Uzbekistan part 1: Tashkent
Jun. 26th, 2011 08:25 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
graculusBy popular demand (well, at least two people who read this lj are interested!) it's time for pics from my trip to Uzbekistan, although they're definitely condensed down from the 300 or so that I actually took. Part of the delay with posting will be making sure I get the right names on the pics as I go along.
We arrived in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, at a fiendishly early hour having flown via Istanbul and then crashed out at the hotel for a couple of hours before the sightseeing proper began.
First stop, the memorial to the 1966 earthquake which was pretty much responsible for much of 'old' Tashkent looking very much like 'new' Tashkent:
As we would discover on this trip, it was always difficult to tell exactly how old something was without proof and a very good look - much restoration work had been done in Soviet times and again since independence, of varying quality. Here's the madrassah of Barrak-Khan, built in 1532 but with much work done on it since:
Here's a look at the frontage, which gives an idea of the complexity of designs - all done in majolica tilework and, in this case, much influenced by Iran:
Next it was off to the nearest market, where you can probably imagine the smell from the variety of spices on sale:
Three things come to mind where the markets are concerned:
That Uzbek currency is crazy
That I wish I spoke more Russian
That they might sell lovely spices but god knows they don't often cook with them!
Money: the current exchange rate is 2000 Uzbekistan sym to the US dollar, which is fine except that the largest note available is the 1000 sym note. Coins are pretty much obsolete, with 100 sym, 200 sym and 500 sym notes also available but much less used. Come to Uzbekistan and get used to carrying wodges of money around!
Language: having been a Soviet republic for about 90 years, and also not requiring visas for anyone to visit from elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, most people speak at least some Russian. Even those who don't speak more than I do! ;)
Food: the concept of vegetarianism is completely alien to the Uzbek culture, which appears to be built on eating sheep in various forms.
Off to Independence Square, for first the monument to the war dead of World War II:
And then more celebratory architecture - the phoenix gets a lot of play here, as does the crane (as a symbol of fertility):
Last, but by no means least, here's Amir Temur, Uzbekistan's primary post-independence hero and all-round medieval megastar - better known to the West as Tamerlane, he is claimed by various places in Uzbekistan and beyond:
That's it for Tashkent, next stop the Silk Road proper as we end up in Khiva...
We arrived in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, at a fiendishly early hour having flown via Istanbul and then crashed out at the hotel for a couple of hours before the sightseeing proper began.
First stop, the memorial to the 1966 earthquake which was pretty much responsible for much of 'old' Tashkent looking very much like 'new' Tashkent:
As we would discover on this trip, it was always difficult to tell exactly how old something was without proof and a very good look - much restoration work had been done in Soviet times and again since independence, of varying quality. Here's the madrassah of Barrak-Khan, built in 1532 but with much work done on it since:
Here's a look at the frontage, which gives an idea of the complexity of designs - all done in majolica tilework and, in this case, much influenced by Iran:
Next it was off to the nearest market, where you can probably imagine the smell from the variety of spices on sale:
Three things come to mind where the markets are concerned:
Money: the current exchange rate is 2000 Uzbekistan sym to the US dollar, which is fine except that the largest note available is the 1000 sym note. Coins are pretty much obsolete, with 100 sym, 200 sym and 500 sym notes also available but much less used. Come to Uzbekistan and get used to carrying wodges of money around!
Language: having been a Soviet republic for about 90 years, and also not requiring visas for anyone to visit from elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, most people speak at least some Russian. Even those who don't speak more than I do! ;)
Food: the concept of vegetarianism is completely alien to the Uzbek culture, which appears to be built on eating sheep in various forms.
Off to Independence Square, for first the monument to the war dead of World War II:
And then more celebratory architecture - the phoenix gets a lot of play here, as does the crane (as a symbol of fertility):
Last, but by no means least, here's Amir Temur, Uzbekistan's primary post-independence hero and all-round medieval megastar - better known to the West as Tamerlane, he is claimed by various places in Uzbekistan and beyond:
That's it for Tashkent, next stop the Silk Road proper as we end up in Khiva...
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no subject
Date: 2011-06-26 11:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-27 12:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-27 04:00 am (UTC)I love the tile work on the madrassah. It's beautiful. So are the cranes, against that sky. And now I have to go back and read up on Tamerlane. All I can remember is a kid's mystery book called Meet Me at Tamerlane's Tomb. (which was in Russia when the book was written, but that was in the mid-70s, so now I realize I have no idea where anything is.)
So how thick was your roll of Uzbecki cash? It doesn't sound like you can just stick it in your pocket!
Looking forward to the second round of photos...
no subject
Date: 2011-06-27 07:34 pm (UTC)I was a bit worried there would be loads of Stakhanovite sculpture all over the place but once we got out of Tashkent it wasn't at all in evidence...
I love the tile work on the madrassah. It's beautiful.
You've seen nothing else in terms of tilework! :P
And now I have to go back and read up on Tamerlane. All I can remember is a kid's mystery book called Meet Me at Tamerlane's Tomb.
Don't worry, Tamerlane's tomb gets its own pics later when we get to Samarkand - I think at one point he was exhumed and went to Moscow but didn't stay away very long...
So how thick was your roll of Uzbecki cash? It doesn't sound like you can just stick it in your pocket!
Well, $50 was 100,000 sym so we usually started off with a wad of 100 notes, none of them new, which is about 3/4 of an inch of cash. Crazy, eh?
no subject
Date: 2011-06-27 07:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-27 07:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-06-28 02:23 am (UTC)I am imagining your journey through the spice market, and burning with envy.
BTW, do you recall some of the costs for staple items -- a night at the hotel, dinner, a cab or bus ride?
no subject
Date: 2011-06-28 07:03 am (UTC)The best is yet to come, wait and see...
I am imagining your journey through the spice market, and burning with envy.
That was just one section of the market, the rest of which was filled with folks selling a variety of fruit, vegetables, nuts and dried fruit, most of whom were more than happy to try and sell you something, so plenty of free samples! :)
BTW, do you recall some of the costs for staple items -- a night at the hotel, dinner, a cab or bus ride?
The hotel and transport was already sorted but you could get a substantial lunch/dinner (if you don't mind meat! :P) for 10-12,000 sym ($5-6). We were usually paying 800-900 sym (>50 cents) for a 1.5l bottle of water anywhere except right in the middle of the tourist areas. It was more than possible to deal in sym, euro or $US, in the bigger cities at least.
no subject
Date: 2011-06-28 11:06 pm (UTC)And the largest note was 1000 sym? Yikes, you really did have to carry around a wad o' cash!
no subject
Date: 2011-07-02 03:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-06 08:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-07-07 10:59 am (UTC)It actually wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, mainly because I knew it was going to be an issue that I didn't eat meat and so had reconciled myself to not much choice. It was a decision definitely worth taking as I wouldn't have missed visiting there for anything - it's also quite a seasonal food place so I doubt I'll be eating apricots again any time soon. ;)