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Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Posted on May 22nd, 2010 in Asia,Uzbekistan by robjkentjr

Samarkand was the biggest and most expensive city we visited and with the sights spread out, there was a lot of walking to see everything between rain storms.  The highlight for us was people watching in the bazaar and street side cafes along the Registan.
The Registan complex in Samarkand is made up of three preserved madrassas that are the biggest in all of Central and among the oldest in the world dating back to 1420.
The inside of the Tilla-Kari Madrassa dome at the Registan.  This was one of the most ornately painted buildings we saw in Uzbekistan.
The Bibi-Khanym Mausoleum lit up in the setting sun with an ominous rain storm coming in behind it, which we got caught in.
The Shah-i-Zinda is an avenue of impressive blue-tiled mausoleums for Qusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin to the Prophet Mohammed.  If you continue walking through the tombs you end up in an overflowing graveyard.
I loved watching this lady walk down the street hitting everyone up for money.  She was a sight with her one snaggletooth.
While in the market, how could we resist buying sugared nuts from this lady when she is offering a sample with such a golden smile?
These ladies were selling yogurt in the bazaar.  I loved the one on the left with all gold teeth.  The younger girl in the middle with the white powdered face is considered vogue by the locals.
Overall, we were disappointed by Samarkand because of the clear price gouging for tourists, which is a shame because this was the place we were most looking forward to visiting.  After spending a fortune and having to haggle over everything we were glad to be heading back to Tashkent where we could just blend in and not feel like the tourists.

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Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Posted on May 16th, 2010 in Asia,Uzbekistan by robjkentjr

Coming from the enveloping city of Khiva, Bukhara was more open with grander architecture and too many tourists.  The main delight though was wandering all the market streets looking for carpets and the hidden places where locals eat.
We hit the first carpet shop we came across and found no dearth of choice for silk carpets.  The only problem was that they were all done in the Persian style, not local designs.
These tapestries are more in the traditional style except they were too small for our taste; we are going for massive carpets.
During dinner I sat there with my camera to capture all the locals enjoying their tea.  This lady was more colorful than the big Russian women consuming steins of beer.
The Nadir Divanbegi Khanaka behind the Lyabi-Hauz pool.  These bath pools were notorious in the 1800s for spreading the plague because the dirty water was rarely flushed from the system.
Rasa photographed me sitting in front of the Mir-i-Arab Madrassa while waiting for the sunset to set it ablaze in reds and purples.  I am going to make this my new Facebook picture.
The Mir-i-Arab Madrassa just starting to change color with the setting sun.
All the shoes left outside the mosque while their owners pray.
Bukhara was the most touristic city we visited and probably for good reason because of a nice mix of accommodation, sites and activities.  Going to Samarkand next, it is a more developed city with even bigger blue tiled madrassas and mosques.

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