Our airbus from Khiva, back to Tashkent, to avoid the long, boring drive across the desert a second time.
A "thermal energy" plant. Uzbekistan gets 85% of its power this way, from coal, oil, and gas. They have a bit of hydro power and solar.
A roadside stop to get freshly made spinach somsas.
They even have a movable tandoori oven for cooking, which you can see on the lower right.
Getting closer to the mountains that we are going to cross.
Finally in the mountains, on a busy highway, but only an opportunity to take photos from the bus window.
Another stop for bread. There was a string of bread makers all along this stretch of highway. Patir is the name of this kind of bread.
Stork nests.
A high point for me was chatting with this group of school kids. I asked if they knew any English songs, and one girl bravely sang a short song about the four seasons. Then they wanted me to sing. I sang "In a Cabin in the Woods" and taught them the actions. I was loving the experience, but I got hustled off to join our group.
One of the 3 vans wouldn't start after visiting the palace. No one had cables, so our previous bus driver was called to help out.
At the pottery studio of a famous potter. His son demonstrated throwing a vase.
Then we saw the painting process.
I loved this large pottery ball, but it seemed too impractical a purchase.
Check out the size of this water filter.
This is the famous potter.
Pomegranates are a common motif for embroidery, and vases.
Our current accommodations are at "Ikat House", home of a famous ikat designer.
This is silk velvet ikat - an incredibly arduous process.
At a market.
This young man, Muhammad, gave a presentation about the ikat process and we all tie dyed a silk scarf.
A little bit of block printing is still done, but it is not common.
I'm missing nature, and I thought this palm was beautiful.
Another madrasa with workshops. Here is a metal workshop. This motif is often seen in top of mosques.
More beautiful bread, decorated with seeds.
Another market.
Drumsticks in a drumstick cooler, naturally.
More bread.
A lovely mix of dried fruits.
Back to our accommodations. This spectacle fixture is outside my room.
More ikat preparation. They are preparing to tie the warp threads in bundles for dyeing.
An ikat weaving factory. As with the silk carpet weaving, the work conditions seem comfortable, and the weavers, almost totally women, seem very happy. It is repetitive work, but a lot of work is like that.
Another step in ikat preparation.
These men are putting the fine threads through the reed.
Weaving silk velvet. Metal rods are put through the warp every 3 passes of the weft. Every few inches the raised bump is sliced through with a razor, to form the pile of the velvet.
A few women have a child with them.
Another ikat dyeing workshop.
A variety of ikats.
More women who asked to be photographed with us. The woman on my left is 53 and the one on my right is 35.
Another incredible lunch.
Spinning silk, directly from the cocoons.
In this ikat weaving factory, this man recognized me. I bought an ikat jacket from him at the market yesterday.
And that's it for Margilon. We are leaving tomorrow to drive across the border to Kyrgyzstan, a whole new experience.
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