5 days ago
Uzbekistan: The crossroads of history
UZBEKISTAN MAY BE A LITTLE-HEARD-OF country and an even more improbable travel destination. But mention 'Silk Road' and undulating images of Chinese, Persian and Indian traders of times past, with their caravans and camels laden with silk, tea and spices, come to mind.
Their 6,400 km journey from China to the Middle East and Imperial Rome took them through mountain passes and arid deserts, all while facing the constant threat of bandits. They also passed through Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva – ancient cities whose location on this important trade route made them hubs not just for business, but also for the exchange of ideas and the development of science and culture. Samarkand even earned the title 'Pearl of the Orient'.
These three cities are now part of modern-day Uzbekistan, whose origins date back to the first millennium BC. The country's territories were once conquered by Alexander the Great, invaded by Chinggis Khan, and subjugated by the Russian Empire – to name just a few periods of its captivating past.
And so we arrive, in 38 deg C summer heat, in this crucible of history.
Registan Square in Samarkand is a breathtaking sight. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
Samarkand
Nothing prepares you for Samarkand. Registan Square and its three large madrasahs, set perpendicular to one another, will take your breath away.
More than 500 years old, these blue and yellow edifices with imposing domes and minarets gleam golden in the evening light. Couples having wedding photoshoots in traditional Uzbek costumes add to the pomp and circumstance.
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The blue and yellow edifices are older than half a century. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
A couple in traditional Uzbek costumes. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
A climb up the leaning minaret – imperfectly restored after years of neglect – is less like a StairMaster workout and more like a series of pull-ups: the high steps of the narrow spiral staircase require visitors to haul themselves up on a rope railing.
But perching on the penultimate step, the upper half of your body protruding from the tower's small opening, earns you an even more impressive view of the square.
Uzbeks are particularly proud of Amir Timur, a 14th-century conqueror known in the Western world as 'Tamerlane', in reference to a limp he had. Founder of the Timurid Dynasty, he was an undefeated commander who bested the Mongol hordes, the Mamluks of Egypt, and expanded his empire's borders to India.
Historical monuments connected to this warrior dot Samarkand.
The Gur-i Amir mausoleum, which houses the crypts of 14th-century conqueror Amir Timur and his descendants. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
The Gur-i Amir mausoleum, for instance, was built by the conqueror for his grandson and heir, over whose death he was inconsolable. The complex now houses the crypts of Timur himself, several descendants of his and his closest spiritual adviser, who had always followed him on his military campaigns – an indication of the esteem in which highly learned men were held.
Ulugh Beg, another grandson of Timur, was a noted mathematician and astronomer who built an advanced observatory that accurately calculated the solar year – its precise cataloguing of the stars was used for centuries. But these endeavours were decried by religious leaders, who viewed them as entering the celestial gates without divine permission.
Legend has it that the Bibi-Khanym Mosque was built by Timur's favourite wife (he had 43 wives and concubines). PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
And legend has it that the Bibi-Khanym Mosque was built by Timur's favourite wife (he had 43 wives and concubines) of the same name, in honour of his victory over the Indians. But it was constructed in a rush – just over five years – and now sits in disrepair, ravaged by wind and weather.
But the most compelling site is Shah-i-Zinda. The 14th-century necropolis boasts elaborate tiled edifices and domed pavilions within a narrow passage, serving as the final resting place for royalty, high-ranking clergy and illustrious academics.
The Shah-i-Zinda is the final resting place for the likes of royalty. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
Bukhara
In comparison, a visit to Bukhara is a more intimate experience, with its wizened madrasahs, spectacular mosques and ancient bathhouses rubbing shoulders in tight spaces.
In the heart of the city is a many-pillared mosque facing the Ark, or citadel, from which emirs once administered the kingdom. It was also through the fortress' gates that the last emir fled into exile, when the Red Army took control.
But we have come at a happier time. It is the weekend of Eid al-Adha, an important Islamic holiday, and the streets of the Old Town are alive with a silk and spice festival. Loud traditional music fills the night air, women dance in the open spaces, and families mill about the bazaar.
A visit to Bukhara is a more intimate experience. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
At the oldest bathhouse, only female customers are welcome after 8 pm. We – four naked women, each wrapped in a threadbare cotton sheet – are led into a windowless grotto that feels like it was chiselled into marble. We are told to remove our flimsy covering, then are steamed, washed, scrubbed and, finally, massaged on the central dais by an old lady in a T-shirt and panties, as well as her granddaughter, sporting just a crop top and G-string.
No one bats an eyelid at the nudity or the intimate touching. One customer is gossiping loudly with the staff in Russian, which is spoken interchangeably with Uzbek here, their guttural voices bouncing off the ancient stone walls. What secrets this cavern must be privy to, you think to yourself, while wondering if it is prudish to keep your legs crossed.
A festive bazaar in Bukhara. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
Khiva
Much farther west, between the edge of the Kyzylkum Desert and the border with Turkmenistan, lies Khiva.
Khiva is near Uzbekistan's border with Turkmenistan. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
The city is famous for Itchan Kala, a small ancient town encircled by crenellated walls. The fortress is still intact in places, and in the central square sits a squat turquoise tower known as the Kalta Minor, an unfinished minaret.
The Kalta Minor. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
A closer look at the tiles on the Kalta Minor. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
The adjacent madrasah is now a three-star hotel. Each guest room, smaller than a bathroom in a modern hotel and with a ceiling low enough to induce claustrophobia, is an amalgam of two rooms previously inhabited by students.
In the pedestrianised streets, traders sell tourist kitsch in makeshift stalls. Our guide informs us that children are brought into the family business at the age of four and by their teens become masterful salesmen or craftsmen. Sure enough, a young boy of nine tries to talk me into posing for a photograph with a traditional Uzbek fur hat for the princely amount of 5,000 sum (S$0.50).
Uzbekistan today
Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union until 1991, when it gained independence. It wears its Communist past conspicuously, if unconsciously. Service is generally perfunctory, and a customer mindset seems alien to the country's relatively recent Marxist views.
Hotels are built like Soviet complexes – large, angular, neon-lit spaces – with greater focus on grandeur than comfort. At our Samarkand lodging, the curtains are secured shut, with daylight allowed in only after a technician with a ladder has been summoned. Not difficult to imagine the previous guests being politburo members involved in clandestine operations.
The food is hearty and easy on the Asian palate. Meat on skewers – shashliks – are the main feature, along with beef and vegetable dumplings. The national dish, plov, is a flavourful rice stew with beef and carrots. It is such a source of community pride that T-shirts declaring 'all you need is plov' are sold everywhere.
Plov, a rice stew with beef and carrots, is the national dish. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
We're told that Samarkand locals see every foreigner as an opportunity to make a quick buck. The fruit seller at the local market tries to flog his damaged apricots off – but little does he know that I had been taught to haggle at wet markets from the age of six.
A young taxi driver, piloting a relic of a car with doors falling off their hinges, tries to stiff us on the fare. By then, we had become accustomed to the Uzbeks' mercantile ways and negotiated a price handily, despite not being able to speak each other's language.
Uzbekistan will soon be on all sophisticated travellers' bucket lists. PHOTO: STEFANIE YUEN THIO
Uzbekistan is among the few destinations left in the world with so much undiscovered and mesmerising history. It will soon be on all sophisticated travellers' bucket lists. We're glad we got there before the country experiences its next inevitable invasion – this time by a digital horde of Instagram influencers and TikTok trendsetters.
