KHIVA
There’s a direct overnight train between Tashkent and Khiva which you could take but in order to save time, you could optionally take a 1.5 hrs flight to Urgench and then a 30 km taxi ride to Khiva. I would recommend a flight that is not expensive and if booked early makes complete sense. There are taxis available to take you from Urgench to your hotel in Khiva. A full taxi should cost you between 2–3 USD. Alternatively, you could request your hotel to organize it for you, which they gladly do. Khiva is small and the most peculiar of all Uzbek cities. It lies close to the river, Amu Darya and forms an oasis sandwiched between deserts. They say the place used to be infested with barbaric Tribesmen/Turkmen who would wait for the caravans from distant lands to come with captives and slaves. But that was in the 10th century when Khiva was a major trading centre on the Silk Road. And the desert journeys were gruesome. Now, it’s full of eager tourists discovering its rich past.
The old city, called Ichon Kala, is inside a citadel with an enclosure of mud walls on all sides. The city outside the walls, where most local people live now, is called Dichon Kala. There are four gates to enter the Walled City. All caravans on the Silk Route in the 9th & 10th centuries used to stop here on their way to China and back. From dawn to dusk, while the gates were still open, caravans of camels with merchandise passed through them. There’s a Caravan Serai here as well, which is a market now.
Once you enter Ichon-Kala, you actually feel you are walking into the middle of a medieval movie set. The entire city is a monochrome of clay, and the almost-crumbling mud walls make you feel like you are stepping into another era. And in the middle of this earthy delight are scattered blue and turquoise gems in the form of various monuments.
I spent a day and a night in Khiva. A day was enough for me to loiter through the Bazaar, which is along the main road in the heart of the city, and explore most of the historical sites.
You would be pleasantly surprised to know that even in this faraway land, Bollywood songs are quite a hit. You find Hindi songs being played in taxis and restaurants, often. Across Uzbekistan, in fact.
In the market, you would find a lot of souvenirs, camel wool socks, and stoles, fur and karakul caps, pottery to shop for. You would find good open-air restaurants and cafes also around the place.
The city has some splendid architecture in the same vicinity and all sites can be done easily on foot.
I started with a walk around the four Ichon Kala Gates. All the gates have a turnstile and you get asked for an entrance fee while entering the city, ad hoc. When I arrived in the city that morning by taxi through one of the gates, I was not asked for any fee. However, later that day, I stepped out of one of the gates for a bit, and on entering back, I was asked to pay. I had to explain how I had just ventured out for a flat 2 minutes! They seemed to be okay with that. I later found that this random way of charging was prevalent in Bukhara too, at some local markets inside the Madrassas.
Make sure you climb the Wall through the stairs that lead up to the top and take a walk around the city viewing its marvels from up there.
Kunya Ark — the Citadel has the Emir’s palace. A courtyard and throne room to receive visitors, and a private mosque. There weresupposed to be harem quarters somewhere, but it seemed that section was closed then.
Some rooms have been converted into a tiny mint museum.
Just next to the entrance to the palace complex is a small building said to have been the town prison.
Kalta Minor stands out amongst everything else. In various hues of blue-green-turquoise, this fat minaret was made in the 19th century by Mohammed Amin Khan, who according to legend wanted to build a minaret so high it could be seen all the way from Bukhara. Unfortunately, he died before its completion and you can see that the structure looks stunted.
Islam Khoja Minaret, is the tallest minaret in Khiva, although relatively newer. It’s a part of the larger complex which has a Mosque and Madrassa, Unlike the Kalta Minor, this one tapers at the top. Like the rest, it’s made of bricks, decorated with the quintessential glazed ceramic white, green and blue tiles.
One of my most favourite places in Khiva was this simple yet fascinating mosque called the Jumma Mosque. I discovered it by chance when while walking through the innermost lanes of the city. I saw an intricately carved, half-open wooden door which made me inquisitive. As I pushed open the door lightly and stepped further in, I saw this big prayer hall with a whole lot of evenly spaced-out wooden columns running from the ceiling to the floor. I learned that there were a total of 213 such columns made of elm wood. Though the mosque has been built in the 18th century on top of the remains of an older mosque, the pillars used have been salvaged from different eras, from the 10th century onwards. Being amongst the columns gives you a feel of being in the woods!
Also check out the Tash-Khovli Palace, the Makhmud Pahalvan Mausoleum.
Uzbekistan is all about stunning mosques and madrassas, in blue-green ceramic tiled grandeur. The madrassas largely fascinated me. Khiva too has its share of some such old madrassas. While strolling around the lanes of this city, you would come across several of them. Of course, the Madrassas no longer function as the centres of Islamic studies. Now, they are mostly museums or house local handicraft shops and a few have been converted into boutique hotels. Staying in a medieval-era Madrassa hotel is a lifetime experience, not to be missed.
I had planned an overnight stay in Khiva. And chose the Orient Star hotel which was originally the 19th-century Mukhamed Amin Khan Madrassaa. The location of the hotel is the best part as it is situated right next to the Kalta Minor and one of the gates of the city. The rooms of all madrassas are small with low-height doors and no windows. Expect the same here, although all amenities of a hotel are provided. You have a comfortable bed, bathroom, AC, and so on. No intercom and no room service. The two-storeyed building has rooms around a quadrangular compound. The staircase going to the first floor is narrow and winding with a low ceiling and one has to be careful while going up and down the rooms.
Whatever the downside of a Madrassa hotel, I would still recommend staying in one, in any of the Uzbek cities.
The best way to explore this mind-boggling place is to go at a slow pace and savour the medieval experience. You just cannot have enough.
Sunrises and sunsets are a delight to watch in Khiva. The Western Gate gives you an excellent experience. Also, nights can get very cold in Khiva even if it’s pretty warm during the day. It’s in an arid desert area, remember?
