Khiva, Uzbekistan

We drove 480km from Bukhara to Khiva,  300km of which was across the Kyzylkum Desert. The view out the front of the front of the bus was like this most of the way.

We stopped for lunch at a nice restaurant with two yurts and an ev charging station out front. We ate in the restaurant, but another tour group was eating in the yurt. 

Our hotel in Khiva, directly outside the west gate of the old town, which is a UNESCO world heritage site. That's my roomie, Theresa.

West gate to old Khiva, followed by photos from within the gates.

We went to this tightrope performance. It is a family who have been doing it for five generations. 

The wood carving on pillars and doors is beautiful.

This mosque has 230 pillars.

In 1880, German Mennonites came to this area to avoid military service in Russia, where they had previously settled. They are credited with introducing modern technology to this area, such as wood carving skills, butter churns, spinning wheels, kerosene lamps, and even photography. They also shared improved farming techniques and new agricultural produce, such as potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and cucumbers, and improved livestock.

It seems funny that the Mennonites were a modernizing force, and they haven't changed in the 150 years since then. 

This master wood carver is demonstrating the different ways of configuring this book stand. It is a remarkable piece of work, carved from one piece of wood.

A typical lunch or dinner starts with two or three different salads, all delicious.

We were eating in this fancy restaurant in old Khiva, and I was intrigued by the upholstery design. 

It looked kind of like the tile work on mosques, but I started to notice the letters. First the F, then the U, then the C, and finally the K. I was astounded. I pointed it out to my table mates, who were equally gobsmacked. When I pointed to out to Mirza, out guide, he was amazed that he had never noticed before. He called over the manager, who laughed and said that another tourist had pointed it out, but he wasn't ready to have 100 chairs reupholstered.

This is the son of the older wood carver. He is also a master.

Our hotel room kindly places this tile to indicate the direction to pray to Mecca.

Another incredible meal.

We left Khiva today to drive to the airport in Urgench. We stopped for lunch at a gaudily decorated restaurant, with quite loud Bollywood music playing.

As we finished eating our scrumptious Uzbeki style hamburgers, the disco ball (seen in the upper right) started twirling, and I predicted that dancing would begin. Sure enough, a couple of local women started dancing, and then we all joined in. Soon the women from the kitchen joined us as well. It was quite fabulous, possibly the most enjoyable experience so far. 

After lunch we continued to the airport and had a short flight back to Tashkent. We're sleeping here tonight, and leaving in SUVs in the morning to cross the mountains to the Ferghana Valley.