The Crying Mother Monument in Tashkent
Corridors flanking the Crying Mother Monument and the eternal flame. Names of perished soldiers are inscribed on metallic books housed in niches specific to the Uzbek region they come from.
An intricate ceiling at the Museum of Applied Arts in Tashkent
Another beautiful ceiling inside the Museum of Applied Arts in Tashkent
The main facade of the Barakhon Medressa
The Moyie Mubarek Library Museum in the foreground, which houses the oldest existing copy of the Quran - the Osman Quran from the 7th century. It was originally brought to Samarkand by Timur, and subsequently returned to Uzbekistan by Lenin after nearly 60 years at the Hermitage.
A gasoline pump on the road. You will see very old pumps like this all over Uzbekistan.
A mountain pass just outside Samarkand
The delicious mantay, steamed dumplings with minced mutton inside.
A bowl of laghman - noodle soup with diced meat (lamb or beef)
The Guri Amir Mausoleum, where Timur is buried along with Ulugbek.
The entrance to the Guri Amir Mausoleum
Guri Amir Mausoleum
The glittering domed ceiling of the Guri Amir Mausoleum
The beautiful window of the Guri Amir Mausoleum
The chandelier inside the Guri Amir Mausoleum
The markers of the tombs inside the Mausoleum. The dark jade marker in the center belongs to Timur.
The intricate, glittering interior of the Guri Amir Mausoleum.
The glittering honeycomb detail inside the Guri Amir Mausoleum.
An anonymous grave marker and its wood and horsehair signpost inside the Guri Amir Mausoleum.
A group of locals who wanted to be photographed by us.
The Registan Square in Samarkand
The Sher Dor Medressa of the Registan Square
The turquoise dome of the Tilla-Kari Medressa in the Registan Square, not part of the original structure but added by the Soviets during the "restoration" process.
The Ulugbek Medressa, the oldest of the medressas at the Registan Square dating back to 1420.
One of the minarets of the Ulugbek Medressa
The Ulugbek Medressa
The leaning minaret of the Ulugbek Medressa. I climbed to the top of this minaret to get a panoramic view of the city.
The turquoise dome of the Tilla-Kari Medressa
The beautiful facade of the Tilla-Kari Medressa
The interior courtyard of the Ulugbek Medressa
A room inside the Ulugbek Medressa, now a souvenir shop
The beautiful artwork in a room inside the Ulugbek Medressa
Doing my thang inside the Ulugbek Medressa... Photo courtesy of Stan.
The courtyard of the Tilla-Kari Medressa
The mosque at the Tilla-Kari Medressa
The ceiling of the mosque in the Tilla-Kari Medressa. The ceiling is actually flat but is painted in a way that makes it looks domed.
The rooms at the Sher Dor Medressa
The three piggies at the Registan Square - me, Stan and Eric
The atrium of the Hotel President in Samarkand
The best plov we had during the entire trip, in Samarkand. This is four portions, and check out how everything glistens! That's mutton fat, my friend...
Money counting at the Siob Bazaar
Pastries on sale at the Siob Bazaar
Carrying home a baby crib
Frescoes from Afrosiab - ancient Samarkand
Afrosiab ruins
Stan and the fat-bottomed sheep
A flock of fat-bottomed sheep among the Afrosiab ruins
A minaret at Bibi-Khanym Mosque, built by the Chinese wife of Timur
Bibi-Khanym Mosque
The crumbling Bibi-Khanym Mosque
The inner courtyard of Bibi-Khanym Mosque, with trees bearing white mulberries
The Sher Dor Medressa, viewed from the top of the Ulugbek Medressa's minaret
The top of the Ulugbek Medressa
The top of the Tilla-Kari Medressa. The Bibi-Khanym Mosque is in the background
The sher dor (lion) of the Sher Dor Medressa
The opening at the top of the minaret at the Ulugbek Medressa. I squeezed my upper body though this space to get a view of Samarkand.
The inside of the minaret at the Ulugbek Medressa
Me on top of the Ulugbek Medressa's leaning minaret, snapping away... Photo courtesy of Stan
The Tilla-Kari Medressa at night
The Sher Dor Medressa at night
The turquoise dome of the Tilla-Kari Medressa now looking azure with the blue spotlight
Guri Amir Mausoleum at night
The statue of Timur at Shakhrisabz
The remaining pieces of Timur's Ak-Saray Palace, reconstructed
The village elders going for prayers at the Khazreti-Imam Mosque
Russian Ladas
Large, old trees provide cool shade at the Khazreti-Imam Mosque in Shakhrisabz
The wooden aivan of the Khazreti-Imam Mosque
The Crypt of Timur, which he built for himself and planned to be buried in. In the end he was buried in the Guri Amir Mausoleum in Samarkand instead.
Kok-Gumbaz Mosque
Sweet mulberries
Mausoleum of Sheikh Shamseddin Kulyal, Timur's spiritual leader
The dome of the Mausoleum of Sheikh Shamseddin Kulyal
The remaining part of Dorussiadat : Tomb of Jehangir - Timur's eldest son
Intricate honeycomb detail under a dome on the southern side at Shah-I-Zinda in Samarkand
The two-domed mausoleum on the south side t Shah-I-Zinda
The stairs leading up te slope to Shah-I-Zinda. Legend has it tha only the faithful can accurately count the number of steps.
The avenue of mausoleums at Shah-I-Zinda
Stan in front of a mausoleum at Shah-I-Zinda
"Huh?" Photo courtesy of Stan.
Shah-I-Zinda detail
The most beautiful mausoleum along the avenue - Mausoleum of Shadi Mulk Aka, daughter of Timur's elder sister.
Mausoleum of Shadi Mulk Aka
The dome of the Mausoleum of Shadi Mulk Aka
Shirin Beka Aka Mausoleum, for Timur's younger sister. The words on the portal are quotes from Socrates.
The Octagonal Mausoleum
Utso Ali Nesefi Mausoleum
Mausoleum of Qusam Ibn-Abbas, a cousin of Prophet Mohammed. He is credited with introducing Islam to this part of the world.
Mausoleum of Qusam Ibn-Abbas
Shah-I-Zinda
Tuman Aka Complex
Kutlug Aka Mausoleum, believed to house one of Timur's wives.
The vodka we drank over dinner at Restaurant Astoria in Samarkand
The Tilla-Kari Medressa
Ulugbek Medressa detail
Sweepers in the early morning cleaning up Registan Square
Sher Dor Medressa detail
A dome of the Sher Dor Medressa
The gate to the caravansari
Vabkent Minaret outside of Bukhara
Vabkent Minaret
The oven-roasted mutton at Ismoil in Bukhara
A shop selling spice containers and tools to score designs on non
Old town Bukhara
Grafted electric pole extension + street light
A peek into the way houses were constructed in old town Bukhara
Nadir Divanbegi Medressa
The four minarets of Char Minar, representing the four daughters of the original builder of the medressa.
Char Minar
Eric in front of Char Minar
Ruins of an old house
Abdul Aziz Khan Medressa
A stork nest on top of a tower
Taqi-Zargaron Bazaar - the jewellers - in old town Bukhara
The first of several tastings of Baltika beers from Russia...#7 wins in taste but #9 weighs in at 8% alcohol...
The Kalon Minaret and the Mir-i-Arab Medressa
The Kalon Minaret
The Kalon Minaret and the Mir-i-Arab Medressa, seen from the balcony of our room at the Hotel Zargaron
The turquoise dome of the Mir-i-Arab Medressa
A dome of the Mir-i-Arab Medressa
Bolo-Hauz Mosque, located opposite the Ark. The Amir used to come to worship with his people occasionally.
The beautiful aivan of the Bolo-Hauz Mosque
The cute girl in Bukhara who loved to have her pictures taken
The Ismail Samani Mausoleum, housing the founder of the Samanid dynasty.
Ismail Samani Mausoleum
Ancient city walls of Bukhara
Delicious seasonal fruits : cherries, apricots, peaches, melons... due to the abundant sunshine, all the fruits are very ripe with high sugar content
The Chasma Ayub mausoleum, with the spring of Job inside
Drinking the healing water from the Well of Job. Legend has it that Job struck his staff into the ground, led the locals to water
Imam Ismail al-Bukhari memorial
A guard tower of the Ark in Bukhara
The cabana where the Amir used to sit and watch the procession outside of the Ark
The front gate to the Ark
The crumbling outer wall of the Ark
The yummy plov in Lyabi-Hauz
Maghoki-Attar Mosque, the oldest surviving mosque in Central Asia dating back to the Middle Ages. Now a carpet museum!
The portal of Maghoki-Attar Mosque
Kalon Minaret and the Mir-i-Arab Medressa
Eric at Kalon Mosque
Kalon Minaret. Apparently, in the old days executions were carried out by pushing the prisoners out from the top of the minaret, and letting them fall to their deaths in the square below...
Kalon Minaret. Later in the day, I would climb up to the top of the minaret and get a fantastic view of Bukhara.
Amir Olimkhan Medressa
The Mir-i-Arab Medressa, which is actually still a working medressa with students living inside.
The beautiful Kalon Minaret
Mir-i-Arab Medressa
The intricate decorations on the Kalon Minaret
The portal of the Mir-i-Arab Medressa
One of the turquoise domes of the Mir-i-Arab Medressa
The octagonal podium inside the Kalon Mosque, from which the imam would preach.
The inner courtyard of the Kalon Mosque, with the Kalon Minaret just outside.
View of old town Bukhara from the top of the Kalon Minaret. The Mir-i-Arab Medressa is in the foreground.
The Kalon Mosque seen from the top of the Kalon Minaret
The Hotel Zargaron viewed from the top of the Kalon Minaret
Old town Bukhara: Mir-i-Arab Medressa in the foreground, Taqi-Zargaron Bazaar just behind, and the Ulugbek Medressa at the far end.
The Mir-i-Arab Medressa
Taqi-Zargaron Bazaar and the Ulugbek Medressa
The outer wall of the Ark, which has been rebuilt since the Russian assault
The original wall of the Ark
Walls of the Ark
One of the domes of the Mir-i-Arab Medressa, looking magnificent at night and changing from turquoise to azure due to the blue spotlight.
Kalon Minaret and Kalon Mosque under the full moon
Stan in Bukhara
A flock of sheep and goats resting... The Amu-Darya River in the distance marks the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
A lone figure on the Turkmen side of the Amu-Darya River bank
Got milk?
The Islam-Hoja Minaret in Khiva, the highest in Uzbekistan. I had big plans to climb to the top of this minaret...
The Islam-Hoja Minaret
The dome of Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum, the resting place of the patron saint of Khiva. He was, in addition to being a poet and philosopher, a legendary wrestler (!)
The tomb of Pahlavon Mahmud
The dome of Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum
Another lavishly decorated dome in the Pahlavon Mahmud "necropolis", where many of the Khiva khans were buried.
The Islam-Hoja Medressa and the minaret
The beautiful Jume Mosque, with its 218 wooden columns dating from different periods.
One of the original wooden columns of the Juma Mosque, probably dating from the 10th century.
Another old wooden column in the Juma Mosque
The buildings of Itchan Kala, the ancient walled city of Khiva
The minaret of the Juma Mosque
The walls of the Tosh-Hovli Palace
The reception courtyard in the Tosh-Hovli Palace, with its beautiful blue tiles.
The beautiful blue aivan of the reception courtyard at the Tosh-Hovli Palace
The colorful ceiling of the aivan at Tosh-Hovli Palace
The wooden column of the aivan at the reception courtyard at the Tosh-Hovli Palace
Beautiful blue tiles of the harem in the Tosh-Hovli Palace
The harem in th Tosh-Hovli Palace
The khan's aivan in the harem of the Tosh-Hovli Palace
The Alloquli Khan Medressa
View of Itchan Kala from the top of Oq Shihbobo bastion of the Kuhna Ark
Mohammed Amin Khan Medressa and the Kalta Minor Minaret, which remains unfinished.
View of Itchan Kala from the top of Oq Shihbobo bastion of the Kuhna Ark. The Islam-Hoja Minaret is in the distance.
The western walls of Itchan Kala
The Islam-Hoja Minaret and the beautiful turquoise dome of the Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum
The Kalta Minor Minaret and the Mohammed Amin Khan Medressa
The line of minarets in Itchan Kala: Kalta Minor in front, with the Juma Minaret in the middle and the Seyid-Biy Minaret in the far distance.
The Ota-Darvoza (West Gate) of Itchan Kala
The western walls of the Itchan Kala
Dusk in Itchan Kala
The Juma Minaret
The front portal of the Alloquli Khan Medressa
Moonrise over the Islam-Hoja Minaret and the Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum
