Uzbekistan 1: Tashkent and Khiva

I don't evenknow where to begin.  I'm wiring this on a bullet train,  racing from Samarkand to Tashkent at the end of the most amazing week.  It's always been a dream to see the cities of the Silk Road.  This week had seen that dream come true.

I decided to use Advantour for this journey, because l  knew this was not a trip to take alone. I couldn't have been happier with my small tour (5-7) total, amazing guide, easy transit, lovely accommodations,  and a superb office staff who made the entire trip so smooth. 

I arrived in the evening on Thursday,  and was met by a tour rep.  He helped with customs,  and then the driver stopped at the bank so I could get local currency.  Last month the government devalued the money to match the black market rate,  stabilizing the economy.  I checked into the hotel,  which was basic but fine.   The next day I'd planned to exile in my own a bit,  but it rained.  A lot.  So I caught I up on work instead.

I met the tour on Saturday morning,  and we set off around Tashkent.  The city was nothing like what I'd expected.  Wide boulevards stretched through the city,  connecting a mix of Soviet era brutalist style buildings with modern ones.   There were shiny monuments to the 1991 independence of Uzbekistan, commanding to Timur, and somber memorials to those lost in war.  Their tomb of the unknown soldier has a statue of a grieving mother rather than a symbol of war.   I find it very powerful.  We also got our first taste of Timurid tile work and saw the oldest Qu'ran in existence.  Lunch was a traditional meal of plov, a mix between stew and fried rice.  I feel in love,  it was so good and filling.   I can't wait to make it at home.   Our last stop was a museum of applied crafts where we learned about making traditional embroidered fabric called suzani.  It is really cool to see how a people who had been forced to give up their traditions while under Soviet rule are now making efforts to revive and celebrate those crafts. 

We took and evening flight to Urgench and then drove through the night to Kiva.  The hotel was just outside the city wall, a cute little inn with a central dining room. 

In the morning,  we started our tour at the gate.   There's so much more from this area than I realized! Many of the scientists from the Golden Age of Islam were from this part of the world.  It was so surprising to see statues and pictures of them in museums! Kiva is a small city,  still wrapped in is city walls.  It was not raised by the Mongols so many old buildings remain.   The palace looks like simple mud brick,  but when you turn the corner you are in a courtyard decorated with the most beautiful blue and aqua tile.  Kiva tile is majolica, different colors applied with glaze.   I could have stared for hours and still not seen all of the details.   We walked from site to site,  from the half finished but fully decorated minaret to the old mosque with wooden columns to the mausoleum across town.   For lunch I had gumma, a kind of fried dumpling, and pumpkin soup.  In the afternoon we had free time to climb the city walls.  Scary! Crumbly mud walls, no railing, no hope of you lose your balance. But,  man,  the views! We ended the day by climbing the tower to see  whole city bathed in golden sunset.   Then it was a race to the airport for a night flight to Bhukara.

The long story

So,  last week while having a fantastic time in Uzbekistan, my cousin texted me a link to a BBC article about the US and Turkey suspending visa support for each other.  "How does this affect you?" She asked.  She knew that I was flying back to Istanbul on Friday. I thought it didn't.  I already had a visa. 

But the more I read, I started seeing phrases like "essentially suspends all travel" in other articles.  There was nothing on the state department site, nothing on the embassy site, just a lot of unclear speculation in the news and a refund announcement from Turkish Airlines.  I started to think that I might NOT be ok to return to Turkey.

I thought I'd just extend my time in Tashkent, but my visa was expiring.  I thought I'd just go to Tel Aviv early, but the price of that started with $2000 and went scary high from there.  I realized there was going to be a big change of plans in order, and started looking at options.  There were basically three possibilities out of Tashkent on Friday to places I could go without a visa: Paris, Milan, and New York.  Milan was cheapest, and closest, so I booked that.   Then I found a flight from Milan to Tel Aviv.   That one was more expensive.... but necessary.  

I managed to get a hotel through my sister's  connection,  and then set about canceling Turkey.  Some was easy.  Some required having my very wonderful cousin in the US call pretending to be me to cancel flights since I couldn't do it online and I didn't have a phone.   Some was refundable.   Some wasn't.  Nothing was covered by travel insurance.  

So I flew to Milan instead of Istanbul, and saw Renaissance art instead of Roman ruins.  I'll get to Ephesus someday.   In the meantime,  I'm trying not to think about how much this unexpected adventure cost and just enjoy it.  It's better than being stick in limbo at the Istanbul airport. 

And that's the long version of why I'm in Italy today.  

Delphi

One thing I got in Greece was a terrible cold.  It knocked me out for a day mid week.  So I figured a three hour ride to Delphi would be a good excuse for an easy day,  and still check off one of the big sites.

Delphi was awesome. I loved being able to walk up the hill in the path of so many poodle before me- the ancients and the tourists.  :)  the site was well preserved and arranged did you could feel a bit of how it was.  Pictures in the museum helped imagine it even more.   There was the "navel" stone,  the serpentine column,  the impressive columns,  and above it all,  the stadium.  I'm so glad I climbed all the way up! Nearby was the picturesque temple to Athena and Olympic training grounds.  It was a beautiful day,  though windy,  perfect for walking in the mountains.  This might have been my favorite stop in Greece.

On the way home I had a delightful conversation with a man from Michigan who was in Greece on holiday.  It was so nice to have someone to talk to! It does get lonely on the road. 

Athens

Athens is not an easy city.  All of the smooth connections and quick settling in ended here.  Athens is crowded,  with lots of graffiti and little personal space.  It's loud and confusing,  easy to get lost in.   My apartment was much further away than I'd anticipated,  creating an extra expense in transit.

Still,  Athens was worth the trouble. From the pretty churches to the awe inspiring ruins to the impressive museums,  Athens had everything I'd expected and more.  The good was cheap and delicious.  I loved the chicken souvlaki at Thasonos, and the gyros from just about everywhere.   I loved finding ruins around the corner, just little preserved pieces of the past.  I loved climbing to the Acropolis- twice!- because of that sense of amazement upon arrival at the gate.  

I was incredibly impressed with the Acropolis museum.  It had some great uses of technology along with artifacts to bring them to life, some wonderful examples of polychrome statutes,  and such a huge collection of art.   I was giddy too see Kritios   Boy, the work we compare to Michelangelo's when studying the Renaissance.   And yes,  the selection of Parthenon marbles was stunning.  The Elgin marbles belong here,  hands down,  no question.   England needs to send them home.  

The museum of archeology was a great contrast to the Acropolis museum.  It was far more stodgy,  but equally interesting because of the depth of its collection.  I've never seen such great Greek statutes.  I hadn't realized how much funeral stones told about daily life.   I was blown away by the bronzes.  I would have bought the replicas in the gift shop if I had infinite space and money. 

I haven't studied much ancient Greece before,  not since Mr. Smelstor's 9th grade ancient civ  class.   I'm a little hooked now though!