Posted August 6, 20168 yr khiva, uzbekistan we had wonderful opportunity we had to visit uzbekistan and travel the silk road a bit. enjoy! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khiva if you want to learn more, these are the main sights as seen below: UNESCO World Heritage site Ichan-Qala fortress, Kunya-Ark, Sayeed Alauddin Mausoleum, Arab-Mukhamadkhan Madrasah, Oq-Masjid Mosque, Madrasah of Hodjan Berdi-biya, Shirgazikhan, Abdullakhan, Juma Mosque, Allakulikhan Madrasah, Tosh-Khovli Palace, Pakhlavan Makhmud Mausoleum, Minaret of Islom-Khoja. first is urgench, which is about 45min by car north of khiva & 2+hrs from tashkent by plane urgench at night + our khiva hotel the view outside our window in the morning light was stunning hayy -- rise and shine there bodddy! :-D wut? outside ---> dichan qala means outside the walls & ichan qala are the neighborhoods inside this very famous local guy is muḥammad ibn mūsā al-khwārizmī -- his name was latinized as algoritmi, so you know him as algorithm and his al-jabr method as algebra a madrassa -- students lived upstairs and studied downstairs -- there are only a few active in uzbekistan anymore, most are historic sites with shops and the like the famous uncompleted juma mosque minaret you can see how the tiles were marked for placement and interesting that they are nailed in one guess what money used on the silk road was made of? yep, silk pre-islamic zoroastrian influences are found everywhere ongoing archaeological dig sites yeaahhh climbing it - you bet! around our hotel djuma (friday) mosque has what is called a hypostyle hall -- amazingly atmospheric wood carving is big in uzbekistan, pillars, doors, etc. -- some of it is very, very old it has to be cared for and oiled regularly as the dry desert weather harms the wood what is now a shopping han + the main market area just outside the walls post-market day -- these are non (bread) tandir ovens uzbeks are proud of their bread -- for good reason it’s great onward to the khan’s old harem the harem courtyard tradition was for the khan to throw an apple to the so-called ‘lucky’ lady khiva has several charming and relaxing old chiakana’s or tea gardens a chiakana tea garden roof w/fancy woodwork prone to earthquakes, this is how they keep the pillars loose, stuffed w/camel hair last was an ill-advised wander to the un-touristed north gate area -- in 115 degree weather :-P goodbye khiva you amazing ancient walled city you - katta rahmat -- thank you very much! :clap: a travel note to future visitors: i spotted the new urgench-khiva trolley bus, which goes from the urgench airport to khiva *** i hope you enjoyed a virtual visit to one of those amazing places you will probably never get to! ***
August 6, 20168 yr I did, thanks! What are those slatted wooden crates on the walls in the archways of the madrassa?
August 6, 20168 yr Thanks for putting this together! I have to ask, though: where are all the people? Or did you purposefully get shots without crowds?
August 6, 20168 yr thx all -- there is more to come -- What are those slatted wooden crates on the walls in the archways of the madrassa? honestly i was stumped by that, because it isn't seen on other madrassas. at first i thought it might be historic or something, but i poked around online and mystery solved -- i got a laugh out of it: most of these historic madrassas hold shops and craft making businesses, so it looks like here they want their a/c.
August 6, 20168 yr Thanks for putting this together! I have to ask, though: where are all the people? Or did you purposefully get shots without crowds? hmm, its probably a mix of things. khiva is a small town (50k i think) and it is in the middle of nowhere, so it is probably never really all that highly touristed. also, it was well over 100 degrees every day, so people duck the sun. probably the big reason though is because it was eid al fitr, the end of ramadan. this is when people take a long holiday to visit family and do some charity work, so likely it was quieter than typical. however, it was interesting that this is a time a lot of uzbekis come in to visit these famous sights as they have the vacation time. i thought the market was pretty hopping though.
August 7, 20168 yr Very cool. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
August 7, 20168 yr Beautiful city. I visited Khiva about 18 years ago, it hasn't changed one bit. I really enjoyed traveling in Central Asia.
August 10, 20168 yr Beautiful city. I visited Khiva about 18 years ago, it hasn't changed one bit. I really enjoyed traveling in Central Asia. ha - i would hope it hasn't changed, right? that's great that you have been there, it does not seem like too many people have as it's certainly off the beaten path. i will post more uzbek city threads when i can and i would like to hear your thoughts.
August 16, 20168 yr So the pillars sit in a "mat" of camel hair? Is that what we were looking at? And that camel hair has survived hundreds of years?
August 16, 20168 yr So the pillars sit in a "mat" of camel hair? Is that what we were looking at? And that camel hair has survived hundreds of years? yes, yes and no. the camel hair kept up only for the posts used in new construction, for example, mostly like the open chiakana tea house roof posts. the hair acts like a suspension spring for the roof during an earthquake. actually, they said due to the desert air the wood can wear out well before the camel hair, unless it's kept oiled regularly, but they do change the hair once in awhile. there are modern and even ancient posts laying around here and there that have been removed as they wore out and there are several woodworker businesses in khiva that keep this architectural tradition up. some wood comes from nearby, which surprized me as its very desert-like around khiva, and some from the fergana valley on the eastern end of uzbekistan.
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