Bukhara

Saturday morning we left at 5:50 a.m. for Bukhara, a famous old city along the Silk Road.  The kids were so excited to fly again!  Caleb in particular was a joy to watch; he was so proud of sitting all by himself in his own seat (he was in a carseat on the way here to help him sleep better).  He kept unbuckling and rebuckling the seatbelt and smoothing down the extra part on his lap just right.  

After a short, pleasant flight, we deplaned and checked into our hotel (below) before eating a nice breakfast.  I was surprised when I thought about the contrast between my first hotel breakfast in Samarkand and the one that day, where I was familiar with all the foods and knew that I much preferred the crepes that were folded in triangles to the ones that were rolled (filled with strong-tasting cheeses), for example.

 After breakfast we went sight-seeing.  Our kids did really well this trip and I was surprised at how well they sat through the guided tours--getting older, getting used to it, or maybe a combination of the two.  Christoff even stood with all the adults and listened (though it probably helped that he had a friend two years older on the trip, too).  The most memorable thing about the first place we visited (a combination of mosque, madrassah--Islamic school, and cemetary) was all the superstitions attached for getting wishes granted.  One place was roped off to keep people from going into it to do something that was supposed to allow the person buried there to grant them a wish (frowned upon since only Allah can grant wishes).  The most fascinating was the Tree of Desire, which is this huge old tree trunk on its side rubbed smooth by millions of people trying to scratch off a piece of bark, which if you hold while going around it and stooping/crawling under the space between the trunk and the ground three times, entitles you to a wish.  Even elderly people took their turn going underneath (see below)!

 Finally, around 1:30 we got to stop and have lunch at a Tea House.  We ate some traditional foods...lepyoshka with salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, onions), a potato and corn salad, etc., squash soup, and a meat and potato dish.  Caleb fell asleep after the soup course and Mia and Kade lay down to rest...I’m sure we were a sight, but they were so tired out after their early morning I decided it didn’t matter.

 "Traditional" Safety Precautions--Careful, Caleb!

 That afternoon we went to a Women’s House Museum, which was one of the highlights of the whole trip for me.  After showing us where and how the women lived, the owners took us into a large room lined with benches with little tables that Uzbek tea cups on them.  We sat down.  First they showed us exactly how they put bedding in a traditional Uzbek cradle around the pot, and how they would wrap the baby to hold the little pipe thing a in place, and how they wrapped and tied the baby down so that all the pee would end up in the pot; they assured us that this was just for nighttime.  It was interesting to understand exactly how it worked.  Then they chose me “the mother of 5” to do the clothes demonstration.  I got to wear the whole traditional Islamic garb, from the bulky bottom layer to the cloak with sleeves tied behind my back to show I’m married to the hat to the face covering.  And it was wierd to feel like I was looking through netting but see pictures of me looking completely covered.  I’ve always wondered what it would be like, so it was really fun to try it out.  They had me walk three steps behind Jared up and down the carpet to demonstrate how women walked.  So fascinating!

 Yes, that creature behind Jared is actually me (Julianne)!

 Drinking water from an Uzbek teacup

 Our souvenir this time was....sunglasses! :) (We'll buy something more expected next time).

 We ended our day eating another traditional-style Uzbek dinner while watching a fashion show highlighting traditional Uzbek dress and dancing.  I love the way Uzbeks move their hands so beautifully when they dance! 

 The second day we spent mostly walking around Old Bukhara.  We saw madrassahs, the oldest mosque in Bukhara from the 12th century (and learned about the special place that points to Mecca and how they built the door opposite it so you would be pointing to Mecca when you walked in), Mausoleum of the Samanids (the most ancient brick building in Central Asia 9-10th century), another mausoleum that legend says the Bible prophet Job visited--you can touch the holy water from the well he created and get a wish, a minaret, and the kids’ favorite--an area they excavated last year and found the foundations for an old caravansarie.  They built walls to show where they might be located, and since it’s Uzbekistan, they were free to run around, jump over the low walls, etc.  We saw a lot of shops and learned about Uzbek marionette puppets (I really want to buy some when we go back) and how they’re made, Uzbek herbal tea with 6 spices--delicious (we had a sample), and the traditional Uzbek musical instruments.