A couple of people have picked up on a remark I made in passing a couple of posts ago, and said Really? Uzbekistan?
So yes, Uzbekistan. Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Karakalpakstan, actually. Silk Road capitals. Blue tiles, medieval cities. Mosques, madrassahs, and mausoleums. Spice markets, brightly-wrapped women, piles of flatbread. Bottles of vodka on the table to go with the plov. A yurt camp next to an empty ancient fortress atop a desert cliff. A moonless night and star-strewn sky; awakening to the braying of camels. (If you don’t agree that camels bray, click the video at the end and listen and then you tell me.) Endless fields of cotton and, sorrowfully, one former freshwater lake drained to feed them, fishing towns and boats alike now stranded. And the world’s oldest Koran, from the 600s, still stained with blood from a murder centuries ago.
I usually confine this blog to China, which I should know something about after all this time. But, since you asked for it, here. Enjoy a taste of Uzbekistan.
There now. You’ve been on our magic carpet ride.
I could really go for some plov today.
Soon I am going to be writing to my friend, the award-winning journalist. You have such a talent for beautiful photos and commentary that depict life as it really is and all the reasons to experience a far-away place (and one that may not have such a good reputation in some diplomatic circles).
I really enjoyed seeing your magic carpet ride!