Can't get much more random than this, can you?
(This is Lake Charvak, an artificial lake in the Tashkent Province.)
Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia, surrounded by the rest of the 'Stans, just a hair to the right of the Caspian Sea. Like a lot of countries in the region, it was once part of the Soviet Union.
But I don't hold that against it. Uzbekistan has always been one of my favorites. Couldn't say why, though.
Maybe it's just the name. I mean, come on—Ooze-beck-i-stan? A country with a "u" and a "z" in its name? Right next to each other, no less? How many times has that happened?
Then I actually started to learn about the place. As I was telling Mary Witzl of ResidentAlien, I once had an Uzbek exchange student in one of my high school math classes. Mary and I both know how frustrating it can be for people from the 'Stans to talk with Westerners, because we know practically zilch about these countries. We view them as small, out-of-the-way, backwater countries whose people speak strange, nearly dead languages.
That's not strictly true. Kazakhstan is huge. Wikipedia says it's about 2,700,000 square kilometers. That's greater than all of Western Europe combined. Kazakhstan would barely fit inside the continental United States. And as Mary writes in one of her excellent posts, Turkish is actually spoken in the 'Stans, thanks to the old Ottoman Empire. It's the lingua franca of the Central Asia, as it were. That's a far cry from dead.
We're not even clear on the geography of the place. Even I couldn't tell you which 'Stans are where in relation to Uzbekistan. That Uzbek exchange student I mentioned earlier (a very short, round, cute girl) finally got tired of it. One day, before the bell rang, we all pulled out a map of Central Asia and had a look. Our abashment was complete when she began correcting things. On a National Geographic map, too!
"No, no, no," she said. "Bukhara is not the capital. Here, Tashkent capital."
These were cities I hadn't even heard of. Now, when I hear their names, an excited tremble passes through my body. What bewitchment in those strange places, the allure of the East, the mystery of an unexplored land. Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand...shining metropolises waiting to be discovered.
Uzbekistan is beautiful, wild, and rich in culture. The cities are full of ancient mosques and temples, and the scenery is rugged and diverse.
Take the Registan, in Samarkand, for instance:According to the information I found, the Registan was the ancient heart of the city of Samarkand. Registan, some say, means "sandy place" in Persian. The legends say its floor was strewn with sand to soak up the blood of the Timurid Dynasty's captured foes. This is where Tamerlane stuck the heads of his enemies on spikes.
This is the Shakh-i-Zindeh mosque, also in Samarkand:
Uzbekistan is also home to the eleventh-largest desert in the world, the Kyzyl Kum (which, declaims Wikipedia, means "red sand" in Uzbek, Kazakh, and Turkish). It's full of saiga antelope, camels, agama lizards, and Bukhara deer, plus sand dunes and a plethora of fossil-bearing rock formations.
Uzbekistan has changed hands a lot in its history; first Alexander the Great marched through it, then Genghis Khan overran it, then Tamerlane, then the Russians. The Silk Road traverses a good part of the country, and thus the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand prospered in antiquity. The ancient Uzbek princes held quite a bit of influence.
Their wealth and opulence found an outlet in architecture. This is the Samanid Mauseoleum in Bukhara...
...and then there was this little honey, the Kalyan Minaret...
...also known as the Tower of Death. Supposedly built in the 1100s, it was used to call Muslims to prayer five times a day. In times of war, it was used as a lookout point. And also...
Fitzroy Maclean, who I am insanely jealous of, was a Scottish-born English diplomat posted to Moscow before World War II. During his tenure as an ambassador, he traveled extensively around the U.S.S.R., even to places he wasn't technically supposed to go. He sneaked aboard a train to Uzbekistan one day and spent some time exploring the country, much of which was recounted in his memoir Eastern Approaches. (That book is now at the top of my Amazon wish list. You'd better believe it.)
Maclean found that the Kaylan Minaret had a darker purpose: execution. Enemies of the state were thrown to their deaths from the top of the tower, even as late as the 20th century.
Maclean went on to have many more hair-raising adventures during the Western Desert Campaign in North Africa, and behind enemy lines with Yugoslav partisans. Some theorize that Sir Ian Fleming, the famous author, used Maclean as one of the inspirations for the well-known literary character James Bond.
Sir Ian Fleming was also, as I mentioned, born the same year as my great-grandmother, Ruth. Coincidence?
Anyway, whether or not I ever get to travel to Central Asia by train and have hair-raising adventures, Uzbekistan sounds like a culturally rich, visually stunning and metaphysically satisfying place to go. Who's with me?
I'll go! I have always had a love and fascination for the unexplored, non-touristy (I'm afraid to call it this because it's not true, but I'll say it anyways thus revealing my North American ignorance)...*whisper* backwaters* of the world. Or at least, my spirit will go with you whenever you manage to make it there. A fabulous portrait of a world forgotten, half-asleep, written as always with feeling.
Also, thank you for the kindest comments. They truly make my day.
Jane: "Backwater" doesn't have to be a dirty word. I've been to some rather ethereal backwaters in my time. That lake of yours sounds like a lovely, private, memorable backwater.
Non-touristy is the way to go, I hear. I certainly had more fun, and was able to believe I was seeing "the real place," when I was in those non-touristy places. I want to ride across Russia on the train...but NOT on the touristy Trans-Siberian Express. I'd prefer to do it the proletarian way, hee hee...
Thank you yourself for the kind comments! I appreciate it immensely. Perhaps we'll see each other across the Registan someday.
EC: Oh, heck. I waste a lot of time on Facebook. I used to write notes all the time, until I got a blog. I used to play Pirates vs. Ninjas and so forth, too. But I also kill a lot of time on Wikipedia and Google Maps...
I'm glad you like these. I almost discontinued these "random travel destinations," feeling they were trite, dull, and perhaps TOO sententious. But then I decided to keep going, thanks to (gasp!) Polly. She urged me to carry on.
The Straits of Gibraltar! The work of the half-immortal Hercules, they say. That always sounded like a bewitching place, too: Europe on one side, North Africa on the other. Does it get more exotic and enthralling than that?
Novel's getting there. Halfway through the 2nd edit. I think I might actually have a book on my hands now instead of a load of puerile blather. Thanks for asking. Yeah, this has surprised me. I did a little clicking around on a few people's blogs and BAM! This.
You talked to Polly? Omigosh! What does she sound like??? I can only imagine...she and I just have to talk on the phone and then this triumvirate of ours will have completely conversed with itself.
P.S. You're on Facebook? I am too, y'know...(Hint: my middle initial is "T.")
"A load of puerile blather" - you crack me up. You are without a doubt, the funniest wordsmith I know.
So call me. Duh. I already know what your voice sounds like, though, because of your vlogging.
I despise Facebook. I used to adore MySpace, but then Facebook bullied everyone off of it. Facebook is boring, gossipy, and convoluted. MySpace is creative, orderly, and fun.
Wait. There was something else I was going to say. Oh yeah, that post up there, before all the comments - the word that comes to mind is "monolithic." What a mysterious and exotic place! I especially like that Tower of Death.
I knew a girl from Estonia once. It's not a Stan, but still.
Thanks a million, Polly. "The funniest wordsmith I know." I couldn't aspire to a higher compliment. You're the nicest comment-giver I know (and a mighty eloquent wordsmith yourself).
Well, heck! Is your phone number in your profile??? (Or your MySpace page?)
MySpace is certainly prettier, and a lot less boring. But my beef is that it takes ages to load up (if you've got any amount of pictures, or video or whatever). Facebook is a lot more foul, too...lots of fan pages for pornstars and other stuff I don't approve of. No grammar or content police, unfortunately.
Just why I like Uzbekistan! It's mysterious and exotic. You hit the nail on the head. I wouldn't mind viewing Bukhara from the top of the Tower of Death (I'd just have to make sure nobody was behind me).
Estonia, huh? Wow. That's pretty out of the way. Always a treat to meet somebody foreign, but when they're from quote-unquote backwater, a small or sparsely populated place...it's even neater.
Me too! I want to go! And we think alike: the more Zs in a place name, the more my pulse picks up at the thought of it. Zarazoga has always been one of my favorites, along with the Czech Republic (it breaks my heart that it is no longer Czechoslovakia -- how could they?)
The half a dozen Uzbekh students I've had are just amazing: as diverse as any you could imagine. Two are Tatars, wonderfully exotic looking with very white skin, slightly Asian eyes, but blondish hair; a couple look 90% Chinese, another looks more Arab. We think of America as a big melting pot, but Turkey and the -stans give us some serious competition.
Holy cow! Thanks, Chloe! That article was inspiring. Maybe I should just start advertising myself on here, classified-style. "23 YO MALE W/PRIVATE PILOT'S LICENSE SEEKS SPONSRSHIP FOR COMMRCL LICENSE. INQUIRE BELOW"
My husband has actually done business in Uzbekistan. We have a large leather shield hanging in the entrance to Willow Manor from there. Fascinating post.
Jerry: "Outer-thinking." I like that. Got a ring to it. Nice term for what it describes. You're an eloquent man. I guess I was always addicted to the idea (and occasionally the practice) of becoming an expert on something completely removed from myself. Someday I may even take on physics. Thanks for stopping in, always glad to have you.
(This is Lake Charvak, an artificial lake in the Tashkent Province.)
Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia, surrounded by the rest of the 'Stans, just a hair to the right of the Caspian Sea. Like a lot of countries in the region, it was once part of the Soviet Union.
But I don't hold that against it. Uzbekistan has always been one of my favorites. Couldn't say why, though.
Maybe it's just the name. I mean, come on—Ooze-beck-i-stan? A country with a "u" and a "z" in its name? Right next to each other, no less? How many times has that happened?
Then I actually started to learn about the place. As I was telling Mary Witzl of ResidentAlien, I once had an Uzbek exchange student in one of my high school math classes. Mary and I both know how frustrating it can be for people from the 'Stans to talk with Westerners, because we know practically zilch about these countries. We view them as small, out-of-the-way, backwater countries whose people speak strange, nearly dead languages.
That's not strictly true. Kazakhstan is huge. Wikipedia says it's about 2,700,000 square kilometers. That's greater than all of Western Europe combined. Kazakhstan would barely fit inside the continental United States. And as Mary writes in one of her excellent posts, Turkish is actually spoken in the 'Stans, thanks to the old Ottoman Empire. It's the lingua franca of the Central Asia, as it were. That's a far cry from dead.
We're not even clear on the geography of the place. Even I couldn't tell you which 'Stans are where in relation to Uzbekistan. That Uzbek exchange student I mentioned earlier (a very short, round, cute girl) finally got tired of it. One day, before the bell rang, we all pulled out a map of Central Asia and had a look. Our abashment was complete when she began correcting things. On a National Geographic map, too!
"No, no, no," she said. "Bukhara is not the capital. Here, Tashkent capital."
These were cities I hadn't even heard of. Now, when I hear their names, an excited tremble passes through my body. What bewitchment in those strange places, the allure of the East, the mystery of an unexplored land. Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand...shining metropolises waiting to be discovered.
Uzbekistan is beautiful, wild, and rich in culture. The cities are full of ancient mosques and temples, and the scenery is rugged and diverse.
Take the Registan, in Samarkand, for instance:
According to the information I found, the Registan was the ancient heart of the city of Samarkand. Registan, some say, means "sandy place" in Persian. The legends say its floor was strewn with sand to soak up the blood of the Timurid Dynasty's captured foes. This is where Tamerlane stuck the heads of his enemies on spikes.
This is the Shakh-i-Zindeh mosque, also in Samarkand:
Uzbekistan is also home to the eleventh-largest desert in the world, the Kyzyl Kum (which, declaims Wikipedia, means "red sand" in Uzbek, Kazakh, and Turkish). It's full of saiga antelope, camels, agama lizards, and Bukhara deer, plus sand dunes and a plethora of fossil-bearing rock formations.
Uzbekistan has changed hands a lot in its history; first Alexander the Great marched through it, then Genghis Khan overran it, then Tamerlane, then the Russians. The Silk Road traverses a good part of the country, and thus the cities of Bukhara and Samarkand prospered in antiquity. The ancient Uzbek princes held quite a bit of influence.
Their wealth and opulence found an outlet in architecture. This is the Samanid Mauseoleum in Bukhara...
...and then there was this little honey, the Kalyan Minaret...
...also known as the Tower of Death. Supposedly built in the 1100s, it was used to call Muslims to prayer five times a day. In times of war, it was used as a lookout point. And also...
Fitzroy Maclean, who I am insanely jealous of, was a Scottish-born English diplomat posted to Moscow before World War II. During his tenure as an ambassador, he traveled extensively around the U.S.S.R., even to places he wasn't technically supposed to go. He sneaked aboard a train to Uzbekistan one day and spent some time exploring the country, much of which was recounted in his memoir Eastern Approaches. (That book is now at the top of my Amazon wish list. You'd better believe it.)
Maclean found that the Kaylan Minaret had a darker purpose: execution. Enemies of the state were thrown to their deaths from the top of the tower, even as late as the 20th century.
Maclean went on to have many more hair-raising adventures during the Western Desert Campaign in North Africa, and behind enemy lines with Yugoslav partisans. Some theorize that Sir Ian Fleming, the famous author, used Maclean as one of the inspirations for the well-known literary character James Bond.
Sir Ian Fleming was also, as I mentioned, born the same year as my great-grandmother, Ruth. Coincidence?
Anyway, whether or not I ever get to travel to Central Asia by train and have hair-raising adventures, Uzbekistan sounds like a culturally rich, visually stunning and metaphysically satisfying place to go. Who's with me?
12 comments:
I'll go! I have always had a love and fascination for the unexplored, non-touristy (I'm afraid to call it this because it's not true, but I'll say it anyways thus revealing my North American ignorance)...*whisper* backwaters* of the world. Or at least, my spirit will go with you whenever you manage to make it there.
A fabulous portrait of a world forgotten, half-asleep, written as always with feeling.
Also, thank you for the kindest comments. They truly make my day.
I can clearly see you have not wasted nearly so much time as I on Happy Pets and Happy Aquarium on Facebook!
Love the geography show and tell lesson.
Right now I'm enthralled with the Straits of Gibraltar.
How's the novel coming? And congratulations on your new followers, Postie!
And guess what? I actually talked to Polly last night. In person. Oh, yes I did.
Jane: "Backwater" doesn't have to be a dirty word. I've been to some rather ethereal backwaters in my time. That lake of yours sounds like a lovely, private, memorable backwater.
Non-touristy is the way to go, I hear. I certainly had more fun, and was able to believe I was seeing "the real place," when I was in those non-touristy places. I want to ride across Russia on the train...but NOT on the touristy Trans-Siberian Express. I'd prefer to do it the proletarian way, hee hee...
Thank you yourself for the kind comments! I appreciate it immensely. Perhaps we'll see each other across the Registan someday.
EC: Oh, heck. I waste a lot of time on Facebook. I used to write notes all the time, until I got a blog. I used to play Pirates vs. Ninjas and so forth, too. But I also kill a lot of time on Wikipedia and Google Maps...
I'm glad you like these. I almost discontinued these "random travel destinations," feeling they were trite, dull, and perhaps TOO sententious. But then I decided to keep going, thanks to (gasp!) Polly. She urged me to carry on.
The Straits of Gibraltar! The work of the half-immortal Hercules, they say. That always sounded like a bewitching place, too: Europe on one side, North Africa on the other. Does it get more exotic and enthralling than that?
Novel's getting there. Halfway through the 2nd edit. I think I might actually have a book on my hands now instead of a load of puerile blather. Thanks for asking. Yeah, this has surprised me. I did a little clicking around on a few people's blogs and BAM! This.
You talked to Polly? Omigosh! What does she sound like??? I can only imagine...she and I just have to talk on the phone and then this triumvirate of ours will have completely conversed with itself.
P.S. You're on Facebook? I am too, y'know...(Hint: my middle initial is "T.")
"A load of puerile blather" - you crack me up. You are without a doubt, the funniest wordsmith I know.
So call me. Duh. I already know what your voice sounds like, though, because of your vlogging.
I despise Facebook. I used to adore MySpace, but then Facebook bullied everyone off of it. Facebook is boring, gossipy, and convoluted. MySpace is creative, orderly, and fun.
Wait. There was something else I was going to say. Oh yeah, that post up there, before all the comments - the word that comes to mind is "monolithic." What a mysterious and exotic place! I especially like that Tower of Death.
I knew a girl from Estonia once. It's not a Stan, but still.
Thanks a million, Polly. "The funniest wordsmith I know." I couldn't aspire to a higher compliment. You're the nicest comment-giver I know (and a mighty eloquent wordsmith yourself).
Well, heck! Is your phone number in your profile??? (Or your MySpace page?)
MySpace is certainly prettier, and a lot less boring. But my beef is that it takes ages to load up (if you've got any amount of pictures, or video or whatever). Facebook is a lot more foul, too...lots of fan pages for pornstars and other stuff I don't approve of. No grammar or content police, unfortunately.
Just why I like Uzbekistan! It's mysterious and exotic. You hit the nail on the head. I wouldn't mind viewing Bukhara from the top of the Tower of Death (I'd just have to make sure nobody was behind me).
Estonia, huh? Wow. That's pretty out of the way. Always a treat to meet somebody foreign, but when they're from quote-unquote backwater, a small or sparsely populated place...it's even neater.
Me too! I want to go! And we think alike: the more Zs in a place name, the more my pulse picks up at the thought of it. Zarazoga has always been one of my favorites, along with the Czech Republic (it breaks my heart that it is no longer Czechoslovakia -- how could they?)
The half a dozen Uzbekh students I've had are just amazing: as diverse as any you could imagine. Two are Tatars, wonderfully exotic looking with very white skin, slightly Asian eyes, but blondish hair; a couple look 90% Chinese, another looks more Arab. We think of America as a big melting pot, but Turkey and the -stans give us some serious competition.
Thank you for the plugs!
Gorgeous, thanks for opening our minds Postman :)
I just came across this article on CNN and thought of you:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/09/news/economy/hired_blogging/index.htm
Holy cow! Thanks, Chloe! That article was inspiring. Maybe I should just start advertising myself on here, classified-style. "23 YO MALE W/PRIVATE PILOT'S LICENSE SEEKS SPONSRSHIP FOR COMMRCL LICENSE. INQUIRE BELOW"
Thanks, I mean it. That encouraged me no end.
I like the outer-thinking...becoming an expert on something completely removed from oneself. A lesson for me!
My husband has actually done business in Uzbekistan. We have a large leather shield hanging in the entrance to Willow Manor from there. Fascinating post.
Holy smoke! A leather shield? Of Uzbek origin? Zounds. That's quite something. Details, please.
Thank you for your kind feedback and, indeed, your very presence.
Jerry: "Outer-thinking." I like that. Got a ring to it. Nice term for what it describes. You're an eloquent man. I guess I was always addicted to the idea (and occasionally the practice) of becoming an expert on something completely removed from myself. Someday I may even take on physics. Thanks for stopping in, always glad to have you.
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