Some notes about Uzbekistan, people, culture and economy

family group in Khiva

We talked to many Uzbek citizens who want to go to the U.S.  Most want to study here and return to Uzbekistan to help build their country.  Some, of course, want to stay.

suzani shop in bazaar

The collapse of the Soviet Union, of which the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan was a part, was an enormous event.  Those of us watching from the comfort of the U.S. had no idea of the catastrophe this was for citizens of the Soviet republics.  Everyone old enough to remember what it was like 20 years ago has a story to tell.

hats for sale along Khiva's main street

hand knit slippers for sale

First, no one could believe what was happening.  The livelihood of every Uzbek depended on the Soviet Union.  The day they were told that they were now citizens of an independent Uzbekistan, they had no idea what to do or what was happening to them.  Their money was gone.  Their jobs were gone.  Many of their doctors, teachers, professors and lawyers were Russian and left soon after for Russia.  The same with much of the bureaucracy that ran the country.  They had no education or health care system.  Their economy was in complete collapse. Their housing was no longer theirs as it had been assigned to them by the Soviet state.  The government was in free fall with few people knowing how to run the cities or state or government agencies.  It is almost impossible to imagine the total disorientation, and confusion that resulted from the end of the Soviet Union.

Don with students in uniforms

woman and baby outside market

For women, the Soviets had brought a large measure of freedom.  Though men and some women resisted, the Soviets insisted that women be able to move about freely, without having to wear a veil or having a man with them.  They ensured that women were educated and had access to jobs.  This was a massive cultural revolution in this Muslim country. Suddenly, women had a voice, money and knowledge.

modern women's dresses in Samarkand market

Gradually, after 1991, Uzbekistan pulled itself back up.  It's economy depended on cotton, but only on production. All the higher value processes were in other republics.  President Karimov, who was the Party Secretary during Soviet times, became leader of the newly independent Uzbekistan, a job he continues to hold today.  Most of the people we talked to admire him for leading them forward during the greatest crisis of their lives.  President Karimov would easily win any election.  But, no one wants to talk about Uzbek politics.

woman working at Timur's tombs

Today, there is a big income gap.  Businesses and individuals can't convert the Uzbek currency into dollars, so there is a lively black market, with a conversion rate many times higher than the official rate.  One problem in attracting foreign direct investment is the near impossibility of getting profits out of the country, a problem the government understands.  But, because they don't have much in the way of foreign exchange reserves, it is difficult to make changes.

Security is very tight, resulting in no major security threats.  A number of years ago, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan was a threat, but now people watch one another and report any suspicious activity to the National Security Service.  This both improves safety and ensures that few people will challenge the status quo.  Not talking about politics is part of the culture.

Right now, more than 2 million Uzbeks work in Russia, the country most Uzbeks feel a deep affinity with and where they go to find a better life.  But, because of the Russian recession, remittances to Uzbekistan are 50% of what they were a couple of years ago.  This is, obviously, having a very negative impact on the Uzbek economy.

All news is in Russian and controlled by Russian language TV stations.  Russian propaganda (as, for example, that the U.S. is responsible for shooting down the Malaysian airplane over Ukraine) is pervasive and very difficult to counteract.

For the U.S., helping Uzbekistan to be a stable state is very important, particularly in a part of the world that is very unstable, notably Afghanistan, which shares a border with Uzbekistan, and Pakistan. Stalin drew the borders of the Central Asian countries, in part to make sure that they were divided and not very stable.  While relations between the U.S. and Uzbekistan have been rocky for about a decade, they are beginning to improve.

bread cart in market

Uzbekistan is trying to diversify its economy, but it needs a broader Central Asian trade agreement to make that happen.  Right now, most of the countries in Central Asia prefer to have bilateral agreements rather than regional agreements.  Infrastructure is also a big issue.  There are, for example, more paved roads in the state of Virginia than in all of Russia, so it is difficult to move goods to Russia and throughout the region.  Rail links need to be upgraded and, without the Aral Sea, which is virtually gone, there is no ship transport in this landlocked country.

old Bukhara bazaar

one of Bukhara's many bazaars

We were impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit of so many Uzbeks we met.  One city guide opened a large restaurant to cater to the growing wedding business (in Uzbekistan, weddings often have 600 or more people, though the government has just restricted wedding size to 300 guests to save poor families the crushing cost of hosting a too-large wedding).  Now he is building a hotel.  Many artisans have flourishing businesses making and selling their wares, either on the street or from shops in the many bazaars.  Our country guide has started several successful businesses, with more in mind. Restaurants, small hotels, countless shops and stalls selling goods, roadside fruit and vegetable stands--all these are central to the economy Uzbekistan hopes to build for the future.

the ubiquitous subdivision house

A major area of economic activity is new housing.  The government is building subdivisions all over the country.  Each house looks exactly like every other house no matter where or how large the subdivision.  Some people told us Uzbeks could buy and sell these homes (the government owns the land) and others said they were just for government employees.  I assume it's a little of both.

a subdivision

Many subdivisions are mostly empty, so it seems that it is hard for most people to afford a home. Throughout the country, the housing stock is old and dilapidated, so these new homes may find a market.  They tend to be outside of city centers, making transportation a problem since public transportation is very limited.

Bukhara--ancient and gracious Silk Road city

10th century Samanid mausoleum

Bukhara is truly one of the legendary cities of Central Asian and world history.  Once surrounded by a mud-brick city wall to protect it from waves of invaders, today only a couple of segments remain from the modernizing fervor of the Soviet period when the wall gave way to wide streets capable of carrying modern day traffic.

remnant of Bukhara city wall

Nevertheless, the city is filled with beautiful buildings and monuments and the bustle of merchants, artisans, street vendors, tourists and restaurants.  It has been a center of learning and trade for 2500 years and its historic center is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kalon mosque and minaret

We stayed at the Salom Inn, the former home of a Jewish family in the city's old Jewish Quarter.  Today only about 600 Jews remain in Bukhara.  When the Soviet Union collapsed, most of the Uzbekistan Jews, finally able to leave a hostile Soviet empire, emigrated to the U.S. and Israel.  Uzbek families bought the Jewish homes, many of which still have the old and lovely interiors.  We had lunch in the courtyard of one of these homes, now owned by an Uzbek family, who fixed a pilav lunch for us.

preparing pilav in the courtyard

living room of Jewish home

At one time, Bukhara was the capital of the Bukhara Khanate, which lasted until 1920 and, in 1925, became part of the Soviet Republic of Uzbekistan. During its long history, it was involved in the nearly ceaseless pattern of conquest and reconquest as Persians, Mongols, Arabs and others crisscrossed Central Asia setting up new empires only to be conquered in turn by the next horde.

The Samonids left behind a lovely 10th century tomb (above).  A partially restored fortress was once the guarantor, such as it were, of the safety of Bukhara's inhabitants.

fortress wall

Beautiful mosques and madrassas dot the center of the city, now mostly restored or being restored.

12th century mosque with conical dome

One 12th century mosque has a conical dome instead of the much more common rounded domes.  There are several particularly beautiful minarets, with fine brickwork as their design, notably the Kalon Minaret.

Bukhara was a center of Sufi learning and practice.

Sufi mosque at Naqshbandi shrine

Just outside the city is a shrine to a Sufi saint, Baha al-din al-Naqshbandi, a very popular destination for Bukharans and tourists alike. Particular famous is a gnarled tree, supposedly grown from the staff of the Sufi saint.  If you walk around the tree 3 times, you get your wish, so the tree is surrounded by circling tourists of all religious persuasions.

ladies circling holy tree

Mir i Arab Madrassa

Also outside of Bukhara is the last khan's summer palace, modeled after both Czarist and French palaces, with a large and beautiful garden.  Inside, you can see the former splendor.  This, too, is slowly being restored.

White Hall reception room of Summer Palace

Everywhere are artisans painting miniatures of Bukhara's history, embroidering fabric for suzanis, weaving silk and wool carpets, with women everywhere hawking these wares. Some of the goods are quite beautiful while others are clearly machine made.

miniature artist at work 

On the Silk Road from Khiva to Samarkand

gate of Silk Road caravanserai between Bukhara and Samarkand

From Khiva to Bukhara takes about 8 hours across the Kyzl Kum Desert.  Water from the Amu Darya River has been diverted into canals to allow cotton production in some parts of the desert. Surprisingly in one area, there is a large airport, formerly used commercially, with a Korean Air jumbo cargo jet parked on the tarmac.  That's because Uzbekistan has a long-standing relationship with Korea and a free trade zone for some very large Korean factories nearby.

Silk Road cistern

We visited an old caravanserai and cistern along the Silk Road route between Bukhara and Samarkand.   During the Silk Road days, caravans traveled about 40 miles a day, so caravanserais were located about every 40 miles, along with cisterns to catch the rare rain water.  Camel drivers and traders would fill their water buckets from the steps of the cisterns.  Inside the caravanserais, there were rooms for travelers (definitely not plush and filled with vermin, no doubt), places to cook meals and room for the large numbers of animals that carried the goods.

Don with puppy in Kyzl Kum Desert

At one stop, bleak and mostly deserted, we found 2 dogs and a puppy who all lived off the remains of travelers' lunches.  And they looked like it.  I fed everything I could find to the dogs who were quite fearful, except for the puppy.  Don and I are dog lovers, so couldn't resist petting this cute little creature, dirt and all.  He rolled over and closed his eyes in deep bliss as we scratched his little belly.   I doubt that the pup will have another opportunity for such attention, and he loved it.

About halfway along the route, where the Amu Darya River is near the road, an isolated building houses a family and a rather grungy restaurant.  Last year, we stopped to try their river fish which is fried quickly so that the meat stays very moist.  It is delicious so we stopped again, though we had our picnic lunches with us as well.  The fish is cut into chunks and deep fried in a large metal tub over a fire.  Well worth the stop--and no one got sick!  Plus, if you're driving this road, there is a rare, clean flush toilet behind the restaurant.

The Fergana Valley, agricultural and crafts heartland of Uzbekistanbre

a beautiful hand-embroidered silk suzani

Uzbekistan’s Fergana Valley is home to 40% of its population, much of its agriculture and a thriving handicraft industry.  Artisans produce hand-crafted silk fabrics and rugs, woven from cocoons of silk worms they grow themselves, pottery, engraved metalwork, suzanis (embroidery), and hand-carved wood doors, furniture, pillars, beams and gift items.

woodblock-decorated fabric

Our guide, Raisa, is the mother of this rebirth of the handicraft industry, so wherever she takes us, artisans greet her with great affection.  She is the epitome of the term “force of nature”.

woodblocks used for printing fabrics

One of the old madrassas in the Fergana Valley has been turned into a craft center for artisans.  The cubicles where students used to study have become small studios for artists.  One man block-prints cotton and silk fabrics with replicas of old woodblocks his grandfather and father used and that are now too worn to print sharp patterns.  He showed us the goop he’d been cooking for several days, made up of plants and other ingredients that he will use to dye his fabrics before he prints them.

weaver using 8 pedal loom

In other small cubicles, women weave silk fabrics and carpets and embroider silk and cotton fabrics into suzanis, a man fashions engraved metal samovars, door handles, scissors and plates and someone else makes pottery.  There is, of course, a gift shop as well where you can buy the handmade products.  All this is run by a man who recruits the artisans, makes sure they have what they need to succeed and markets their wares.

Raisa holding hand dyed silk threads for itak

We visited a major silk factory to see how silks are produced from worms eating mulberry leaves to cocoons to spinning silk threads from the cocoons (thread from one cocoon can be more than a mile long) to dying threads and weaving silk fabrics and carpets.  This factory produces both hand woven and machine-made silk fabrics and hand-woven silk carpets.  Fabrics may be tie-dyed, where the woven fabric is tied in places and dipped in dyes, or itak, where the silk threads are tied in cellophane tape, dyed, then retaped and dyed over and over again to get intricate patterns when the threads are carefully woven into fabrics.

taping silk threads for hand dying

One potter has built a large home and workshop with the proceeds of his pottery sales, mostly at the International Craft Market in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  He employs 10 artists to shape, hand-paint detailed patterns, glaze and fire the pottery.  We enjoyed lunch in his garden and a tour of his workshop.

Rostam, master potter, with antique plate

The Fergana Valley, which extends into Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, produces large quantities of cotton, fruits (the melons are incredible), nuts, corn, grains and animals.  In the past, it has been the heartland of opposition to the regime, but it appears to be quiet and relatively prosperous now.  Nonetheless, there are many security checkpoints going in and out of the Valley, particularly as you head over the mountains towards the capital city of Tashkent.  A real treat as you leave the Valley is a bread market with a long row of vendors selling their particular version of the typical round loaves.

bread vendor with her beautiful round loaf

In the heart of the Fergana Valley, the Kokand Khanate was founded in 1709 and lasted until the late 19^th century. 

beautifully painted ceiling in Kokand Palace

The Khan’s palace is quite beautiful, with elaborately tiled rooms, a large courtyard and a small art museum housing European paintings the Khan apparently preferred, despite their depictions of people and animals.  Women in that era, and before, wore dreadful horsehair veils and long black robes to completely cover their bodies, supposedly to avoid arousing lust in any man who might view a tendril of hair or plump ankle.

the tortuous horsehair veil

Women today usually wear modest dresses or tunics and long pants, usually a scarf (but not a headscarf) over their hair, although many wear shirts and pants or short-skirted school uniforms.  Uzbekistan is a secular country with a mix of devout and nominal Muslims.

The Changing Culture of Marriage in Uzbekistan

wedding party (before wedding) heading to photo opp

 Most marriages in Uzbekistan are still arranged by the couple’s parents.  Everyone in our generation and at least one generation younger said their marriages were arranged and that they expected to do the same for their children.  But, it’s not entirely like that anymore.

Uzbek couple out for photos in traditional dress

One Uzbek couple we talked to in Osh said their impending marriage was a “love story”, meaning, of course, that they had fallen in loved and decided to marry.  No doubt their families did some checking on each other before agreeing, but the couple had known each other for some time and made their own decision about getting married.

We talked to our guide in Khiva at length.  He is 29 years old and unmarried, very unusual in Uzbekistan where the groom is usually in his early 20’s and the bride perhaps as young as 16 or 17.  He said his parents had already found several girls for him to consider (they get to consider him as well) and that he would probably meet each of them briefly before agreeing to marry one of them.  If he’s lucky, he’ll have several chances to talk to the girl without too much supervision (as in sitting next to her with family around them).  He also said that if he met a girl and fell in love with her, it could be a problem for the girl and her family because she may already secretly have been promised to someone else.

All over Uzbekistan, we have seen betrothed couples posing for photos and videos.  In the Fergana Valley, they asked us to join them in a photo.  A very new tradition has started in which couples and their families are photographed and videotaped by famous monuments or mosques, sometimes traveling all over the country over a period of weeks to get all the photos their families think they should have in their albums.

wedding couple with paparazzi at the Registan, Samarkand

Our guide in Bukhara told us this was really disrupting their culture.  In the past, a couple might meet once or twice to evaluate each other, but at some distance and with family.  Now that the photos and videos are such an important part of getting married, the couples must spend a lot of time together before the wedding getting all these photos taken at all the right places.  We were fascinated by how quickly the technology of digital photography and video was changing a deeply rooted tradition.

Now, more couples are making their own decisions about marriage, she told us, with some considerable distress.  She would like to find a middle ground that still honors the tradition of arranged marriages but lets the couple do all the photo shoots they want before the wedding.  Not sure how all this will take place, particularly now that young people go to schools and universities together and work in the same places.

very sad young couple posing for photos

 But, clearly, most couples still do not choose their mates and many are unhappy about their impending marriages, as this very sad couple we saw posing for their pre-wedding photos at the Summer Palace in Bukhara.

bride and groom with attendants getting photographed

Incidentally, our Bukhara guide said both her sons picked their own wives.  She was extremely unhappy about that and fought both marriages bitterly, she said, despite her husband's warnings to drop the issue.  Both daughters-in-law live with her, one with 2 children, the other with a baby on the way.  She said she fought with her first daughter-in-law all the time when she first married her son, but has learned to let her make her own decisions and keep quiet.  She has had fewer problems with her second daughter-in-law, who is more compliant.  Our guide is a very highly educated woman who is also very religious, though she dresses in western clothes.  She said the changes in culture are hard for her, but she is learning to adapt because she has to.

bride (2nd from right) and sisters-in-law in Timur's tomb

It is also customary for new brides to go out with their sisters, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law and usually their husbands in a new glistening dress every day for 35 days after their weddings.  One new bride we met in Timur's tomb has lived in the U.S. for 6 years and said she was very uncomfortable in all her sequins and baubles.  She was used to jeans and T-shirts.  But, she looked beautiful even in her discomfort.

Uzbekistan's agricultural economy

the historic and vitally important Amu Darya River between Khiva and Bukhara

Under the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan was one of the centers of cotton production as the USSR tried to make itself independent of foreign cotton.  Production was mostly in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, but cotton processing, textile manufacturing and clothing manufacturing were in other Soviet republics, one of the ways the USSR tried to weave disparate republics into the one interdependent country.

cotton field ready for picking

Cotton takes a huge amount of water, so Uzbekistan drained water from the Amu Darya River to sustain its cotton.  The result was the severe depletion of water for other uses, particularly for the Aral Sea, which today is only 7% of its original size, basically non-existent.  And salinity in the groundwater is very high, so fields must be flushed several times before actually planting the cotton crop, another huge use of fresh water.

melon stand by road

Rice is another staple as are melons, fruit trees and vegetables.  There is little effort to conserve water—no drip systems, for example—in this mostly desert country.  You can see, as you drive along the very bumpy roads, how depleted the soil is and how saline.  The crops look thin.  The government is trying to move to an agricultural economy less dependent on cotton and is making some progress, but it may not make the transition in time to save its land and water, not to mention refilling the Aral Sea, which is a long-term hope.

Aral Sea's shrinking size from 1960 to 2008

Because hand-picked cotton is of higher quality than machine-harvested cotton, students are taken out of school for about 6 weeks in the late summer and fall to pick cotton.  You can see thousands of them out in the fields picking.  They must pick at least 100 pounds each day, though we heard that 220 pounds was the real requirement.  Hot and back-breaking work.

dry bed of Aral Sea with camels and rotting ships

Child labor is not uncommon, but the U.S. and Europe refuse to buy cotton picked by children.  So, Uzbekistan has laws to prohibit children under 16 from picking, but one person told us that children as young as 8 or 10 sometimes help their parents in the fields in order to make enough money for their families to survive.  Uzbekistan needs to sell into the world markets, so must comply with international child labor standards.

The rest of the cotton is machine-harvested.  This entails defoliating the cotton plants before running the harvester through the fields.  These chemicals also cause a lot of damage to the land and, no doubt, to the people working it.

women selling produce in market

In the Fergana Valley, where we started our visit to Uzbekistan, fruit trees, melons and vegetables, as well as cotton, are staples.  The melons are superb, sweet and juicy.  Apples are also quite good, though we peeled ours since the water is not safe to drink and unpeeled and uncooked fruits and vegetables aren’t safe either.  The markets are full of fresh produce, meat, eggs and chickens.

Samarkand's produce market

Uzbekistan also produces lots of root crops, beets, potatoes, several varieties of carrots and onions.  They are delicious.  Carrots, particularly large yellow carrots, are key to the national dish—plav or pilav, a mixture of meat, onions, garlic, carrots, sometimes raisins and rice.