Friday 31st March, 2023

Khiva – Islam Khodja Minaret: Dishon Kala: City Walls: North Gate: East Gate: Nurullaboy Palace

Today, we still have a few things on our list of places to visit here in the Itchan Kala. All of us are also contemplating climbing the Islam Khoja minaret.

Dave and I plan to have one more attempt at finding the Ata Murad Matriza Kushbegi Mosque, which according to information I have read, is perhaps the most beautiful mosque in Khiva.

In the Dishon Kala (the outer city), there is a palace and a bazaar amongst other sights still to see too.

Over an early breakfast, the four of us mentioned probably meeting up at an acrobat show in one of the madrassa’s courtyards at 5.30pm.  One of us had seen a poster advertising the show.

A waiter offered us all a tiny hot pastry, as he did so, he showed us his phone and on Google translate it said ‘It is Friday, a blessed day for Muslims”. We wondered if they did this every Friday or just throughout Ramadan.

After spending a short while searching for ‘perhaps the most beautiful’ mosque and being unsuccessful we set off in the direction of the Islam Khoja.

As Dave and I arrived, we spotted Anne disappearing inside. The minaret and the adjoining madrassa were built in the early 20th century.  They are named after a prime minister who served from 1898 until his death in 1913.

This, the tallest structure in Khiva is almost 45 metres high. After paying the equivalent of 10 Euro  each to climb the minaret, we entered the small door and I saw the unbelievably steep steps.

“We must be mad” I muttered. This sentence became my mantra as steep step by steep step using our hands and knees to help us, we slowly climbed the cylindrical tower.

There wasn’t a handrail and when I reached the top, I saw to my dismay that it was just a small area, again with no rails. There was just a sheer drop down the stairwell.  Anne and Pete were already up there and there were also a couple of young guys.

The space was extremely limited and I took a sharp intake of breath and clung to the wall every time someone moved to look out of the small window.

The views were indeed spectacular.  Another person joined us and said that his mate had given up part way up and returned to the bottom – obviously a sensible man!

Before we decided to descend the minaret, we listened carefully to ensure no one was climbing up as there really wasn’t any room to pass.  We made our way down very slowly, using our hands and knees and once or twice edging down on our bottoms! Dave split his trousers on one of the impossibly steep steps!

The sensible young man who had changed his mind part way up was sat at the bottom waiting for his mate, looking a little sheepish.

Anne and Pete headed off to the carpet workshop and Dave and I headed back to the hotel for Dave to change his trousers!

I remembered seeing a few units where young women were working at sewing machines so we took the trousers and they were repaired in 10 minutes. The shy young woman attempted to wave us away when we enquired about the cost but we pushed some cash into her hands.

It was time for coffee and we returned to the colourful café we had visited on our first day.

The friendly lady came and took our order beaming at us and showing off her gold teeth.

There are many locals with gold teeth; here in Central Asia, it is a sign of wealth.

 

Many folk have their healthy teeth removed and replaced with gold teeth, the alternative is to have their healthy teeth filed and capped with gold.

Earlier, we had noticed one member of staff in the hotel whose top set of teeth were half gold and half natural.  Perhaps he is saving up for the other half!

Seated at the traditional tapchan, we relaxed and drank our coffees.

I wrote a few notes in my journal while Dave checked some directions for later.

This whole place is amazing and we absolutely love it!

Leaving the Itchan Kala by its East Gate, we visited the bazaar with its domed ceiling.

Brightly coloured embroideries known as suzanis hang from the walls and are draped over many of the stalls.

One young man displayed fantastic paintings of Khiva in a bygone era.  Some he had painted himself, some were painted by his father.

Cutting back through the inner city, we exited through the North Gate and marvelled at the 10 metre high sandcastle like walls that surround it. These walls were originally built during the 13th century.

 

 

 

 

 

Now in the outer city, we make our way through the streets to the Nurullaboy Palace.  The Dishon Kala is livelier than the Itchan Kala with people going about their daily lives.

It has shops, supermarkets and traffic, all in stark contrast to the quiet and vehicle free museum like city behind the walls.

The Khan of Khiva decided to build the Nurullaboy Palace after a visit to Russia in the late 19th century. The interior décor is opulent, featuring many designs that he admired on his travels in Russia.

 

 

 

 

 

The Ruler ordered various items from St. Petersburg including expensive flooring and furniture.

Tsar Nicholas II sent two huge chandeliers as a gift to the Khan. The palace had 100 rooms, and its completion almost bankrupted the city.

The palace was interesting to see and it had some wonderful courtyards with fountains.

While walking around the beautiful grounds, we met and chatted to an elderly couple from Russia.

We would continue to bump into this couple at various times throughout the remainder of our time in Uzbekistan!

Just outside the East Gate, the tempting smell of freshly baked samosas from a small eatery made us stop for a light lunch. Hot soup served with noodles was also on the menu. Therefore, our delicious lunch consisted of a couple of beef samosas and soup.

As we went through the gate and back into the inner city, we browsed at a couple of the stalls selling a myriad of colourful souvenirs in the shadows of the spectacular madrassa that was our hotel.

An hour or so later we went to the madrassa which was holding the acrobat show.  The four of us sat chatting, relaxing in the shade. Earlier in the day the temperature had reached 30 degrees, this was much higher than the usual average daily temperatures for the month of March in Khiva.

Unfortunately, the show didn’t go ahead due to us being the only people in the audience, however, a short while later we came across a different type of entertainment,

First, we heard music and then we saw a group of people performing a puppet show as they walked through the ancient city streets. The puppets, some of which were life size, were obviously professionally made. The group were interacting with passersby and everyone was having a great deal of fun.

 

 

 

 

 

As the sun set in this incredible ancient city, we sat on the roof terrace of the Minor Boutique Hotel and ate a delicious meal.

Earlier today while at the top of the Islam Khodja, Dave and Pete had apparently spotted the roof terrace. Anne and Pete had later checked out the menu and booked the table.

Wow! The view was stunning. What a perfect ending to a fabulous time in Khiva.

 

 

 

 

 

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