There’s something about Bukhara !

Posted on by sudhagee

I fell in love in Bukhara. I wasn’t expecting to, but then love is always unexpected, isn’t it?

In fact, I wasn’t expecting anything from Bukhara when I visited Uzbekistan in September 2015. I was too busy dreaming about the Savitsky Museum at Nukus, the blue domes of Samarqand, and the minarets of Khiva. Bukhara was part of my itinerary, but it was more like a pit stop in the 700+ km road distance between Khiva and Samarkand — a place to rest and relax before moving on to the city that had inspired my Uzbekistan trip in the first place — Samarqand. Therefore, my online research for Bukhara only comprised a cursory reading of its history and finalising a B&B to stay.

I arrived in Bukhara after a 7-hour drive through the gorgeous Kyzyl Kum Desert from Khiva. The journey wasn’t particularly tiring as the roads were good for most of the distance, but after seven hours in the car, I just wanted to reach Bukhara. My first impressions of Bukhara were of a clean city with wide tree-lined avenues, multi-storied and traditional buildings existing side by side, and a very different vibe from the cities I had visited in Uzbekistan thus far.

#MyDreamTripUzbekistan, Bukhara, Uzbekistan, Travel, Central Asia, Heritage, UNESCO World Heritage Site
The main courtyard at Rustam & Zukhra

The B&B I was staying in, Rustam & Zukhra, was a charming little place and though I was tempted to rest after the long journey, I thought it best to walk and stretch my legs a bit. Within minutes, I was at the historic Lyabi Hauz Complex and was transfixed by the sight before me.#MyDreamTripUzbekistan, Bukhara, Uzbekistan, Travel, Central Asia, Heritage, UNESCO World Heritage Site

The cool, dappled sunlight and a soft breeze wove its spell on me and I felt all the tiredness just drain out of me thereby setting the tone for my Bukhara visit. Over the next two-and-a-half days, Bukhara wove its magic on me ever so gently and unobtrusively through its history, monuments, friendly people, markets and its gentle culture.

I wish I could compose a poem in praise of Bukhara, but a poet I am not. I could write some free verse I guess, but I don’t want to risk losing my few blog readers. So a photographic ode to Bukhara it will be. 🙂

Presenting my ode to Bukhara below. Clicking on any of the photographs will enlarge it and you can then use the left or right arrow keys to navigate through the 25 photographs and their accompanying captions.

 

A man cycles past the remains of the Bukhara’s old city walls built in the 16th century
A father and son wait for fish to bite at a pond near the Samanid Mausoluems. In the background the original city walls of Bukhara can be seen
She blushed when I told her that her embroidered work was as beautiful as her
Locals playing dominoes at the Lyabi Hauz Complex
A tourist reads her guidebook at the 9th-10th century CE Samanid Mausoleum, perhaps the oldest Islamic monument in Bukhara
Call for afternoon prayers at the Kalyon Mosque.
Dancers at a programme to showcase local culture, dance and music at the Nadir Diwan Begi Madrassah
A Choy Khana near the Bakhouddin Nakshbandi Complex. It was early in the morning and unfortunately closed. I would have loved to sip some fragrant tea here.
A typical, sumptuous breakfast at Rustam & Zukhra.
Dry fruits at the local market
View of the Kalyon Mosque and Minaret from a rooftop Cafe
Beautiful windows with stained glass widow panes at the Sito-Rai Moi Hosa Palace
Carpets for sale at the Layabi Hauz Complex
Storks are considered to be good luck and are not disturbed when they build nests on top of monuments, even if it is a few hundred years old.
Specialised scissors used for embroidery. Note the stork design 🙂
The moon and minar
The Kalyon Masjid Complex and the Minaret at the background
The dining room at the Komil Bukhara Boutique Hotel that I stumbled upon by chance during my wanderings in the streets of Bukhara. The murals on the walls are original and date back to the 19th century
Detail from the tile work on one of the monuments in Bukhara
The door to a Caravanserai, now boarded up and falling into ruins. Wonder how many caravans and traders passed through these doors with their wares
A Qu’ran printed on silk cloth.
The evening sun lights up a bare brown mud wall
A charming little house that I came across in one of the alleyways
How could I not photograph this vintage orange car?
Do you remember the lovable and irascible Mulla Nasruddin Hodja ? And his tales and stories? Well, he is considered to be a son of Bukhara and I was delighted to make his and his donkey’s acquaintance at the Lyabi Hauz complex.

There are so many memories from Bukhara that could not simply not be captured in images, emotion  or spirit. So, I will have to make do with words instead.

The carpet seller who would say “Salaam India” each time I passed him by.

The girl at the café who said her name was Sarah. And then whispered softly that her Indian name was Sunita.

Following the aroma of freshly baked bread in the alleyways of Bukhara one evening. I literally sniffed my way to the bakery.

The gentle and ever smiling mullahs at the mausoleums and masjids.

Zukhra, of Rustam & Zukhra, settling down to watch her daily fix of dubbed Hindi movies.

Raj Kapoor’s “Dum dum diga diga” being played for a show to promote Uzbeki textiles.

Local Bukharans spending time at the Lyabi Hauz complex and relaxing with family and friends.

The aroma of fresh somsas (samosas) and the taste of fresh pumpkin patties.

The special spiritual spirit or vibe of the city.

It is believed that visiting Bukhara 7 times is equivalent to doing the Haj. I’ve been there just once and don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go there again. But I can say one thing with confidence: a part of me will always remain in Bukhara. 🙂

My Dream Trip Uzbekistan Series:
Dear Uzbekistan | A city called Nukus | Art in the Desert: The Savitsky Collection at Nukus | Mizdahkan: A city for the dead | 3 forts & a dakhma | Itchan Kala of Khiva | There’s something about Bukhara! | Monumental Bukhara | The Jewish Heritage of Bukhara | Shakhrisabz: The home town of Amir Timur | The Registan Square of Samarqand | The blue city of Samarqand | The silk paper factory at Konigil | The surprise & delight that was Tashkent | Uzbekistan: The food & markets special | The Uzbekistan trip planner |

Join me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as I share this journey and all “My Favourite Things” with you.

Published by sudhagee

I write about this, that, here, there and everywhere... Come, explore my world.

53 thoughts on “There’s something about Bukhara !”

    1. Thank you, Nutsure. While claims that Nasruddin Hodja is their son, so does Iran and Turkey too. I believe there are similar statues in those countries as well. 🙂

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  2. I loved Bukhara, perhaps the most amongst all the places we visited in Uzbekistan. I felt time had stopped there and I’d like to think I was not wrong. I have almost absolutely similar pix of teh people, of the ambience, obviously of the monuments. Lyabi Hauz complex and Poi Lakyan gave me goosebumps then; and again on seeing them here. The Sammanid remains an indelible memory. Thanks for this photographic ode.

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    1. I remember you telling me of how you loved Bukhara the most. And yet I didn’t pay more attention to it !

      ore than the feeling of time having stopped in Bukhara. I felt that there were various dimensions and visiting each monument just took you to another world. I loved visiting all of them, but the Chor Bakr complex (did you visit it ?) was a little more special. It was so atmospheric ! But more of that in my next post.

      There is so much to write about Bukhara, and I couldn’t do that till I got done with this ode. 🙂

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  3. Thanks for your enchanting memories and beautiful photos. By the way, my father used to have the same vintage old car. It’s called “Moskvich” and you can still see quite a few of them on the streets of Ukraine.

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    1. Welcome here, Antonina. So nice of you to stop by and comment.Thank you so much for telling me about the car – I love orange and I love vintage cars and this was an unbeatable and irresistible combination. 🙂

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  4. What a beautiful place! The pictures are beautiful. Loved Mulla Nasruddin statue and vintage car. How come Sarah had the Indian name Sunita? Need to know more..

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    1. Thanks, Lata.

      As for why Sarah/Sunita? The Uzbeks love Indian films and television and are hooked to it. One of the characters in a Hindi serial is Sunita so Sarah decided to adopt it as her Indian name. Many young girls have an Indian name and learn Bollywood dancing.

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  6. You need not be a poet for your language is poetic enough, Sudha ji. Your posts are a pleasure to read . Bukhara on my wish list now along with Khiva and looking forward to Samarkand.

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    1. Hi Zehra. A warm welcome to “My Favourite Things”. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting your appreciation.

      And I’m so thrilled that Bukhara and Khiva are on your wishlist. I hope that by the time I finish the series (another 7 posts left) more cities will be added to your list 🙂

      Samarkand is still three posts away – the next two posts are on Bukhara and the third is on Shakhrisabz.

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    1. Hi Kurush, so nice to see you here. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting.

      The intention of my writing these posts is for the purpose of tempting people like you to travel to this wonderful, beautiful country.

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  9. Sometimes, the places that we really do not give much importance in our travel plans, turn out to be unexpected surprises. The pictures are captivating; I particularly liked the delicious breakfast spread and the teapot brought back memories of childhood breakfasts and evening teas in
    Calcutta. The stork scissors are really cute. The pink house is so similar to many of our village homes – the bullock cart wheel on the wall. The carpets are gorgeous. Are they made of wool?

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    1. I nearly fainted when the breakfast was laid out in front of me the first day. “All for me?” I asked. “All for you,” was the beaming reply. I like heavy breakfasts but this was a bit too much.

      I think the carpets were a mix of wool and silk, but I’m not sure. Didn’t think to ask. Next time, I’ll ask for sure. 🙂

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    1. Thank you for the appreciation, Madhu. 🙂

      Bukhara is layered and there is so much to see and experience that the mid boggles. I hope that you get to visit Bukhara sooner rather than later.

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  12. Funny, when I was a kid, Uzbekistan as a country did not exist. However the names like Bikhara and Samarkand had seeped down in our dreams from the tales of the past .. This is my first nearest to real visit to those places via your blog 🙂

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    1. And here’s wishing and hoping that Uzbekistan gets added to the list of places you visit. It is a traveller’s and photographer’s delight. 🙂

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  13. I can relate to your post about leaving a part of yourself in a country that is so delightful and fascinating in terms of culture, people, history, architecture, food and so on. I have had experienced this in India, Iran and just recently, Jordan. There is something about countries that are rich in history and culture – almost everything that you encounter, for example, food, historical monuments, have a story about how they had evolved over time – I find it so fascinating! Great pics – I remember seeing them on your Instagram feed 🙂

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    1. I do tend to leave a bit of myself behind and also carry something of a place I have visited. but none have been so compelling as Bukhara, and Kalpa in the Kinnaur Valley in Himachal Pradesh.

      Glad the post struck a chord with you, Kat. 🙂

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    1. Welcome here, 2TravellingSisters. Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting. Bukhara is a magical place – at least I thought so. Its layered and subtle and reveals itself ever-so-slowly to you. 😉

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