"Ishaani" and "Ranvir" return from 2 weeks in Uzbekistan
 

Hello everyone,

My husband and I just returned this week from 2 weeks in Uzbekistan. We are a couple (from India) in our late 30s/early 40s living in NYC. Our names are NOT Ishaani and Ranvir, but that's what most everyone in Uzbekistan called us during our time there. Why? Because, as we soon discovered, there are the lead characters in a very popular Indian soap/TV serial that airs every evening at 7pm and watched by every Uzbek. Everywhere we went, we heard murmurs of Ishaani all around us. We were treated like celebrities and posed for more pictures with locals that we can count - both old and young, men and women and giggling teenage girls, with some women going so far as to hold on tightly to my husband. It was all very entertaining and fun.

I'll be back with a trip report soon, but wanted to go ahead and post a video of a Mongolian quartet playing soulful chanting music at the Sharq International Music Festival that we were lucky to catch at the Registan in Samarkand - beautiful music in a stunning setting. Hope you enjoy.
https://www.facebook.com/ajit.thomas...8/?pnref=story

Looking forward to your TR!

Glad you're interested Thursdaysd! Hope to start on it tonight when I get home from work.

Looking forward to your report as well.

"Why Uzbekistan?" is a question we heard repeatedly and incredulously from friends and colleagues. More so than with any of our prior trips, and we've been to Asia (including the Middle East) and Africa. My colleagues were even worried for our safety, once they realized that Uzbekistan shared a border with Afghanistan, albeit small.

For me, it was the draw of the Silk Road - names like Samarkand and Bukhara conjuring up images of shimmering turquoise blue domes rising above the parched earth; of merchant caravans and camels carrying silk, incense, spices, precious stones and other goods across mountains and vast deserts; of the exchange of ideas, language, art, music, and religious thought; and the many layers of history that exist because of invasions from the East and West including Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan.

My obsession with the textiles and handicrafts that Uzbekistan is so well known for, including ikats, suzanis and handmade pottery, was also a big reason for this trip.

I soon found another draw - Babur, the founder of the Mughal empire in India and great great grandfather of Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal, was born in Uzbekistan in present day Andijan in the Fergana Valley. The last Timurid emperor and descendant of Tamerlane, he was forced south into Afghanistan and India, after he lost Samarkand to the Uzbeks yet another time. This shared history was fascinating to read up on and also helped us start up a few conversations during our travels.

I had 2 weeks to work with - because of work schedules and the summer heat, we decided to go at the end of August, hoping it would have cooled off a little by then. Samarkand and Bukhara were definite stops and given my aforementioned obsession with ikats and pottery, I also wanted to spend a few days in the Fergana valley. Since we would be flying in and out of Tashkent, that left us little time for another city, and we didn't want to rush. So, very sadly, I had to drop Khiva off our plan, the very long 8 hour drive from Bukhara on not so great roads making the decision a little easier.

This is the final itinerary that we ended up with.
Day 1: Arrive Tashkent
Days 2-5: Fergana
Days 6-9: Samarkand
Days 10-13: Bukhara
Day 14-15: Tashkent

Taking the train seemed the most efficient way to travel between Tashkent-Samarkand-Bukhara-Tashkent, the last leg being an overnight trip. There is enough information available online via Advantour's website and seat61.com to figure out schedules, travel classes and prices. Bookings have to be done on the ground, however.

For hotels, I was able to email them directly and make reservations. No deposits were required.
We prefer smaller or boutique hotels and B&Bs over larger, run of the mill or chain hotels and our budget is typically mid-range. In Tashkent, I booked us at Jahongir B&B, in a residential part of the city, close to the old town and Chorsu bazaar, for $50/night. In Samarkand, we stayed at Antica B&B near the Gur Emir behind the old city gates for $70/night. Most older and historic homes in the area were demolished by the Soviets, so there are limited choices here. Bukhara, on the other hand, has several charming boutique hotels located in beautifully restored Jewish merchant homes or madrassas, making it very hard to pick one. Ultimately, I settled on the Amulet hotel for $80/night.

The Fergana portion of the trip was harder to plan since no public transportation is available and I had specific artisans I wanted to visit in Margilan (for ikats) and Rishtan (for ceramics). I have to thank uzbekjourneys.com - their website and blog articles were wonderful resources that helped me plan this leg of our trip.

As Indian citizens, we also needed an LOI (letter of invitation) to get a visa for Uzbekistan. This is typically provided by tour operators, so to kill two (or rather three) birds with one stone, I emailed a few recommended companies about organizing the Fergana portion of the trip, LOI and train tickets. Most all, including Advantour, came back to say that I had to organize the entire trip with them - all hotels and transfers. Being independent travelers, this wasn't appealing to us at all. MIR and Salom Travel were the two that put together a plan for me. And, while I usually prefer to use a local operator, in this case Salom, in the end I decided to go with MIR, only because I felt more confident that they could arrange a visit with all the artisans I had picked. Now that I am back, I am sure Salom could have done the same, but at the time (and this may be due to language issues via email), it wasn't entirely clear they understood what I was asking.

MIR (based out of Seattle) required payment in full prior to the trip. They organized a car, driver and guide for the 4 days and booked the hotel in Fergana. They also included entry fees to the sights in Kokand, our first stop on the trip. Our other stops were Margilan, Rishtan and the Kumtepa bazaar on Thursday on the way back to Tashkent. They charged $40 each for the LOI, which they provided once we had sent over our passport details, employment letters, itinerary and visa application forms. I sent them the train #s that we wanted tickets on as well as the class and they booked them for us. Hotels will also book train tickets, if needed. We booked the high speed Afrosiob train #762 from Tashkent to Samakand in Business class. From Samarkand to Bukahara, we booked seats on train #10, also in Business class. For the overnight back to Tashkent, we booked a 2 berth sleeper on train #661.

We applied for the visa at the consulate in NYC and surprisingly, got it the very same day. They asked us to wait 20 minutes after we submitted the paper work and returned our passports to us with the visa. Very easy. The Uzbeks waiting at the consulate were as surprised as everyone else that we were traveling to their country; it was fun talking to them about where we were going and how excited we were to visit and we left with lots of well wishes.

Money was another big consideration prior to our trip. Uzbekistan is a cash based economy for the most part and I had read that ATMs were either unavailable or didn't work and were therefore unreliable. So, it seemed that we would have to carry all our travel money in crisp USD bills and exchange them there. Since I planned to do a bit of shopping, we ended up carrying a chunk of money with us - divided between the two of us and broken down into $100s, $50s, $20s, $10s, $5s and $1s.

There was also the additional complexity of the black market. The official exchange rate is artificially inflated and was about 2500 som to the dollar when we were there, but when exchanging on the black market, you can expect to get anywhere from 4000-4600 som! So, that's what everyone does. This is all very interesting and a little unnerving and not something we've ever done before, so I closely follow the Tripadvisor threads on the topic before we leave to see what everyone's experiences have been.

The B&Bs we stayed at exchanged money for us at 4400 som to a dollar. In Bukhara, the hotel wouldn't change money, but we were able to get 4550-4600 som to a dollar at the market.

Thank you so much for all the great detail. I have wanted to visit Central Asia ever since traveling the eastern end of the Silk Road (Beijing to Islamabad) in 2001, but I never seem to get there. Have been wondering about next year...

I am interested to hear that you used MIR, I have always thought them too expensive, but I definitely want support for part of the trip - the mountains further east as well as Ferghana - and perhaps I would find them less expensive used for just part of a trip. I have considerd at least a partial tour with Sundowners, although like you I am an independent traveler.

Particularly interested to hear that the visa process went smoothly, as getting visas for five (six if I include Iran) countries that require LOIs and lots of paoework is daunting.

thursday - MIR was definitely more expensive and I picked them only because visiting the specific artisans was an important part of our trip. In retrospect, I could have used Salom Travels. I visited their office while in Bukhara and they seem like a well run company. So, definitely consider them as well as you plan your trip. Which, btw, sounds very exciting! Iran is on my list of places to visit within the next few years so will be interested to hear who you decide to travel with there (since from everything I've read, you have to travel with a tour company).

As Indians, we require visas to just about every country in the world, so we've become experts in putting together visa applications and paperwork over the years. :-)
Except for the LOI which seemed unnecessary, I found the process pretty straightforward.

Thanks for the info. Whether you have to travel with a tour in Iran depends on your nationality. The LOI is left over from the Soviet times.

I'm enjoying your report - we hear little here about the central Asian countries, so this is a treat.

Appreciate the details you are sharing with us. I suppose the bureaucratic hurdles are just part of the experience in this part of the world.

Thanks for reading along. Trying to get to my report as and when I have time, but work has been keeping me busy.

We booked our flights on Turkish Airlines from JFK to Tashkent via Istanbul. On the return leg, we have only an hour and half to change planes, which isn't enough given every Turkish flight we've ever taken has departed late. But, Turkish Air assures us this is doable (snort) and there isn't any other option at a decent price point (that isn't Aeroflot). A month before our trip, Turkish reschedules the flight from Tashkent to Istanbul such that we now have only a 35 minute layover. So, I call and request that they move us to a later flight out of Istanbul. After some back and forth with a couple of different agents, they agree and put us on the next flight which leaves 6 hours later. Phew! However, they require us to go to JFK to complete the last step in the re-booking process. They assure us this can be done up to 3 days before the flight, meaning we can do it at the airport on our way out. But, not wanting to take any chances, Ajit (my husband) goes to the airport a few days later to get this resolved. The schedule change worked out well for us in the end, even though we now had a long layover.

<b><u>Arrival in Tashkent, zipping around on the Metro and the lovely Applied Arts Museum</b></u>

We fly out on Friday, August 21st close to midnight and arrive in Tashkent an hour late on the 23rd at 2am. There are 4 counters open for passport control, 2 of them for foreigners, and the lines move excruciatingly slowly. It's past 3 by the time we get to baggage claim. While Ajit waits for our bags, I fill out the customs forms - 2 copies for each of us. When noting the amount of currency you're bringing into the country, be sure to declare every dollar you have on you. I am a little nervous about all the cash we're carrying, but the customs guy barely gives the forms a glance before stamping them. Remember to hold on to your copy of the stamped form - you'll have to turn it in on the way out. We finally get out of the airport at 4am. I've arranged for an airport pickup with Jahongir (for $10). Our driver is Jamaluddin who's from Termez (on the Afghan border) and very chatty and he gets us to the B&B in 20 minutes. We check in, leave our passports with the owner for registration with the police and happily sink into bed after what feels like a very long day. Well, sink wouldn't be the right word since the mattresses are very hard; nevertheless we are asleep very soon.

We wake up at 8 feeling a little refreshed and head down for breakfast. There's green tea, traditional bread or non as it's called in Uzbekistan, homemade jams, salami, fried egg, blini with apricot preserve, and fruits. We meet Feruza who manages the B&B and pick up our passports that now include a hotel registration slip attached to the front page. We'll collect one of these from every hotel during our trip - they check the dates at passport control when you depart so you'll want to be sure there are no gaps. We also change $100 at 4400 som to a dollar and end up with several wads of cash. Lesson learned - ask for 5000 som bills so you don't get 440 1000 som bills! Counting the notes took us several minutes and a couple of do-overs. By the end of the trip, we would become much more adept at this, maybe even get a job as a bank teller in a Central Asian bank. :-) Our impression of Jahongir and our room is that it is large and clean but very basic, with Soviet style decor from the 90s. To be fair, given other options in the city, I do think we got good value for our money.

Jahongir is a 5 minute walk from the Tinchlik metro stop on the red line, which is another reason I picked this B&B. A metro token costs 1000 som and can get you to any stop on the 3 lines. There are police stationed at the entrance as well as inside just before you go through the turnstiles. Everyone's bags are checked, and if you are a tourist, passports are checked as well. Our passports elicit smiles and a few comments about Indian movie stars. Sometimes the policemen just liked to scan through all the visa stamps and comment to each other in Uzbek. The Tashkent metro is Central Asia's only metro and therefore its pride and glory. Built in the late 60s and 70s after the devastating '66 earthquake leveled Tashkent, it is meant to showcase Soviet architecture. Each station has its own unique features: marble columns, glass chandeliers, ceramic art, carved alabaster, arched ceilings etc. The stations are treated as military installations however so no photographs are allowed, and not on the trains either. The trains themselves are clean, but look dated. In lieu of air conditioning, the windows are cracked open.

Our first stop this morning is the Applied Arts museum. We get out at the Kosmonavtlar stop and don't know which way to turn. Our not very detailed guidebook map doesn't list all the streets and Tashkent's wide boulevards and intersections mean that we end up walking up and down a few times trying to look for street names that we can find on the map. The policeman outside the metro doesn't understand what we're looking for either. It's Sunday and there are few people out and about. After a few minutes, we spot a man walking our away and while he understands where we want to go, he struggles to give us directions. We feel a little inept on our very first morning. Soon, an old woman with a smiling face and mouth full of gold capped teeth walks by and asks what the problem is and offers to walk us to the museum. How wonderful! Our first taste of Uzbek hospitality and kindness that we see throughout our trip. This woman, who must have been in her 70s, walked with us for about 5 minutes until we got to the right street, and talked the entire way in Uzbek and we had no idea what she was saying.

Entry to the museum is 26k som for the two of us with cameras. The primary reason I'm excited about the museum is to see the antique suzanis (suzani means needlework and refers to the gorgeous hand embroidered wall hangings and bed covers that Uzbek women created for their or their daughter's dowries). And, I am not disappointed. I'm in suzani heaven and wish I could take all these pieces home with me. In addition to the suzanis, there are antique ikats, blockprint fabrics, skull caps, jewelry, musical instruments, ceramics, carpets and wood carvings - all examples of the exquisite craftsmanship that Uzbekistan is known for. There is also a gift shop but we are not ready to buy anything yet.

From here, we walk to Shota Rustaveli street to look for the Human House store that stocks accessories and crafts by local Uzbek and Kyrgyz designers. The shop is closed on Sundays but I want to scope it out for when we return to Tashkent at the end of our trip. Once we do, we are ready for lunch and decide to try Mangit (also called Manas Art Cafe). We walk up and down the street and can't seem to locate it. We're batting 0 for 2 today. Finally, we walk to the Grand Mir hotel at the end of the street and they point us in the right direction. The restaurants entrance is off the main street but there is a decently big sign that we missed. We sit outside - there are tables as well as wooden beds with cushions and a low table called topchan. They only have a Russian menu with some pictures so we order by pointing to things and asking what meat it is. I end up ordering a lavash stuffed with beef while Ajit gets a lamb shashlik, and we get bottled water and iced tea (tea mixed with kompot, a sweetened fruit juice). Ajit's shashlik is good, but my lavash is huge and has too much dill in it. Uzbeks love dill and while I enjoy a few fronds sprinkled on salads or fish, they add a fistful of it to everything! Not a great first meal for 67k som but we learn quickly and have lots of delicious meals from here on out. This would be our most expensive meal at a restaurant at about $15. On another note, there were a few taxi drivers outside the Grand Mir that offered to exchange money, but we were all set for the day.

After lunch, we take the metro from the Oybek stop to Amir Timur sqaure. We were hoping to sit in the shade somewhere and relax, but while the square is leafy with a large bronze statue of Timur, there is no where to sit that isn't in the sun. It's not hot (temps in the 80s), but the Central Asian sun is very strong. So, we pop over into the five star Hotel Uzbekistan across the street and sit in their lobby for a while nursing a Pepsi. Closer to 4, we make our way towards Independence Square with its elaborate fountain surrounded by typical Soviet style massive government buildings. This is where the Independence day festivities happen every year on September 1st. There's also an Independence Arch topped with a silver stork and a Globe surrounded by a park. Our favorite part of the park is the Tomb of the Unknown soldier, with its solemn statue of a mother mourning her child, in honor of souls lost in WWII. Alongside is a gallery with lovely carved wooden columns and metal books inscribed with the names of the dead soldiers. There are lots of beautiful flowers as well. Now that it's after 5 and the sun is more gentle, we see more locals than we've seen all day - people out for a stroll, friends sitting around and talking and parents taking pictures of their kids.

The tree lined avenues and numerous parks and fountains make this a prettier city than we had expected. Given the 320 days of sunshine and little rain, the parks are lined with hundreds of sprinklers that come on in the evenings, to keep them looking as lush as they are. Later, we walk along the Ankhor canal that separates old and new Tashkent. The guidebook indicates that there are a few chaikhanas along the canal, but unfortunately they appear to have closed. We look for the Earthquake monument and can't find it. Either our map sucks or we are very tired. By this time, our jet lag is catching up with us and we decide it's time to head back to the hotel. For dinner, we stay close and go to one of the several roadside shashlik places. We get lamb shashlik, non, tea and fresh salad (also called tourist salad) with tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. The shashlik has gristle and fat, but with the chilli paste that's on every table, it's not too bad. We also make conversation with a group of men at the next table who are drinking and playing cards. Next, we get beers and more shashlik (cubed and minced) at the Old Tashkent pub across the street. These meals are just $3-$4. There are only men at the pub, who are all smoking, so we don't stick around for too long. Since the B&B is in a residential neighborhood, there are kids playing on the streets at night and they all practice their English with us - it's "Hello", "How are you" and "How old are you" in that order. Tomorrow, we're off to the Fergana Valley and have an early start at 8am, so we hit the bed early to get some much needed sleep.

Very interesting! You're making Tashkent sound more attractive than I expected. But then I love Applied Arts museums, and textiles.

Fat and gristle are why I regard shashlik with suspicion! The ones in western China were quite varied.

To be honest, while Tashkent was nicer than we expected, 2 days would be sufficient there. We spent 3 just because of how the schedule worked out and I didn't want to arrive from Bukhara the same day we flew out.

The were maybe 5 or 6 large suzanis in the museum, and they were exquisite. The quality of embroidery like I've never seen before. The Applied Arts museum in Bukhara is even better. You'll love it!

I enjoy your very thorough account of your first day in Tashkent. Cannot wait for more.

Thanks tripplanner. Sorry about the delays between segments. Hope to get my act together soon.

<b><u> On to the Fergana Valley and our introduction to Uzbekistan's wonderful architecture </b></u>

I change another $100 before we leave for Fergana, so we don't run out of money while we're there. We have fewer stacks of cash this time with the 5000 som notes. Yay! Our driver for the next 4 days, cheerful but quiet Yevgeny, arrives with a MIR representative from the Tashkent office a little before 8am. The rep, Alexander, hands us our train tickets and shows us how to read them since they're in Russian. And, then we're off. It's a 4 hour drive to Kokand, our first stop today, and once we leave the city limits and cotton fields behind, we climb up the winding mountainous roads of the Tien Shan mountains. I realize this morning that I had forgotten to bring Dramamine along with me and worry I will be sick on the journey, but it's a very pleasant drive. Ajit and I nap on and off and don't get to enjoy the scenery as much, but we do on our drive back. There is military presence along the route since this region is very close to both the Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan borders and there are continued ethnic and economic tensions between the countries. At the passport control stop, there are soldiers with kalashnikovs standing by as we walk to a booth by the roadside and have our passports checked. There used to be a train from Tashkent to Fergana that you needed a multiple entry visa for since it entered the valley through Khodjent in Tajikistan, but given the recent conflicts, is not fully operational at this time.

The Fergana valley is the cotton, mulberry, vegetable and fruit bowl of Uzbekistan, one third of the country's population living in this fertile flood plain of the Syr Darya river. And, while the majority of the valley lies in Uzbekistan, it actually comprises areas in all three countries. We reach Kokand, home to the powerful 19th century khanate, at noon and pick up our guide, Dinora. We're not yet hungry, so decide to check out the Khaidarov home and family workshop, renowned for the Kokand school of woodcarving. The great grandfather of the current master (his father died recently) revived this dying tradition and built ornate doors and furniture for Soviet leaders including Lenin. He also restored several rooms in Khudayar's palace that we would visit after lunch. We look through albums that show his work, watch the master carve a design for a table, and take a look at the tables, chairs and koran stands that are available for sale, the most beautiful being a collapsable 3 tiered koran stand made from a single piece of wood.

Lunch is at a fast food kind of place across from the palace. I get a warm cucumber soup with sorghum and meat and Ajit gets chicken braised with potatoes. We also share a Greek salad and a marinated cucumber and mushroom salad with beef. Washed down with tea. It's a surprisingly good meal. Feeling nourished, we're now ready to tackle Khudayar Khan's Palace, home of the last ruler of the Khanate of Kokand, a Central Asian state that was established in 1710 and once stretched from the valley to Tashkent. In the 1870s the Russians arrived and abolished the Khanate, declaring it part of Russian Turkestan. The palace has a grand entrance every inch covered in bright blue, yellow and green tiles. Inside, there are 19 rooms that survive and have been restored so you get a glimpse of the extravagant woodwork, painted walls and ceilings and objects d'art that once graced the palace. The museum is also interesting. As we walk back to the car, we get invited to pose with a couple of newly weds who are getting their wedding pictures taken. The groom looks happy while the bride (dressed interestingly enough in a Western style white gown like every other bride we see in Uzbekistan) looks quite morose, presumably (according to Dinora) because she is not looking forward to her wedding night with a strange man. :-) Most weddings in Uzbekistan are still arranged especially in the smaller cities and villages, not unlike India. We notice the unhappy bride trend in other wedding picture sessions as well.

Next is the lovely Juma mosque built between 1809 and 1812 and the Khanate's main mosque, the highlight being the 30 foot long iwan (or portico) with 98 delicate wooden columns from India beautifully carved and and painted in lovely bright colors. It's really one of the prettiest mosques we've seen. Before we leave, we pick up some halva (milk not sesame based) from a well known halva maker who has a tiny shop behind the mosque. Our last stop is the working Narbutabey Madrassah, an imposing but rather plain building (especially compared to the palace and mosque). Non-muslims are not allowed inside but we are able to pay the watchman 2000 som each to peep inside and check out the courtyard and student cells. From here, it's an hours drive to Fergana that we use to catch up on our sleep.

Our home for the next 4 days is the Asia Fergana, one of those large, run of the mill chain hotels that we don't like to stay in, but on this occasion we make do given the limited options. Once we check in and freshen up, we take a walk outside to find some dinner. Money is exchanged here only at the official rate, so it's a good thing that we got our som in Tashkent. Fergana is the valley's third largest city and has wide avenues and parks like Tashkent. We buy some bottled water from a store and then walk into a random restaurant with a Tabaka (fried chicken) sign. The friendly waiter patiently helps us navigate the menu. We order laghman (a noodle dish with lamb) and manty (steamed dumplings with meat) along with salad and tea. No fried chicken. The laghman is delish - thick al dente noodles in a tomato based sauce with lamb spiced with cumin. The manty is just ok - the dough is a little too thick. We like the laghman so much we order a second helping. All this for less than $5. Back at the hotel, we sit by the pool and enjoy a couple of cold Uzbek Sarbast beers, to wrap up our second day in Uzbekistan. Funnily, we almost pay NYC prices for our beer thinking the server meant 60k som instead of 16k som.

While Uzbekistan is high on my list of places to visit, the Fergana Valley never crossed my mind. Your report is changing that. It's the scenery combined with the tradition that you're describing that have me interested.

Here's more about our time in the valley, tripplanner. Let me know if I can answer any questions.

<b><u> Ikats and more Ikats (and did I mention Ikats?) in Margilan </b></u>

Today is an exciting day - we're spending it in Margilan, the silk capital of Central Asia and a major stop on the silk road known for its glorious hand woven ikat fabrics, although mass machinery brought in by the Soviets is somewhat changing this industry. Ikat is a form of resist dye weaving where the threads are dyed to match the pattern before being woven into wonderfully complex and colorful geometric designs.

Breakfast at the hotel is buffet style but expansive with bread, jams, egg, sausage, salami, cold cuts, fruits, porridge or cereal, yogurt, cakes, tea and coffee. By the way, the coffee in Uzbekistan is instant coffee, usually Nescafe. Apart from us and a group of Spanish tourists, the remaining guests are Koreans and Russians traveling on work.

Margilan is a 45 minute drive away and our first stop is the Yodgorlik silk factory. This is a private enterprise setup to move away from the mass production trend and preserve traditional methods of silk production and weaving. Demand for their handmade fabric and finished goods is so high that their workforce has increased considerably in recent years. Here, we are able to follow the entire fascinating process from beginning to end in a very intimate setting. The silk comes from the many small mulberry farms owned by individual families in the area that feed silk worms the mulberry leaves until they spin their cocoons. Bags of (very) smelly steamed cocoons are then dropped off at the factory, where they are immersed in vats of boiling water to loosen and draw out the thread. Multiple fine strands are then spun together to create one strong silk thread. We follow the many more labor intensive steps in the process, from wrapping/unwrapping the thread to marking and dyeing the patterns onto the threads using natural colors (the factory has been working on recreating several antique patterns) - both done by men exclusively, and the tying and preparation of threads for the looms to the actual hand weaving - done by women. The weaving is done in a large hall filled with the clatter of the wooden looms, each producing unique and exquisite designs. We also meet a group of young girls (they have to be over 17 to join the factory) who are learning the art of suzani embroidery. Everyone is friendly and the girls especially engage in conversation with us. They're a fun bunch. There is a gift shop with fabric, scarves, jackets and bags, but I don't buy anything. Next door is a tailor, Osio, who Dinora knows well and she suggests I check out their pattern books in case I want to get something stitched later on. This is not something I even considered prior to the trip, but it plants a seed in my mind. Hmmm. I can sense Ajit is nervous. ;-)

For lunch, we go to a small restaurant serving local food (Milliy Taomlar is the term). We have plov, Uyghur style laghman soup (not tomato based like the one we had last night), salad and tea. We also order sour milk (a thinner version of Greek yogurt, but more sour) that livens up the soup when drizzled into it.

Next, is a stop at the Sayyid Ahmad Huja Ishan Madrassa, a picturesque madrassa with a lovely unrestored painted iwan and a canal running through it, now used as a training center for several traditional handicrafts like woodblock printing, hammered metal engraving, weaving etc. Unfortunately, the block print master died recently, so we check out what used to be his tiny workshop. Our main interest is the boutique of master weaver Rasulijon Mirzaahmedov. He is traveling abroad, so his son shows us around. Rasulijon is very famous in the Ikat world ever since he collaborated with Oscar de la Renta on his Ikat inspired collection several years ago. He is also well regarded for helping revive the complex art of silk velvet Ikat known as alo bakhmal. I easily spend an hour here picking out fabric - a meter each of silk, velvet and adras (50:50 cotton and silk) Ikat for cushions and since I can't resist the bakhmal, I also buy 5m of a gorgeous traditional pattern that will make a great tailored coat. Rasulijon's prices are a little higher, but still much cheaper than the Ikats I bought in Istanbul last year. They also have clothes (one size) and bags for sale, as well as some silk carpets. I negotiate a small discount so that makes me happy.

We then head to the home and workshop of another master weaver, Fazliddin Dadajonov. He is a funny, unassuming person and I'm blown away by the selection of fabric here. At times like this, I'm always glad that we live in a tiny apartment in NYC, as there is only so much I can buy. I get some more silk and adras fabric for cushions as well as 5m of adras for a dress. Ikat fabric is narrow (12-16") so you need a lot more of it to pattern match along the length of the outfit. When Fazliddin hears we live in NYC, he jokes that we can just send our extra fabric to his friend, John Robshaw. John is a textile designer that I love who works with traditional artisans in India to woodblock print fabric and bedding using a more modern aesthetic. Apparently, the two are good friends and John has visited his home a few times. I do love that western designers are empowering and popularizing traditional craftsmen like Rasulijon and Faziiddin. Just like with blockprinting in India. Good stuff.

Our last stop for the day is...you guessed it, the tailor. For the dress, I pick a design from the book that I can wear to work or when going out. Dinora helps translate and provides expert guidance as to how the pattern should fall. For the coat, I keep it simple to let the pattern stand out. Tailoring charges are $20 for the dress and $30 for the coat. Not bad! And, I'll get to pick it up the next afternoon. I can't stop smiling.

All of our purchases today have been in dollars, $15/m for adras, $18/m for silk, $25/m for the velvet.

For dinner, we head to Cafe Bravo, just around the corner from the hotel. They have topchans in their outside courtyard that we sit back and relax in. We get shashlik, a dish called angry hot chicken (how could we not get it), bread, salad and tea. The food is good and the chicken is Chinese inspired cooked in soy sauce (a little spicy - yes, angry - no). The owner, Shar, stops by to introduce himself and chats with us about India (his nephew is named Akbar after the Mughal emperor). He studied in London so speaks pretty decent English. He also owns an organic apple farm, and brings us 2 of his freshly-picked-this-morning apples for dessert. Very kind! It's nice outside so we linger for another hour with a couple of beers, listening to remixed versions of popular American tunes from the 80s and 90s.

Sounds like you ate quite well? Also that MIR was worth the price.

I quit buying souvenirs a while back - I need to downsize! - but fabrics are always tempting.