Asian Geographic - 01.01.2018

107

Siab Bazaar – a dekhkan (agricultural market) in Samarkand

Heritage Site – which houses close
to 51 ancient monuments, such as
the Minaret Kalta Minor, the Madrasa
Muhammad Amin Khan, and the
Djuma Mosque, built in the 18th
century with 212 intricately-carved
wooden columns.
The next morning, we embarked
on the eight-hour journey to Bukhara,
stopping to stretch our legs in the

red sands of the Kyzylkum Desert,

interrupted only by the snaking

Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers.

In Bukhara, we began our day at

the Samani Mausoleum, once buried

in the mud after the destruction

wrought by the Mongols. In contrast

to the quiet of the mausoleum is

the hustle and bustle of Kolkhozny

Bazaar, a local market teeming with

vendors peddling their goods. We

escaped the verbal onslaughts of

enthusiastic touts for the sanctity and

serenity of the Bolo-Hauz Mosque

before heading to the Ark Citadel, a

gargantuan 5th-century fortress in the

middle of Bukhara. Standing against

the faded fortress wall and looking

out at the new city, it felt as though

I’d been transported back in time.

Itchan Kala in Khiva

People in Uzbekistan converted to

Islam as early as the 8th century