzbekistan not overly big it is the 56th country by size and 41st by population at 30 million.
It used to be part of the Russian federation but gained (gained mmm) independence 31st August 1991. Economy Cotton, Gold, Uranium, Natural Gas.
It is double land locked which means all the countries surrounding it are also landlocked. (there are only 2 of these which is the other one).
It contains the Jewels of the Silk Road Khiva, Buchara and Samarkand which traditionally belonged to Tajikistan however Stalin who decided borders put them in Uzbekistan.
There are emerging as a nation in their own right but still retain some of the paranoia of their past masters which was shown by them stopping one of our tour after she took a photo in a metro station and making her delete it not sure what they were hiding down there but whatever it’s thier country.
Today we visit the capital which is neatly laid out with quite a few new buildings which are a feature of the “Stan’s” as they start to spend some of the oil / gas money which is flowing in very fast these days.
On the other side there are lots and lots of the tatty old three story Russian style of building I was used to seeing around the Moscow region.
A fleeting tour of the “old city” and I mean fleeting we only saw one sort of back entry and so starved for something of significance we all took several pictures of a car which pulled up
Next was the Chorsu Bazaar which is one of those large
colorful open style markets which we used to have at home but lost when Super and Hyper markets became the norm.
colorful open style markets which we used to have at home but lost when Super and Hyper markets became the norm.
Lots of local people going about their daily business buying their essentials from food to brushes and pots and pans.
This place whilst being quite busy was never the less friendly and everyone was slightly curious about this bus load of pale people who appeared and wandered around for 30 minutes photographing them.
All very good natured an we could have spent much longer but ever onward we a quickly shussed back onto the coach and are off to the Abu Bakr Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum. A famous imam and scientist, jurist and poet. He was born in the city of Shash. He studied in Khorasan, Baghdad, a hajj, had completed his education in Syria. After his in 976 his grave became a worship place. Over a grave there was constructed mausoleum. However it collapsed over time and in 1541-42 was erected a new mausoleum on the same spot
A minor episode distracts us for a while as one of the group falls over a tomb which is unfortunate as she gashes both shins.
Worryingly the thing is at least 2 feet of the ground and she did not see it somehow and goes down pole axed for a while while various plasters and bandages are produced.
On the plus side we seem to be fairly well equipped for most medical emergencies which is never a bad thing
On the plus side we seem to be fairly well equipped for most medical emergencies which is never a bad thing