Welcome you all to Uzbekistan, the Great Silk Road ... and Khiva (S.Hrg.112-399)

We continued our caravan from Bukhara by taking a sky camel to Khiva, Uzbekistan's "museum city" on the Silk Road (top). The pristine preservation of the place is obvious from the first step through the city gates, which quickly brings you to Hotel Orient Star, where you can stay in one of the study cells of the former Muhammad Amin-Khan Madrasa, and Kalta Minor Minaret, rumored to be only the foundation of what was supposed to become the largest tower in Central Asia, which explains its squatness (bottom left). The turquoise on the minaret is a signature hue throughout the town, found on numerous domes, including the Pakhlavan Makhmud Mausoleum (bottom right).

Although it is a functioning city, as seen by the kids playing soccer next to the mausoleum, Khiva draws tourists partly because of its many religious sites. One of the most interesting is Djuma Mosque, a single-hall structure built in the 18th century. Its pillars, perfectly aligned to allow little obstruction to the cleric's prayer-leading pocket, are from various time periods, including as early as the 10th century (top). One of the most interesting posts features images from multiple religions: Zoroastrian, Buddhism, and Hinduism; the fact that the pillar was splitting seemed particularly symbolic (bottom left). In the middle of the supports, an open patio has been covered with a glass ceiling, from which you can see the mosque's minaret (bottom right). 

Although both can be climbed, we decided to ascend the Islam Khoja Minaret instead. It was tight squeeze up the narrow tower, made even more difficult by the lack of light to see the slim steps (left). Thankfully, at the top there were plenty of windows from which to view the tiered walls and roofs of the compact Itchan Kala, a UNESCO World Heritage Site (right).

The inner town was home to the khans who ruled the region. Within their 17th-century residential fortress, the Kunya Ark, evidence of royal extravagance can be seen everywhere, including on the ceiling of the winter mosque (top). In the early 20th century, the last khans built a last hurrah to lavishness in the form of a winter home right outside the city walls. The Nurullay Palace features some of the world's first indoor fireplaces, with facades of tiles from St. Petersburg, Russia (bottom left). Even back then, the oligarchy exhibited a penchant for European style, with crystal chandeliers and gilded mirrors that seem to be straight out of Versailles (bottom right).

Indeed, the khans denied themselves no desires. The harem of Tash-Khovli Palace features rooms for wives and concubines with separate, secret corridors to the khan's boudoir (left). When it came to other types of servants, everything was done right out in the open. The holding areas for the slave market were within one of the main thoroughfares into the city; the official name of the walled city's eastern gate is Palvan Darvoza, or Hercules' Gate, but most locals referred to it as Slave Gate (right).

Locals today are still more likely to enter town through Palvan Darvoza, but tourists tend to use Ota Darvoza, or Father's Gate, on the opposite side of the town (left). With a small tip to a caretaker in the Ark, you can climb up to the watchtower that overlooks the gate and the heart of the city (right). 

Most tourists stay within the walls of the city, but one morning, we took a field trip to Djambas Qala Fortress, which has eroded quite a bit since it was constructed in the 4th century (top). A former Zoroastrian temple is now topped by a wooden tripod to which visitors tie scraps of cloth to make wishes (bottom left). Just outside the fortress rests a yurt camp where guests can take a dip in a salty pond (bottom right).

At least in the off season, there's not a lot going on in the sleepy city. If we hadn't been on a tour, we would've struggled to find places to eat. But there was no lack of establishments peddling traditional Khorezm hats (left) or selling snapshots of you sitting khan-like in a throne (right).

With the slow stream of tourists, the merchants resort to entertaining themselves technologically. Even a mausoleum prayer leader wasn't immune from a bit of boredom (top left). Locals still go to the shrine to honor famous charitable poet and athlete Pakhlavan Mahmud, who once threw a wrestling match so his opponent wouldn't be killed due to his defeat (top right). Merely a memorial statue is dedicated to arguably the city's most famous native son: Al-Khorezmiy, the father of the algorithm (bottom).

I was once pretty decent at math, so it wasn't hard for me to add up all the food we ate. I particularly liked the green noodles, made with lots of dill and served as the main dish for our lunch at Chaikhana Mirza Boshi (left). By our final dinner, I was more bloated than blown away by the food, but I did enjoy the ambiance of Khorezm Art Restaurant (right). Its location, inside part of Allakuli-Khan Madrasa, put a fitting final point on the historical hospitality of Khiva.