Khiva, Uzbekistan

Upon arriving in Khiva, it felt like I had found what I came on this trip for. A city guarded by solid sand stone walls, with baked bricks forming medresses and minerets, decorated with turquoise tiled conicals. It really is completely magical, and our hotel is right in the heart of the old town. From the roof terrace, there is a fantastic view of Islamic styled architecture, from ornate mosaic tiles to plain, sand coloured domes, as local boys ride bicycles and men push carts on the road below. Although this city was restored a few years ago, it still holds a lot of charm and te people here are keen to say hello, seeming genuinely happy to see us and speak a few words of English.



On our first night, the hotel prepared a fantastic meal for us, as the table was adorned with bread, nuts and dried fruit. Our host brought out small bowls of bean and beetroot salad and another dish of fried vegetables, with tomatoes and aubergine. Our starter consisted of a watery soup, with a few chunks of meat, floating next to potatoes. The main course was peppers, stuffed with meat and rice, accompanied by more potatoes and a selection of vegetables. Plates of watermelon and apricot were dispersed amongst the table for dessert. It felt like quite a feast and I was very happy with all the fruit and vegetables, after what felt like a week of snacking on crisps and packet marble cake, in order to satisfy my hunger. It seems like the variety of fruit available here is good.




We went for an evening stroll, and as we passed peoples houses, small children would wave and say goodbye to us, which was quite funny, so we said hello and the child looked quite confused, and eventually smiled and said hello. As we continued walking we then said 'bye'. The streets felt completely safe as children could play in the street after dark and old ladies would smile at us. We ended up in a tea house, sitting on low down furniture, sipping our choice of lemonade, beer and tea. It was a good end to the day.

The morning we had a delightful breakfast of bread, fried egg, pancakes and jam in a large dining room, before setting off, for a tour of Khiva. We have a new guide, who is enthusiastic and opinionated, putting great energy into telling us about the city, which is the oldest in Uzbekistan, interspersed with jokes and great insight into an observation of religious trends of new Islam, and whether the country is ready for religious freedom. He has a great mind for such topics and seems to take a very pragmatic approach to life. It has been interesting, listening to him talk about such subjects, particularly regarding young people who get into Islam without understanding the true values, which trying to combine a modern lifestyle with old traditions, in a way that isn't always successful.



We visited many wonderful medresses, in a city surrounded by an astounding display of architecture, each with their own embellishment of hand painted tiles, forming star shapes and circular patterns. We exit through wooden doorways, with carvings as intricate as the patterns on the walls. The city is so peaceful, with just a handful of tourists, discovering the secrets of central Asia, the architectural delights remain absent from the minds of most Westerners, whose idea of a holiday consists of little more than a beachside villa on mainland Spain, rather than something more adventurous. Khiva feels like an entirely different land, far removed from the Western world in both style and culture, having developed on a seperate path from the heritage that I am familiar with. I am looking forward to seeing more of Uzbekistan. Already, this is a place that I would like to return to, with people to share the experience with. It utterly preceeds my expectations, and runs only in parallel to Cambodia, for a place so visually stunning with likeable, easy going people.