Uzbekistan - some impressions

On lengthy car rides through the countryside, you can talk about all kinds of things.

After our small time in the country, following are some of the impressions Win and I noted

On the street you see little of the following:

·              Dogs

·              Motorbikes

·             Advertising

·             Supermarkets - no big supermarkets 

·            No signs on petrol stations

·            Litter

·           Graffiti

·          Fast food – only Lavash which is the equivalent of      Uzbek fast food.  Usually fried.

·         Billboards

31 million people.  65% are under 30


5 million of the population are working outside the country - usually Russia, Kazakstan or Korea.  This leads to all kinds of disruption to family life. 

On the outskirts of Samarkand in the morning, we saw large numbers of men waiting around in the hope of getting some work for the day.  Possibly labouring or picking crops.

Uzbekistan is self sufficient in the production of food. 

Uzbekistan is the 3rd largest producer of silk in the world behind China and India.  99% of the silk produced is exported - mainly to China.

Uzbekistan produces enough gas to export to Russia, but towns such as Samarkand routinely go hours a day without gas (i.e. heating) in winter.

Uzbekistan produces Chevrolet and Daewoo cars 

Small Daewoo vans are used as small buses.  Outside markets there can be a hundred of these vans used as busses and also to transport produce to market. 

Consequently Chevrolet and Daewoo are the main cars people drive and many are quite recent.  If there are old cars, they will be Lada's or Volga's (I think - its an old Russian car)

Men don't wear shorts.  Our guide told us they feel men wearing shorts look silly.  Some men, but not so many wear jeans.  Most men wear pressed pants and leather shoes.  

Yellow gas pipes above the ground.  You see them everywhere in the city and country

Adobe walls and houses with walled compounds.  

"Dorixana"  (Uzbek)   "Anteka"  (Russian)    - The work for pharmacy.  They are everywhere.  Uzbeks must use a lot of medicine.  Many drugs such as antibiotics are available over the counter.

When you are introduced to someone, rather than shaking hands, both men and women place their hand on heart.  

Am I imagining an unspoken solidarity among women.  When speaking to you women who you may be talking to in the market are liable to hold your hand or put their hand on your arm.  After having a meal at someones home when leaving we often had hugs from the women and 3 kisses.

2 or 3 kisses are common when people greet each other.

The host will usually meet you at the gate when you visit.

As a guest, you are seated the furtherest away from the entrance in the most honourable place

Cotton, cotton and cotton.  You see it growing everywhere.  it is in art and design everywhere.  On all the teapots and tea cups.

FOOD AND DRINK

The dastarhan is the tablecloth with the food.  Tables are low and you sit on the floor around them.

Vodka is the alcoholic drink liable to be present at meals.  It is usually served in a small bowl  (smaller than the tea bowl).  It is rude to refuse vodka.  You could be served some and not drink it. It is liable to be drunk in small shots by locals (men usually).  You could choose to sip your vodka.

Plov  - better than it's reputation

Mantys  steamed meat or veges in very fine pastry

Samsa’s  (Uzbek samosas) baked in a tandoori oven  Filled with onion and meat or pumpkin.

Kebab.  Stands out the front of a restaurant where kebabs are cooked.

Bread is cooked  in the tandoori takes 5-8 minutes.

Dried fruit of all varieties. 

Tea – Men prepare and serve the tea.

Pour 3 times into cup and pour tea back into the pot.

The less tea, the more respected the guest,  If youre  given a full cup – someone is saying to you it's time to be on your way

Tea and bread at EVERY opportunity.  Shops and peoples homes restaurants

Choynak – tea pot

Poplars are grown everywhere and are used in housing construction.  Most tree trunks are painted with a white lime solution in the hope of killing harmful insects.

Clean railway stations.  No litter or smell of stale urine.No photos in the underground

Cotton, cotton and more cotton

Square soviet architecture but they made an effort to decorate all buildings.  Mosaics on many apartment blocks.  “starlinskys”.  Mosiacs were inspired by eg suzani patterns, tiles or plasterwork

Interesting bus shelters and town signs.  Soviet design.

Very large government building being built and the local people don’t know what it will be for.

Crops:  corn, cotton, watermelon, melons, rice and tomatoes.  The best tomatoes ever.

Donkeys

New housing estates.  House are all the same, but it means at least people will be able to afford a home.  People pay a 25% deposit and then can pay it off

You don't own land.  The government does and you are leasing it for 99 years.  If you are a farmer, you agree to use a certain percentage of you land to grow crops for the government (usually cotton) which they will buy off you.

Bright painted homes or white washed adobe.

Central heating is provided by the state to big apartment blocks - from soviet times.  You see big power stations.

If someone does something silly on the road, they are liable to be called a “Russian driver” 

Lines on the road are only a suggestion.

Low key mosques.  The ancient mosques, mausoleums and madrases are liable to be huge, but the mosques that regular people go to are pretty non assuming.
95% of the population are Moslem (Sunni).
The government accepts Islam as a religion but people are discouraged from becoming too devout.  
Sufi is a brand of Islam which has had a presence in Uzbekistan.  Dervishes are part of Uzbek history - they don't marry and don't collect alms. 

Did I mention COTTON

Uzbek language is made up of Russian, Arabic and farsi

Teachers and doctors earn about $400 - $500 a month.  Cleaners earn $100 a month

5% of pop is working away in Korea, Russia Kazakstan etc.  Vey disruptive to family life. 

People carry their passports when travelling on the metro,  Ie they carry their passports most of the time

Darshart - perfect

Letter to friends in Australia

I left Australia at the beginning of August and spent 7 weeks in Laos helping young adults with English.  Found a wonderful English language school with a teacher who I can learn a lot from. Helped initially in her classes and then started taking some of my own.   Also did some private tutoring, including for a young novice monk who wants to be a tour guide when he leaves the monastery.  The weather was a bit of a challenge as it was the raining season and the humidity is a bit of a challenge.  It was so strange to be in such heat when I knew Victoria was struggling with a very cold winter.

I’ve made it to Samarkand! For over a year, I’ve been reading books on the Silk Road and “The five stans”.  And Samarkand has been the symbol of all this means to me.  We’re here and it hasn’t disappointed.   The architecture is stunning..  I’ll attach a couple of photos.

I could not ask for a better tour.  The focus is the artisans and culture of Uzbekistan, so I am in my element.  We have met instrument makers, woodworkers and potters who are 5th to 14th generation. During soviet times, many of these crafts were banned.  Some craftspeople went underground and some skills were almost lost.  The Uzbekistan we are encountering is very refined.  We learn of ancient scientists, poets and astrologers.  Our guide quotes poetry. 

My favorite textile, Ikat is made in many countries but I particularly like Central Asian Ikat and the quality here is stunning.  Uzbeks refer to Ikat as "Tying the Clouds”. I’ve had the process explained in many different ways but for me there is still an element of magic in it.   I could go on and on.  We have seen the production from beginning to end, from the cultivation of silk worms through to spinning silk, dyeing the fibre and weaving the finished cloth. I’ve seen the silk production process in a number of countries now and each country has their own variation.   I love the fact that many of the machines haven't changed in hundreds of years and could be built from bits and pieces someone has in their back shed.

Uzbeks have been extremely welcoming.  Instead of shaking hands  they often greet you with their hands on their heart    The women might hold your hand as they speak to you.  The food is good, though a bit more focused on meat than I am used to. Fruit and veggies are extremely fresh with the some of the best tomatoes I’ve ever eaten. Fruits and vegies are ripened on the plant.  Currently the ripe fruits are watermelon, pomegranate, and melons of many varieties, figs and stone fruit.  

The soviet architecture that remains is not all bad.  Quite different to what I imagined.  There are quirky bus stops and town signs- you could write a whole book on the designs.  Many of the “Stalinsky" apartment blocks (ie. those built during Stalin’s time) have mosaics on them, some superb.

There is also a large Korean population .  People who have been here for generations  and parts of their culture have been integrated into the Uzbek life.  Eg kim chee and other foods in the markets.   The population is very interesting and reflect the cultures who plied the silk road or who invaded.  You can see people who look Korean ,Mongolian, Chinese, Eastern European, Russian etc.  And others who are a mix of many. 

Of course not all is rosy.  Something like 5 million of the population have left the country to find work, especially in Russia and Korea.  We saw large groups of men congregating on the outskirts of Samarkand hoping to pick up day labor. 

The final photo below shows men holding piles of notes of the local currency, Som.  There are no ATMs in the country.  (There are actually 2 in Tashkent, but they don’t work)  You have to bring with you all the money you may need in American dollars.  When here, you then convert US$ to local currency, Som.  Banks will give you something like  2500 som for every dollar. The black market will give 4000 som for every dollar.  So guess who you get your money from?  Usually when we go to a market men with money in black plastic bags ask  "change money”?  These men in the photo were the most blatant I have seen.  Until recently the highest note was 1000 som, so if there are 4000 som to a dollar, the pile of notes you received for !$100 was HUGE.  Thankfully on the tour we “have contacts” who change our money for us and we don’t have to deal with unknown men.  It can look like a drug deal though - you don’t exchange money in the open, you disappear around the corner for a minute and both emerge looking very nonchalant.  

People are poorly paid and corruption is rife.  I got up to go to the Registan at sunrise yesterday and a young policeman asked if I would like to "see his minaret" for $10.  What an offer!  I’d been told this may happen and it was very innocent.  Great access to areas not open to the public and the medrassa’s etc when there is no one there.  

Well that’s about all I’ll write now.  There are a lot more pictures and info on my blog.  On a tour though, it’s hard to find time to keep it up to date.  The address is margsgapyear.blogspot.com

Don’t feel at all obliged to look at it, only if you feel inclined.