Bukhara

 I also had a guide for my trip to Bukhara, but it was unbelievably cold that day. After it started to snow, the tour didn't last much longer. Both the guide and I were OK with that.

Bukhara has a lot of history, and it deserves a second visit to see more of it. My guide made sure I got the highlights though.

The top photo is a citadel on the edge of the old town of Bukhara. It's called the Ark and is one of the most interesting castles I've ever seen. The citadel was destroyed by the Soviets, trying to make sure the locals knew who was in charge. The restoration of the walls was done well.

The second photo is of a mausoleum near the Ark. My guide commented on how it appears to be carved out of blocks of stone. In fact, it's made up of thousands of small bricks, placed carefully to give the appearance of a building carved out of stone.

In the middle is a photo of an entrance to a medressa in the old town. I love the artwork around these portals. My guide said that the images in the corners were phoenixes. I'm not sure if that was the original design, or the idea of the people who did the restoration.

Next is a picture of an old mosque that is still operating in the city. The wooden pillars supporting the roof have mostly been replaced, but two are still original, hundreds of years old. In front of the mosque is a pool where people would come to get water. If you look closely at the left side of the mosque, near the small tower, there is an electronic display that shows the times when people should pray. The combination of the electronic display and ancient building is really cool.

The final picture shows one of Bukhara's most famous landmarks, the Kalon Minaret (I just looked it up in my Lonely Planet book). In the Middle Ages, when Genghis Khan came through Central Asia, he pretty much destroyed everything. He allowed the tower to remain, most likely because it was a useful defensive structure. It's possible to climb the tower, but by that time, I was freezing and only wanted to get somewhere warm.

 The photo itself was taken inside a mosque next to the tower. It's possible to make out the tree in the courtyard, and I asked if it was usual for mosques to have a tree planted there. My guide replied that it may be normal for open air mosques like this one, especially to provide some shade in the summer.