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A trip to a Muslim country
My wife and I went on an almost month-long trip to Uzbekistan. A trip that we organized ourselves with patience. We knew very little about the country. The town still retains many of the architectural testimonies of the past, as an important passage area for the ancient silk road. Beautiful madrasas, caravanserais, mosques and mausoleums are still to testify, in its beautiful cities, its civilization, which originates in the Islamic one. We started the journey from Taskhent, the capital of the country. A large city not frequented by tourists, if not passing through. In fact, it is the window to the country if you want to begin to understand this nation. Large green spaces, many fountains, a subway in which each station is a work of art, all a legacy of the communist regime and where there is the largest bazaar in Asia. By train you can reach Samarkand. A lively city where at least three important testimonies of the past remain: the Registan, the Avenue of Mausoleums, the immense mosque of Bibi Khanym. The third city reached by train is Bukhara. It is perhaps the most visited city by organized tourism. It has a vast historic center where mosques, madrasas, caravanserais, mausoleums and ancient covered bazaars are concentrated. The last city visited is Khiva. Reached after a long but pleasant train journey, because you have the opportunity to meet and converse with the locals, it takes you by surprise: it is a small town, the most preserved in time, enclosed by high and imposing walls, you feel like you are reliving the past. In the end, with an excursion from Khiva, about one hundred and fifty kilometers, we visited incredible vestiges of the past that are located in the middle of the desert. They are the remains of fortified cities that emerge from the semi-desert expanses. The visit involved three of the twelve or so who still remain in the region. Some date back more than two thousand years and are the remains of a series of fortified settlements that once guarded the border between the cultivated region of the delta and the steppe inhabited by nomads. The traditional name of this area is Elliq Qala, which means fifty fortresses. To get an idea, even if very incomplete, of the beauty of the places, I attach some images (a small sample of the approximately three thousand we took) that offer a testimony of the art of ceramics that embellishes the walls and facades of its ancient buildings with the colors blue and green.
A tolerant Muslim country
But along with the beauty of the places, the most unexpected discovery was the knowledge of the country as it is now. It is a country with a clear prevalence of Muslim faith that is lived and observed daily, as in the moments of daily prayer in mosques. Some women wear the simple Hijab, a normal scarf that covers their hair and neck. Among older women, especially in the countryside, a long and wide dress is worn. The chador is uncommon and the niqab or burqa has never been seen. A large proportion of women do not cover their heads. The state has a secular structure. This is demonstrated by the law that provides that women in the public sector do not cover their faces in any way. Uzbekistan belonged to the confederation of the USSR until 1991. It is likely that this secular conception of the state is a legacy of Soviet “domination”. The concept of the family is the traditional, extended one, the three generations live together, grandparents, children, grandchildren. The classic residence, which is still prevalent even in large cities, is a building on the ground floor with a large entrance, the beautiful carved wooden doors have been replaced almost everywhere by metal doors. The entrance leads into a large uncovered courtyard where there is always a central area of greenery. The entrances to the rooms of the family members overlook the courtyard. The tapchan is always present in the courtyard.
The tapchan is the central element of Uzbek hospitality and daily life throughout Central Asia. It is a piece of furniture consisting of a wooden platform, raised from the ground, equipped with wooden sides on three sides. It is covered with a firm mattress and carpets. People climb there (often taking off their shoes) to lie down, rest, drink tea, and converse for hours. The combination of a society that follows the Muslim faith scrupulously, but not fanatically, and where the family has a central role, even of control, and a state that asserts its authority with widespread surveillance in the territory, results in the absence of crimes such as thefts, muggings and assaults. We are catapulted into another world than ours. For a traveler it is an ideal situation. People are curious but discreet, willing to give you a hand, in short, a nice great people. The somatic features are a kaleidoscope of features, in which you find those of the Turks, Persians, Russians and Mongols.
N.B. In the photo album there is a short caption in each photo.
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