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| Khiva's inner wall |
We reached the city after a long drive across the desert, sand and rock covered with tufts of camel bush that hold the sand somewhat in place. There are a couple of police checkpoints (common along these roads) and not much else for nearly 4 hours until you reach the Khorezm Oasis, a large agricultural area with cotton fields, wheat, melons and orchards.
We stayed in a small, rather basic, hotel inside the old city walls, which were once surrounded by a canal designed to suck the salt out of the ground water. This system, used throughout the region because of the shallow level of the salty ground water, works well, but the government decided it was a mosquito breeding ground (which it was) and filled it in. Now, salt seeps into the foundations of the walls and all the buildings in Khiva's old city and are in a constant state of repair. Salt residue coats the mudpacked alleyways as well and is a big worry to the local government.
The khan, his family, scholars and students lived inside the inner walls while everyone else lived in between the inner and outer walls where they cultivated fields and practiced their crafts. There were 26 madrassas, or religious schools, in Khiva in its heyday. Students lived in tiny, dark rooms, 2 to a room, stifling in summer and freezing in winter. They could study by themselves or attend the lectures of the scholars. Each madrassa featured religious scholarship and one or more other specialties, such as mathematics or science.
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| Tile wall of palace |
The tilework is what captivates you here. It is magnificent. Each madrassa, tomb, palace, mosque and minaret is decorated with exquisite tile--blue, turquoise and white--with Koranic scripture in Arabic script and geometric or flower patterns. The most beautiful tomb is completely covered with these tiles. You can almost absorb the beauty and peace of the tomb as you sit inside surrounded by the quiet color.
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| the most beautiful (I think) tomb |
The khans had lusty, but usually brief, lives. They had the permitted 4 wives Islam allows and many concubines. While the wives had babies, the concubines were not allowed to reproduce for fear that a child would be born to a lowly woman unworthy of the honor. That was probably a good thing for the khans (and maybe for the concubines who probably would have been murdered by their rivals if they'd given birth) since many of them were killed by their sons in search of power. Only one of 47 khans in Khiva died a natural death. The last khan was killed by the Bolsheviks in 1923 and his son was packed off to Siberia.
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| tiled doorway inside the tomb |
A traditional craft of Khiva is woodcarving. You see beautifully carved columns of elm (which has since mostly succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease) in the madrassas and mosques and furniture of all kinds, now often carved out of walnut. Carpet weaving, pottery and embroidery are very important as well.
One of Khiva's landmarks is a beautifully-tiled, unfinished minaret that would have towered over the city. And perhaps crashed into the surrounding buildings during one of the earthquakes. The city is spotlessly clean, swept clean constantly against the wind-blown sand, intrusive salt and daily activities. Amidst this background, Khiva and all of Uzbekistan is preparing to celebrate its Independence Day on September 7, so we were able to see traditional dancers and Uzbek singers practicing for the festivities.
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| Khiva dancers waiting to perform |
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| Kalta Minor (unfinished) minaret |
Khiva was well known for the cruelty of its khans. They did not permit outsiders into the area. Reportedly, they had a snake pit where they threw unlucky travelers who ventured into their realm. But, they had other horrific ways to torture and murder people as well, including skinning them alive. One wonders how this encouraged trade.
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| detail of tile wall |
Today, we continued on to Bukhara, which I'll write about tomorrow.
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| Uzbek woman sweeping |
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