6th of January, 2023.
Hitchhiking in Uzbekistan.
When I am leaving the Villa, it is raining a little bit. A little bit but with constancy, so I am about to get really wet soon. But what to do? I have to reach Tashkent either today or tomorrow. I cannot simply sit and wait for the rain to stop.
Lots of cars pass by. The rain keeps falling constantly.
When one car stops and I see the young woman sitting in front with the driver I am happy. She looks very friendly and sweet. The driver tells me they are going to Tashkent only on Sunday, the day after tomorrow. But he says that they would be happy to have me as their guest until then. They look like very nice people and I am very tempted to accept the offer. But then I remember I told Yulduz and her family that I was coming either today or tomorrow. Would they feel too offended if I was to come on the 8th? I kindly refuse the offer, explaining quickly why. They are very understanding and wish me good luck.
Immediately after the couple leave, I start feeling bad for not having accepted their offer. I should have! I am sure that Yulduz would understand that I am a traveller and meeting the locals, just like herself and her family, is part of my journey. Plus, it would guarantee my trip to Tashkent with the safety of one family all the way.
In about five minutes the car is back. What? The driver tells me that his wife insisted for him to come back and try to convince me to stay with them once more. And he even mentions that he could try to push the travel day for tomorrow, if I wanted. It is not necessary, I say. And then explain to them that I was already reconsidering my answer, and would love to be their guest for these two nights. All settle then!
Farhok works as a translator, Russian to English, even though he is an Engineer. Mohinur is expecting their second child, a girl this time, because they already have a small boy, Gamur.
We stop by the Cancer Hospital of Bukhara. The traffic jam around and inside the hospital is huge! Farhok tells me that they are having a huge increase on the numbers of people with cancer in Uzbekistan. He believes that the reason is the number of pills which people take very often. To any and every single thing you need to go and talk with a doctor, they will prescribe you some medicine. I think he might be right.
When we get to their home, I have a coffee with some delicious pastries, Chak-Chak (fried thin stripes of a sweet dough, finished with honey on top) and an amazing cake, all prepared by Mohinur. I then help her with our lunch / dinner: Manti. She prepares the meat filling and I am chopping small cubes of pumpkin. She uses a ready-made dough, the type you use to make shawarma, and makes the Mantis as long rolls. We cook then in this special pot, for steaming dishes. It is just the two of us now because Farhok went to the mosque and Gamur is still at the kindergarten. She can understand English but is a bit difficult for her to speak, but we manage. She is only 23 years old! They got married when she was 19 and by the age of 20 she gave birth to Gamur. I cannot even imagine what would be of me if I had had a child when I was 20…
The Mantis are delicious! And we have some nuts, more cake and some sweets after.
During the whole day, Farhok’s phone keeps ringing. When I ask him why so many calls, he tells me it is mostly because he has some deals with the people from the train station, meaning, he can have access to tickets from Bukhara to Tashkent, which usually are booked in advance for politicians, in case they need a last-minute trip to the capital. The calls are from friends and relatives, trying to get one of these tickets from him.
I play with Gamur a little bit and try to practice some English with him. It is super cute when he repeats some words. He is only 3 years old.
Next morning, after a delicious breakfast prepared by Mohinur, Farhok offers to drop me off in the old town, and stay there for about 3 hours, until he finishes the work in his car and can pick me up back. Wonderful idea! I love to be able to visit a town twice! It helps to stick the places and pictures in my head!
I am told by Farhok that, and hits story is a bit different from what you can find in History, before the Russian Revolution, Bukhara used to be one of the richest towns in the world because of their gold. They were also a monarchy, ruled by Emir of Bukhara. But the people were not satisfied with the system, and wanted Democracy. Apparently, they paid the Russians to come and take down Emir, so they could be free. But when Aman discovered their plan, he also came to Russia and offered them more money to leave him alone. You see, the irony is that both sides, the people and the King got betrayed by the Russians. They came and destroyed and robbed the whole country, taken away almost all their gold.
Emir managed to send some huge amount of gold to Switzerland, with the promise of only given it back to the people one Bukhara was free. Bukhara, not Uzbekistan. He escapade, apparently, using an underground tunnel which was connecting his Summer Palace to outside town. He died in poverty though, after spending all the money it was left.
Being back in the old town is wonderful! I visit my beautiful Kalyan Minaret again and take some other shots, including one with my wonderful blue silk scarf (by Anna), in front of the gorgeous college entrance. And this time, I visit a very interesting tapestry between the Registan and the Bazaar Street, called Tim Abdulla Khan Trading Dome. Don’t miss it!
I also visit a bit more of the places around a very historical site in Bukhara: Lyabi-i-Hauz. What is this? Very interesting question… This is the one of the few last remaining Hauz pool in Bukhara. These pools were sources of water for Bukhara. They were very popular, and could be found easily until the 1920 and 1930, when they were mostly filled by the Russian Empire, due to the fact that they were spreading many diseases.
Many wonderful ancient buildings all around this area. I am mostly fascinated by the water channels nearby Lyabi-i-Hauz, because they have these adorable smaller channels connecting them to the buildings.
Farhok comes to pick me up at the arranged time. He first drives to the Bolo Hazu Mosque, just nearby the Arc of Bukhara, to do his pray. This mosque is also a historical mark, and a gorgeous building indeed!
When we come back, while having lunch, Farhok gets a phone call. After a few minutes he tells me that during the process of trying fixing his car, which was more like a check-out before the long trip to Tashkent, they discovered that he must change a certain piece. But they don’t have the piece at the shop, and now they have to order. Because it will take up to two days for the piece to arrive, Farhok offers me a train ticket to Tashkent, and I can leave today.
It is all very unexpected, but as he tells me that he can get the tickets for free, I accept. But we will leave in one hour.
The lovely Mohinur prepares a lunch box for me, with pastries and some delicious chocolates! Yummy! How kind of her. At the train station, I call Lobar and explain to her the change of plans. They will meet me at the train station in Tashkent.
A normal train from Bukhara to Tashkent it takes up to eight hours. This one I am taking, it is a speed train, only stopping in two other cities, so I will be there in less than four hours. Great!
I watch World War Z. They give the passengers going all the way to Tashkent a lunch box! Yupi! What a surprise! There is a croissant, a muffin, a cookie and a package of instant coffee. Great!
Out of the train station, waiting for me, is Yulduz. I give her a hug! How nice is to have someone so lovely waiting for you! We are bombarded by taxi drives, to whom, each one of us only say: Polyok!
10 Years Around the World 