Miramsmeanderings: Tashkent to Urgench to Khiva 11.10.13

An early start as we left for the airport at 7.40am for the flight to Urgench. Another coach ride for the one hour trip to the ancient walled city of Khiva. Khiva is a stunning monument to the history of the region. It is a city in a desert and slave caravans, wild tribesmen and a harsh unrelenting desert are all part of its long (2,000 year) history. Bebe says that the economy of Uzbekistan is doing very well and is based on cotton (5th largest producer in the world), rice, wheat etc., so an agricultural economy. Uzbekistan still has close ties to Russia, who invests a lot in their country. On arrival we checked into our hotel, nice accommodation on the ground floor for a change. We then went straight out for a guided tour of Khiva. Walked a short distance and into Itchan - Kala (the walled inner town of the city) through the ancient gate. The wall is huge and constructed of clay and straw. Very picturesque and solid looking with of four gates, east, west, north and south. A town now swept pretty clean for tourists and is crowded with little souvenir shops and stalls. It is also full of beautiful madrassas, tombs, alley ways, palaces, and fortresses. Superb buildings tiled extensively in shades of blue tiles in lovely intricate patterns. It must have been quite a place in the old days but is now a tourist trap but beautifully preserved and restored. The workmanship is astonishing. We had a very intensive tour including the Pakhlavan Makmud Complex. Most impressive and spectacular. Old cobbled streets. .Went into a coffee shop and some of the group had vodka (Bebe was keen on Vodka). Judy left her bottle holder behind which was a nuisance as we were unable to recover it. Dinner in the hotel tonight. The service was slow but the food was OK.

The north gate into Itchan-Kala