Khiva 12.10.13

Today was not a very enjoyable day.  Instead of having a day to explore Khiva at leisure we were taken on the rattley bumpy uncomfortable bus for a long ride through rather boring countryside most of the time.  The roads here are terribly broken up.  There appears to have been no maintenance for years and years!!!  We drove through the rural scene, donkey carts, crops etc. for a long time until we reached the first destination which was the ruins of an ancient fort on top of a hill that we had to walk up. There is very little left except some piles of dirt and a very few signs of buildings.  No toilets here, of course.  More diving off into the desert.  Bebe told more rambling interminable stories  of forbidden love, revenge, and murder.  They nearly all end with "and they cut off his head".  Drove on and eventually reached the remains of another "castle" on a hilltop.  Judy and I didn't fancy climbing up a steep hill along a sandy track so waited below in one of the yurts we were to have lunch in.  Or efforts to get a cup of tea were wasted.  Eventually we all got a rather poor lunch in a yurt sitting on the floor.  Pretty much a wasted day on this pointless excursion.  On our return, after 4pm, Bill and I went straight over to the Old City and bought 8 pairs of hand knitted slipper socks, a pair each for offspring and their partners, and children.  Stalls of these socks were everywhere with the women sitting knitting while waiting for customers.  In various colours and sizes.  $24 for 8 pairs.  These socks turned out to be very comfortable and useful and appreciated by the recipients.  As dinner wasn't available at the hotel because of a large tour group we took ourselves into the Old City and had a nice dinner of pizza and ice cream at a hotel there. 



Lunch in the yurt