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Uzbekistan

Preparing the meat to be served with the Plov.

Today is Sunday and the restaurant is filled with families eating Plov. Photo taken from the balcony above the main dining room.

Dining room on the ground floor looking up to the balcony.

Still another dining room filled with families and friends gathering on Sunday for dinner.

We leave Tashkent and fly to Nukas, the Capital of Karakalpakstan and visit the Savietsky Musesum with beautiful paintings and works of art.

This region is known for the Ellik-Qala or fifty fortresses. The desert oasis of Khwarezm offers a literal treasure trove of archeological and anthropological history. Dotting the vast desert of what was once ancient Khwarezm are the ruins of countless forts and towns collectively known as the Golden Ring.

The archaeological site of Toprak-kala ,1st-4th centuries AD, is one of the most remarkable architectural monuments of Khorezm. It was thought to have a population of about 3,000 persons and was the principal city of one of the local dynasties.

We walked up and around this site. The site consists of three fortresses which were built from the 4th century BC to the 7th century AD. The fortresses were part of a series of forts at the edge of the Kyzylkum Desert, which provided defense against raids by nomads and the Saka of the Syr Darya delta.

The enemies' approach lies parallel to the south east walls and invaders were vulnerable to attack from above. A massive gateway defended by two rectangular towers leads into a small rectangular chamber.

Camels below on the desert floor looking down from the top of the fortress.

The enclosure of the fortress consists of an inner and outer wall with a vaulted corridor between them, about 2 m wide. The walls continue above the vaults, forming a protected rampart walk. The walls are up to 33 feet high and at their base 6 to 7 feet thick.

Ayaz Kala is a fortress dating back to end of the 4th or beginning of the 3rd century BC. It is speculated to have been built as part of a chain of border fortresses guarding the borders of the Kyzylkum Desert. The fortress is situated on the top of a hill, approximately 330 feet high, providing wide views over the surrounding plains.

Looking down from the top of the former fortress to the end of the road and a small hut encampment to stay and our bus parked.

Looking back up at the fortress where the previous photo was taken. We climbed down and walked out of the fortress top areas.

When out in this part of Uzbekistan it is necessary to have a four wheel drive when you want to be off road. Obviously this couple had not thought it through before starting out.

We are now in the town of Khiva. Khiva is split into two parts. The outer town, called Dichan Kala, was formerly protected by a wall with 11 gates. The inner town is encircled by brick walls, whose foundations are believed to have been laid in the 10th century. Present-day crenellated walls, a pattern along the top of a parapet, a fortified wall, most often in the form of multiple, regular, rectangular spaces in the top of the wall, through which arrows or other weaponry may be shot, dates back to the late 17th century and attain the height of 30 feet.

The semi round cement, laid on the smooth parts of the wall, are actually burials of those that were killed on that very spot defending Khiva through its history.

Inside the wall within the city installing new pavers in the streets.

One of the 11 entrances to the inner city.

Kalta Minor, the large blue tower in the central city square, was supposed to be a minaret. It was built in 1851 by Mohammed Amin Khan, but the Khan died and the succeeding Khan did not complete it.

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