Another day in Bukhara, Day 9. We again walked to the bus, on which we headed for the Bolo-Khauz Mosque, near the ARK Fortress. While the mosque was not yet open (i.e., we couldn’t go in), it was still quite beautiful.
While here, Jay did a quick shout-out to her company, Propio Language Services (LS)
Yet another water collection basin was just in front of this mosque.
In the first picture, just in the upper left-hand corner you can see the makings of a tower. This tower is Shukhov Tower, which was built in 1927 by Russian Vladimir Shukhov, the inventor of the hyperbolid structure. In the 1970’s the city’s water system was changed, and the tower was no longer functional. A local entrepreneur installed an elevator in the 90’s and converted the tower into a restaurant and viewing platform. (Sadly the elevator stopped working soon after, and the businesses went bankrupt.)
As mentioned above, across the street from the park where the mosque, water pit, and water tower were located, is the Ark of Bukhara. The Ark of Bukhara is a 5th century fortress that has been where the rulers of the Bukhara region had traditionally resided. It was a military fortress up until 1920, when it fell to Russia. It is now essentially a large museum highlighting the rich history of Bukhara.
We would note that all the fencing, security, ambulances, and theatrical production equipment were related to the Silk & Spice festival, of which we were in the 2nd day of said festival.
Inside the Ark was basically a small city for the time, including the Court Mosque, Throne room, Reception and Coronation Court, the stables, the offices of the various officials of Bukhara, and even prison cells (including the infamous “bug” cell).
(The Court Mosque)
(The throne within the Reception and Coronation Court.)
(The entrance, as viewed from inside the Reception and Coronation Court.)
(Offices of the city’s officials, just off the stables courtyard.)
Many of the rooms now house museums that share and show the glory of the Ark as well as the surrounding Bukhara region during its hey-day.
We even got to listen to the music of local musicians as we toured the fortress.
And as noted above, being the 2nd day of the Silk and Spice festival, they were setting up for a large event here at the Ark. Here is a look from the battlements at the stage being prepared…
The downside to being in Bukhara during the festival (besides competing with the tide of humanity that it brought), was that the police shut down most of the road within the inner city of Bukhara. This meant that our bus was unable to pick us up and drop us off at various locations, including here at the Ark.
However, Mar’uf, our enterprising guide did not let that slow him down. Knowing that many on his tour were older, and likely not keen to make the roughly mile walk to our next destination, he rented some local transport that was able to evade and bypass the street closures and roadblocks.
Thus, our first experience riding something other than the bus in Uzbekistan, and Mar’uf spared no expense, obtaining the Rolls Royce of transportation, literally, because it said so on the front of the cart.
This was definitely a very fun and unique way to get around town. Given the heat, as well as distance to the next location (we kept going and going and going), it was definitely a godsend and we greatly enjoyed the open-air breeze our passage provided… well, until it didn’t and we got stuck on a hill.
There was one section of back alley that was very steep (Tim says 12 to 15 percent) and the cart just couldn’t quite get up and over that section, so we stalled out. That’s when Tim and Jay came to the rescue, jumping out and pushing the cart up and over the steep hurdle, before jumping back in to finish the ride.
We ended up back at the 1st of the three dome markets, where we were able to get back into the old part of the city. At the entrance they had loudspeakers setup that were BELTING OUT local music. Yes, it was obnoxiously loud, we suspect they were trying to make sure the southern half of the city could hear the music.
With this being the prime of the festival, there were people everywhere, with many clusters of performers clad in traditional outfits interspersed, taking turns performing and singing for any that would stop and watch.
We made our way through the throngs to the Po-i-Kalyan (also spelled Po-i-Kalan) complex, which consists of the Kalan Mosque and Minaret initially built in 1127. However, after Genghis Khan was so amazed by the beauty and greatness of the structures, that he mistakenly believed them to be the khan’s palace, he destroyed the original mosque in 1220. The current day Kalan Mosque and Minaret, along with the 3rd component of the complex, the Mir-i-Arab Madrassah (also known as the Abdullazizkhan Madrassah) were re-constructed in the 1515 – 1540 time-frame.
And of course, we can’t “not have” Tim’s courtyard shot from within the madrassah.
In between the mosque and the madrassah (as they were constructed in a square layout facing each other) is what is known as a “kosh”, which is the center square in the complex between everything. In this kosh, many varied traditionally dressed performance groups (musicians, singers, and dancers) took turns performing for the masses, and sometimes (when the ebb of people was low), it appeared just for the pure joy of performing.
Here are some samples of the performers / garb:
Along with their performance groups:
After enjoying the Po-i-Kalyan complex and it’s festivities, we began the walk back towards the hotel, which was through the many markets as well as back through Dome Markets #2 and #3. The many markets were just fabulous, some within buildings, and some just set up along the street.
Beyond the merchants, there were still amazing buildings to be seen just walking back. After the 2nd dome market, we came across the Magoki Attor Mosque, a centuries old mosque that was in a sunken courtyard area (below the level of the street and the sidewalks around it), as well as another water collection pit.
From the 3rd dome market, we split ways, Tim deciding to go back to the hotel and rest up for dinner, and Jay going with Yvonne, Darlene, and Susan to do a little shopping.
We had an extended evening, starting with what we thought was more of a cultural show (demonstrating cultural clothing of the area), but what turned out to be essentially a fashion show where all of the styles and clothes were on sale immediately after the show.
The show was inside the Nadir Divan-Begi Madrassah, and was interesting even if it was just a fashion show.
Here are some samples from this event:
At the conclusion of the fashion / culture show, we walked to a nearby home for dinner, where we were invited to watch them make a native dish called plov. (Yes, we know, been-there-done-that.) It none-the-less was still fascinating to watch a very much abbreviated version of “how-to” as we had about 10 to 15 minutes of instruction, prior to being seated and then served previously made plov.
It was a very nice home, and of course the company was as usual outstanding. We did get briefly side-tracked during dinner with a myriad of questions from our fellow travelers, whom all evidently were “city-folk”, because there was a huge fascination with the fact that we have cows… on a farm… that we take care of… Many questions on how they’re taken care of, what we do with them, etc.
At the end of dinner, most of us headed back to the hotel, but Jay and Darlene decided to have one last adventure for the night, so they walked all the way back to the Po-i-Kalyan complex to see it at night. At night (at least during the festival, if not all the time), they light the buildings with varied color lights, and Jay wanted to get photos of this.
To wrap up our day, here are the excellent photos Jay took of the Po-i-Kalyan light show:
See you tomorrow!