March 2018

The oasis Bukhara used to be a central trading hub. Today it has more than 200.000 inhabitants but the old town gives more the impression of a city-museum. Although a very lively one since a Nasriddin Afendi (Nasreddin Hodja) festival took place with music and dance in the streets.

We traveled from Samarkand to Shahrisabz by car and then continued to Bukhara by coach. Shahrisabz is the birthplace of the conqueror Timur. The remnants of the Ak-Saray Palace, Timurs summer palace, are still impressive.

We traveled from Tashkent to Samarkand by high-speed train. While being one of the oldest inhabitant cities in central Asia, the modern town lies besides the remnants of historic Afrasiyab. Registan square, Gur-i-Amir mausoleum, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis and ruins of Bibi-Khanym Mosque - all impressive, hard to pick a favourite.

We traveled from Tashkent to Samarkand by high-speed train. While being one of the oldest inhabitant cities in central Asia, the modern town lies besides the remnants of historic Afrasiyab. Registan square, Gur-i-Amir mausoleum, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis ruins of Bibi-Khanym Mosque - all impressive, hard to pick a favourite.

The Fergana Valley is the most densely populated area in Central Asia, very fertile but speaking for Uzbekistan also the most conservative part of the country. Margilan is known for silk production and pottery, and Kokand, which used to be one of the religious centres, gave a first impression of palace and religous architecture. We traveled from Tashkent to Margilan with the new high-speed train and back over the old mountain road.

Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan with more than 2 million inhabitants and arrival/departure destination. Industrialized apartment blocks, post-socialist pomp, wide roads and surprisingly green. Our highlight was the vibrant bazar.

When jokes become reality... After this phrase having been around for some years, Binis mom finally decided to take on the plan of visiting a cinema in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. Which was accomplished. Obviously you start with the most exotic destination if you have the idea to visit all the places showing up in movie trailer for the European arthouse cinema network. A family trip with Binis parents and sister to Uzbekistan to visit a movie theater in central asia and remnants of the silk road as a bonus - we decided to join the trip.

4 weeks old.

The pavillion was build for the 1983 World's exhibition in Chicago and returned to Orkanger in 2017.