A CENTRAL ASIAN TALE; BUKHARA

by OZGUL ERDOGAN (Turkey)

A leap into the unknown Uzbekistan

Ours was a long and difficult journey. In truth, I would have preferred to live in medieval times and to make this journey with caravans, to shop in carpeted tents in the noisy markets I have seen in the orientalist works of Russian painters, and to be able to choose among the most beautiful silk fabrics. The first stop of the journey that started in Ankara was Tashkent, in Uzbekistan. The city appeared immense with its broad, spacious tree-lined avenues.The idea was that the crew would shoot the Annual Silk and Spice Festival taking place, in Bukhara. Our crew was filming a documentary series around the world for Turkish Radio and Television. As a travel enthusiast, I write programs that will take me to distant places.It was almost like a dream come to true, having the opportunity to go to this legendary country of the Silk Road, which united the East and the West for thousands of years. Following the shoot in Tashkent, we set off to Bukhara with the Afrosiyob high-speed train, preferred by tourists and locals alike. Our excellent guide was Jahongir, a history teacher fluent in Persian, Turkish and English. We called him "Cihangir" as we say in Turkish. Cihangir’s Turkish was so good that we felt like we had never left Turkey. He works at the tourism section of Bukhara Province. I think I should define my first meeting with Bukhara as "love at first sight". It is a stunning medieval city with so many historic buildings. When we arrived the first time, from the new part of the city where we were staying, to the UNESCO World Heritage site ancient city, looking at the Ark Castle, I felt like one of the fairy tale characters of Alisher Nava’is books. It is unbelievable that hundreds of years ago, people could build structures like these monuments with great craftsmanship and delicacy, and that they have lasted to this day. The opening of the festival began in front of the Ark Castle in Bukhara. There was a big ceremony with long lines of young locals, in their traditional ikat caftans, singing and dancing. It was impossible to cut through with our cameras. Somehow we managed to film the long walking ceremony all the way to Lyabi Hauz Square despite the crowd. Nadir Divan Bey Madrasa, near Lyabi Hauz Square, is one of the most beautiful places in the city. Thanks to many artisans at the festival, we had a chance to see the ancient arts from the ancestors of Bukhara. An architectural marvel, goldsmiths, wood carvers, miniature artists, and suzani quilt masters were just some of them. One of the interview subjects of our documentary was Zulayho Hanım, who is famous for her suzanis. Her boutique hotel, located on one of the old streets of Bukhara. Her family showed us great hospitality. The crew enjoyed Bukhara’s flavors so much that we kept eating the same dishes every day. Cihangir Bey, who knows his city and culture very well, took us to local restaurants, and turned our busy working days into a feast. Local shish kebabs and meat samsa pastry made the top of the list along with the special Bukhara pilaf. Obviously, in ancient times, being the most important accommodation and trade center on the Silk Road added wealth to Bukhara. Even today, it is easy to imagine the merchants and camels that set out in the vast squares of Old Bukhara. The city still carries that old soul in all its streets. Although it was hard to climb the Kelan Minaret, the view we saw when we reached the top was worth it. The entire old city stretched below with its turquoise domes, high minaret mosques and flat-roofed houses. As we finished filming, we agree to keep this city close to our hearts with beautiful memories we can not forget. We say goodbye to this fascinating city, hoping to come back again one day, leaving a pair of old shoes in the hotel room, based on the saying, "Who leaves his things in Bukhara will return again." For now, we leave the fairy tales in our dream world till our next travel to another fascinating old city.