(Morning all. Overnight received 18 days of blogs to post from the Puce Goosers. What can I say, the silk road is not that smooth and all has not gone quite to plan! No photos as yet, read on. Noel)
A sleep-in, breakfast & then we were off to see whether we could find a business which could weld the broken bracket from the front mudguard. A taxi driver said he knew of a place so we jumped in & soon found ourselves in a residential area. Pulling up, there was a welder complete with garage pit. Bracket was handed over & he got to work. $US10 dollars later our bracket was ready & we drove back to town.
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| Welder welding front mudguard bracket |
We found out that the official rate for $1 is 1700 som & the black market rate is 2,500. As taxi drivers know these things, I was asked to stay put & Phil was led down a side alley. The door was opened slightly, a hand came out & took the US dollars & wads of som notes were handed back in return. The frequently used note is 500 som so we seem to carry around large bricks of notes.
We then went to have a look at the Kalon Minaret. When it was built in the 1100’s it was probably the tallest build in Central Asia. Kalon means great .It is 47mts tall with 10mt foundations, including stacked reeds for earthquake proofing. Genghis Khan was apparently so dumbfounded by it that he ordered it spared. It has different ornamental bands all the way up. Locals can climb the tower, but foreigners cannot.
On then to the Ark, Bukhara’s oldest structure, dating from the 5th century. Inside there are former living quarters of the Emir’s Prime Minister, courtyards, royal stables etc. There is also a reception & coronation court which lost its roof to a Russian bombardment in 1920.
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| Ark, in front of which, Conolly & Stoddart were beheaded |
In front of the Ark in 1842, Colonel Stoddart & Captain Conolly were marched out from a dungeon cell, made to dig their own graves & in front of a large crowd & the sound of drums & reed pipes, were beheaded. Stoddart had arrived 3 years earlier to reassure the Emir about Britain’s invasion of Afghanistan. Conolly arrived 2 years later to try & secure Stoddart’s release but the Emir believed him to be part of a British plot so he too was thrown into a cell.
Behind the Ark is the Zindon, the gaol which is now a museum. It has several dungeons including the gruesome bug pit (lice, scorpions & other vermin) where Stoddart & Conolly languished for all that time.
We walked around the old town & there are stalls selling all sorts of things. Headwear made from all types of skins, sheep, fox etc. Phil bought a Russian flying helmet (just what you need in a Morgan), as well as a Uzbek cap. I bought a silk scarf.
On the way back to the hotel we came across a hairdresser. While it appeared to be for women, Phil motioned that he’d like a beard trim & haircut. No problem, he was soon in the chair being pampered. Whilst this was going on, women were having their eyebrows plucked. I thought I’d give that a try. A lot of the plucking was done with 2 strands of cotton. All very painless and the cost for both was $12.
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| Phil's haircut in salon with pictures of camels on the wall. |
It is very hot again today. One local told us it was 38 degrees and it is like this for most of August.
Dinner was very pleasant up on the open rooftop terrace (salad, barley vegetable soup, & beef stroganoff with rice followed by fruit.
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