Dispatches from the Silk Road: Khiva

I am so vogue. The Sunday I left for Moscow (27th May) the New York Times Travel Section published their "36 Hours" spread on… Moscow. I went to the Aral Sea Basin on June 8th. BBC World has been running an hour long show on…the ecological crises stemming from the Aral Sea's disappearance. And now? Today, June 10th, the New York Times Travel Section has published an article on the Silk Road. I would just like to mention that for the first time in my life I'm ahead of the trend. Trendy. This will likely be the first and last time I can say that about myself.



I'm still recovering from my nasty run-in with some mosquitoes in Nukus. Good thing this isn't shorts country. Coincidentally, when I was in the malarial area near Merv, Turkmenistan, I didn't get bitten by one mosquito. Not so in Nukus. I counted 28 on one leg. Fewer on my other. My right leg is apparently tastier. Yum.



I am the tourist attraction here in Khiva. Yesterday (Saturday) my mother and I were walking through the Bazaar scoping out all the fruits, veggies, clothing, toys, etc when we paused to sit down on a ledge. Four teenage girls came up and one asked if she could take a picture with us. With Us? How weird. Ok. So she sat between my mother and I and her friends snapped a photo. We thought we were done, but each of the other three took their turns sitting between the Americans. How exotic. This actually happened again today. We were standing outside of the Khan of Khiva's prison when a couple came up to us and asked if we would pose with the husband. They were from Termez, near the border with Afghanistan. Naturally, we obliged. I wonder if we'd be as exciting if we were Slavic. I guess they don't get too many tourists in these parts. Definitely not too many Americans. I've only met one since leaving Moscow. Maybe more will come now that it's hip and in vogue thanks to the NYT.



Khiva (pronounced Hiva in Uzbek) is a magnificent city. For starters, it's completely intact. A museum city if you will. There city walls still stand. The city was a major destination on the Great Silk Road, but didn't fare too well under Genghis Khan. Very little remains from pre-Mongolian invasion times. Khiva served as a capital of the Khorezem Kingdom. At one time that empire stretched down to Afghanistan and west toward Iran. The city's importance dwindled when the Silk Road(s) saw their amount of trade decrease because of newly opened up sea routes. The monuments within modern day Khiva largely date to the 19th century. The tile work is exquisite. There are two palaces within the walls, each with magnificent designs. The Khans here also had winter and summer palaces, in the summer they held court outside and in the winter they held court inside of a Yurt. Apparently, in summer, it hits 45 degrees Celsius here in the shade. The winters are -36 below. Yikes!



The domes of most of the buildings here are covered with turquoise or jade stones. It's amazing when the sun shines on them. There is this one tower in town that looks like a gas works or a very colorful mini nuclear power plant. I can just see Homer working inside. Some say that this was supposed to be the tallest tower in the world but when one Khan died the other one didn't want it finished. Another claims that the Khan of Bukhara ordered the death of the builder because this tower could be used to spy on the Khante a good 400k away. Another explanation for this peculiar unfinished tower is that it actually is finished and is a Parsi (Zoroastrian) Tower of Silence. This city and region were once strongholds of Zoroastrianism. In fact, some claim that Zoroastrianism started in Khorezem and then moved to Persia. I can only imagine what my Persian teacher would say, probably something along the lines of "no, the Persians invented the Khorezem Kingdom." If it is in fact a Tower of Silence it makes a bit more sense since from on top it looks finished and it does resemble one of these towers. But the colors! I can't get over it and I can't wait to post pictures. Although who knows, snapfish is probably blocked in this country too.



The tallest tower in town is amazing. Every few meters the tile work on the outside changes pattern and design and colors. The top is sort of crowned. You can go up the 100 steps for a great view of the town. I think I'm going to do that later this afternoon, when it's cooled off a bit. Now I'm seeking refuge indoors.



This morning on my walking tour of the city I got to see some medrassehs. They are no longer used as schools and mosques, but are presently workshops. Some for wood. Others for carpets and silks. They do some amazing handiwork here. And it's wild to see what they use for dyes. Who would think pomegranate rinds could dye wool yellow? I though red and I was wrong. I also got to see two wedding parties on my walk through town. They were going to visit the various shrines of Sufi saints throughout the city. It's amazing how much religion here is influenced by Sufism, Zoroastrianism, and Shamanism. It's nice to see that here they are reclaiming their Sufi roots and are not turning to Wahhabism. Of course, they could be and I would have no idea. There's my disclaimer. I just haven't seen a single veil.



What strikes me as a bit odd is the nostalgia for the Soviet Union. On one hand everyone is in agreement that the climate here is changing for the worse with more frequent droughts, sandstorms, hotter summers, and colder winters and that this affects daily life. But on the other hand, in the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan was the third largest republic and people had money to travel within the USSR. Today, at least from what I can tell, it is relatively impoverished here. And people do talk fondly about the days when they could travel. There is also quite a bit of negative feelings toward Islam Karimov, the President. I obviously won't mention names here. But suffice it to say the people here in the Khorezem region have nothing kind to say of the man and they believe that he and his daughters are out to steal their money.



Outside my window there are lots of children playing in the municipal "pool." It's not quite as nice as the municipal pool that we had at the Farsi Farm. In fact, I wouldn't go in there at all. Yesterday there were a few boys sitting on the ledge with fishing rods and I asked them if there were fish inside. One proudly showed me a jar with a small goldfish. I presume he caught it. The kids here are adorable. And many look like my nephew Eitan.



Traveling to crazy places gives you perspective on craziness. Some would say I'm crazy for going to Central Asia and traveling through the Stans. (Some would say I'm crazy for other reasons). But this afternoon I climbed to the top of the fort along the city walls of Khiva up a couple of flight to see an amazing view of the city. You can see all the monuments at one time. There was a woman there so I asked her to take my photo. We started chatting. She's from Holland. She's been on the road for 9 months now. Just her and her husband…and they bicycles. They started in China, went through South East Asia and now are here in Central Asia, where they have biked along the Silk Road. Then they plan on flying to Lhasa, biking through Tibet, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Iran, Turkey and all the way home. Total travel time: 2 years. They quit their jobs, sold their house, and sold their car before doing this. Now that's what I call crazy (and yet…wouldn't that be fun?).



I am happy to say that I can now forget the following Turkmen phrases that I memorized:

1) Täze shprits ullansanïzlang

2) Mende öz shpritsim bar and

3) Men gan goybermani islämok



Which mean: Please use a new syringe, I have my own syringe, and I don't want a blood transfusion. Respectively.



Next up, memorizing those in Uzbek.