I will spend a few days, my last few days in Uzbekistan, in Termez area staying with my friends' family and visiting with their friends. We will also be meeting up with Said and Maqsuda's two children - 11 year old boy and 13 year old girl - who have been spending the past few weeks staying with their grandparents.
Today it is well over 40 Celsius in Samarkand, and not unlike each day this trip so far, we have taken a break this afternoon to escape the heat for a few hours and take a nap to cool down. This morning we began our long walk around the city by visiting the Registan where there are a few madressahs and mosques built during the time of Uleg Beg nearly 6 centuries ago. They have since been restored but look as they would have when they were built. Unfortunately, many of these structures were left in disrepair for so many years they were nearly in ruins at the turn of the 19th century. The Russian and then Soviet researchers spent quite a bit of energy rebuilding these structures. There is great debate as to whether they should be restored or left in their natural states. My opinion is usually to leave things in their natural state; however, if these 600 year old mosques and madressahs were left alone they would no longer exist and we wouldn't be able to appreciate them even in the shoddily repaired state they are in now. They would be buried under modern city streets and block apartments.
Last night Said, Maqsudda and I went over to the apartment of a friend of Maqsudda's. We were invited late, nearly 830pm; and we had been back at the hotel by this hour since the stet of our trip. We decided to venture out to the apartment and on our arrival we found a massive spread of nuts, fresh fruit, boiled chicken, salami and cheese, and much more. We had just finished eating a large dinner that consisted of 8 beef shashlik, famous Samarkand bread, mantee (Turkic versions of dumplings which are quite good), a bottle of coca cola and chai, so we were very full. But out of respect for culture and hospitality, we ate again - forcing more food down my throat so not to be disrespectful. I joked with Said that if I throw up on the way home it is his fault. We had a good laugh. The entertainment for the evening was the friend's three year old daughter who enjoyed having her photo taken while trying on Maqsudda's sunglasses and Said's cowboy hat (that I've unsuccessfully been trying to throw away since it makes him stick out here more than me - everyone thinks he is the foreigner, not me). Mehribon, is the three year old's name. It means "kind" in persian. She was adorable.
We are slowly coming to the end of my journey here in Uzbekistan. I still have a few days left but I don't expect to have internet connection where we are going so you may not hear from me until this coming Friday evening or Saturday morning from Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. I have another ten days in Kyrgyzstan, hopefully traveling with another friend of mine named Murtaza. This is assuming he is at the airport when I arrive to Bishkek.
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