Near Samarkand's stunning Registan, the ensemble of three madrassas considered the most dramatic in Central Asia was the four-sided Chorsu, once the city's skull-cap bazaar.
As it was finally a sunny day out, we couldn't resist taking a couple of minutes to marvel again at the Ulug Beg Madrassa, the first of the three to be built in 1417.
Another look at the entire Tillya Madrassa, not just the dome.
The reason we 'had to' pass the Registan again was to catch a communal taxi to drive us to Urgut, a town about 25 miles away that had reputedly one of the best bazaars in the country to buy jewelry, antique clothing and suzanis, the marvelous Uzbek embroidered textiles we had seen so many of in other cities. It was no problem finding a driver until he took us to his car a couple of blocks away where we then had to wait twenty minutes until he was able to convince two others to join us for the 45 minute drive! We couldn't complain too much about the wait as the cost was only 20,000 som or $2.50 for both of us.
After all the waiting around, it was a relief to finally reach the market about 12:30 as I was getting a bit antsy as the travel guides said it'd be best to get there when the market opened at the crack of dawn for best selection.
The bread section looked like the traditional Uzbek nan we were used to, not like the curling stone nan sold in Samarkand!
Back in Samarkand, we decided to see if we could find the city's Old Town. I say 'try' because in recent years the city planners have completely redesigned Samarkand to attempt to seal off the area from tourists' view. Roads had been re-routed and hideous walls erected behind the Registan so that virtually all access points between the older sections and touristy parts were closed off. That sounded like a challenge to us so off we trod in search of what we could find in what remained of the Old Town.
These adorable kids, sitting all by themselves, looked like they were really enjoying their bags of chips!
When I looked up, I saw the Star of David on the downspout.
Repairing the dome of the Registan's Tillya Kari Madrassa looked relatively easy in 2018 but made us both wonder at the ingenuity required to construct it in the first place at least six hundred years ago.
Another look at the entire Tillya Madrassa, not just the dome.
From the top of the steps looking at the three madrassas that comprise the Registan: on the left, the Ulug Beg, in the middle, the Tillya Kari, and on the right, the Shir Dor. How much prettier they all looked in the sun compared to when we first saw them a few days earlier! As you may recall from a previous post, they were all constructed from 1417-1660.
The reason we 'had to' pass the Registan again was to catch a communal taxi to drive us to Urgut, a town about 25 miles away that had reputedly one of the best bazaars in the country to buy jewelry, antique clothing and suzanis, the marvelous Uzbek embroidered textiles we had seen so many of in other cities. It was no problem finding a driver until he took us to his car a couple of blocks away where we then had to wait twenty minutes until he was able to convince two others to join us for the 45 minute drive! We couldn't complain too much about the wait as the cost was only 20,000 som or $2.50 for both of us.
One of the weirdest travel experiences we've had occurred when the driver needed gas en route and all of us had to get out of the car and wait while he filled up! That just didn't happen with our driver but with all the drivers. There was at least a covered waiting area that made the almost 20 minute wait more pleasant. We had had the same experience about ten days earlier on the six plus hour drive from Nukus to Khiva when the taxi driver 'suggested' we get out of the car when he needed to get gas but we thought then it was out of thoughtfulness so we could use the restrooms, not because of some rule.
Once we got to the market, I wasn't quite sure whether he was loading or unloading!
Just inside the entrance we saw several money changers with the largest wads of bills I've seen doing business out in the open. As I wrote in one of my first posts on Uzbekistan, the money situation in the country was crazy as there were 8,000 som to the US dollar! When Steven was finally able to exchange a couple of hundred bucks into som our first afternoon in Tashkent, the country's capital, he had well more than a million som in bills to carry around in his money belt. Uzbek money felt almost like the bills in the Monopoly game.
We must have passed about fifty stalls in the market selling the red, velvet like mules that so many women in Samarkand wore.
Couldn't resist taking a photo of this man wending his way through the narrow lane with the ginormous pot blocking his sight!
Traditional Uzbek men's hats for sale - the white design around the brim varied from city to city.
We had a devil of a time finding where the suzanis were for sale in the market so I was quite relived when several vendors pointed us in the right direction as they were well away from the clothing and kitchen items. Once we found all the shops selling the suzanis, it seemed as if the vendors found us as they came out holding pieces to pique our interest.
The most popular suzani item by far was cushion covers. Here we were being shown designs typical from different regions in Uzbekistan.
This tablecloth was gorgeous and must have taken a huge number of hours to complete. I felt badly when I conveyed we had no need for such a large item.
I was delighted when I found place mats I really liked in one shop as I figured they were something we'd use and were also small enough to add to our ever expanding bags! Then the 'fun' began to figure out the price we were willing to pay that was also acceptable to the vendors. I hate that part of the process and Steven always thinks I pay too much so I have learned to leave it up to him generally after we privately have figured our 'walk out the door price.'
In no time at all, other vendors and passersby gathered round in the shop trying to negotiate the price on the one vendor's behalf! I've never seen anything like it before. Many people might find the bargaining back and forth too unpleasant, but, as you can see from the expression on the face of the woman above, there were a lot of smiles throughout the process which ended well for us and the vendor thankfully.
The ladies' lips were all pursed for the photo because they were very self-conscious about their mouthful of gold teeth. Earlier, I had bought the bag to store some of the souvenirs we'd been amassing for the last couple of months as my suitcase was bursting at the seams.
This man whom you may have noticed in one of the previous photos acted like our unofficial market guide for a bit when we expressed an interest in finding certain items. We really appreciated his going out of his way to help us navigate our way through part of the massive market.
Only in Samarkand and neighboring Urgut did we see men wear these heavyweight long coats that looked like a cross between a dressing gown and a men's formal coat!
This was one of the few markets we'd been to in Central Asia - and we'd been to a lot of them! - that had a bicycle parts section.
One of the most enjoyable sections of the market, apart from the suzanis, of course, was the huge restaurant section. Here, the cook was dishing out plate after of plov, a traditional Uzbek dish made of rice and carrots with a bit of meat placed on top, to hungry customers. We'd eaten plov throughout the country but had never seen it served before.
Do you remember my mentioning in the post about the market we went to in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, how virtually all restaurant meals are served on pretty navy and white china? Here, you see an example of it.
These other options didn't look as appealing to me.
As at Samarkand's Siob Bazaar the previous day, we saw several cobblers at the Urgut Bazaar but not at any of the other markets anywhere in Central Asia for whatever reason.
We happened on another area of the market that also catered to hungry shoppers. At no other markets this whole trip have we encountered such a big restaurant section as at Urgut's. The shish kebabs smelled delicious and looked like hamburger meat or was it horse meat possibly, I wondered?
I heard this young boy whistling long before I spotted him. He was great!
We continued to be flabbergasted at the numbers of socks for sale at every market in Central Asia - there must have been thousands we saw just in Urgut alone!
Now, who could possibly resist this ice cream cone for all of a thousand som or twelve cents - certainly not me!
More of the slippers cum mules I mentioned earlier. After seeing them for sale throughout the market, I came so close to trying on a pair as they looked comfortable but then I came to my senses and realized I did not need them!
The man was wearing the coat slash dressing gown I wrote about earlier in the post.
The biggest sausages I have ever seen!
Ancient Singer sewing machines were for sale. I wonder what price the man was selling them for.
As we were leaving the market, a man came up to offer us a ride back to Samarkand and we accepted after agreeing on a price. We didn't realize until he led us to his marshrutka that we'd then have to wait until he collared about five others to fill it up before he'd be ready to leave. One of the most enjoyable experiences I had about the market in Urgut, and there had been many, with buying the suzanis, the kindness of the man shepherding us when we needed help, walking through the restaurant section, was the trip from Urgut back to Samarkand! Steven got to ride shotgun and I was in the middle seat, thankfully by the window, when three women piled into the back seat and two others and two children got in beside me and with all their purchases.
The parking lot was so jammed pack that, while our driver was off trying to get the final passengers to join his marshrutka, another driver got into our van as it was blocking his way and released the parking brake so it would roll forward a few feet. That was definitely a first! Since we had a longish drive back to Samarkand and our quarters were rather tight, the ladies and I in the middle seat had a fun time together. It turned out the older one, aged 50, was mom to the younger one, aged 27, who herself had four children including her four year old twins with her that day. My stash of granola bars and raisins and almonds from home came in handy with everyone except for one of the twins who kept staring at me but refused all my overtures! Even though their knowledge of English wasn't very good and my Uzbek was nil, it was so much fun talking with and making a connection with the mom and daughter on the journey.
These adorable kids, sitting all by themselves, looked like they were really enjoying their bags of chips!
The streets were pretty barren, the houses very basic, there were few shops and not a lot of signs of life compared to the bustling tourist areas so nearby.
One of the first attractive buildings we spotted was the Makhdumi Khorezm Mosque. A sign indicated that Hodja Abulaysi was a great scientist who lived in the 14th and 15th centuries and who wrote more than forty books.
This was the first mosque we'd been to where there was no one else around or inside - no visitor, staff member or a local praying.
The interior was small but had attractive tile work.
The wrought iron gate on the other side of the mosque was pretty.
One of the things I have not missed since leaving Uzbekistan has been the ditches down the middle of most streets that made it often more challenging to walk around.
How much more hay could this driver possibly fit into or on his Lada?!
It was quite a shock when we turned a corner and saw a large and lovely park and then the new Mausoleum of Imam-al-Matrudiy in the middle of what appeared to be a very poor area. Since there was an admission fee, Steven waited a few minutes while I walked around and took pictures.
A view from the mausoleum toward the park we had walked beside for a long ways:
When compared to so many of the absolutely spectacular mosques, madrassas and especially the Shah-i-Zindah necropolis we'd toured the day before, this was nothing special. But what made it stand out was its location amidst the poverty in the Old Town and away from virtually all tourists. I felt privileged in a different way seeing it unlike my reaction seeing the other religious places.
Nearby was the entrance to the Hammomi Dovudi or bathhouses that were still in use.
Just down the street from the baths was the 19th century Gumbaz Synagogue but it was closed.
When I looked up, I saw the Star of David on the downspout.
I think it was so unusual seeing tourists in this area was the reason why two locals watched us as we walked down toward the synagogue and were still there as we walked back in the direction of the baths. It did feel a tad creepy, though.
None of the children we saw, however, on our stroll had any such reservations greeting us with exuberant hellos each time. These children looked like they were just returning from school even though it was 5 pm. I didn't know if they only attended for half days or whether their school day was very long.
The small Mubarak Mosque had the most unusual fountain in its courtyard!
Down another alley was the colorful Koroboy Oksokol Mosque with its glorious ceiling.
Throughout this section of Old Town mosaics decorated many of the newer walls. I was glad we made an effort to discover a slice of the city's neighborhood life away from all the glam normally associated with stunning Samarkand.
We had really lucked out with dinners in both Khiva and Bukhara but our luck ran out in Samarkand when we had a tough time finding restaurants just like we had in Tashkent. The night before the only place we could find open was one that served fried chicken which was fine until the power went out! This time Steven ordered his favorite meal when traveling, namely spaghetti bolognese. Rather than looking anything like the picture on the menu, it was more of a questionable vegetable mixture with the pasta. It looked pretty inedible to me but Steven was somehow able to get it down even while smiling! I had ordered a goulash of some sort which was good as long as you liked about a cup of parsley on top!
Next post: Back to Tashkent for the last time and its State Art Museum and Russian Orthodox Cathedral.
Posted on Election Day, November 6th, 2018, from Bilbao, Spain.
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