Bukhara's ancient monuments

Tuesday 1 May

We have booked a tour guide to show us around the old town of Bukhara. She is booked to come at 11.00 am, but arrives soon after 10.00 am, chomping at the bit. We are still having our breakfast. We explain to her that a tour of a couple of hours will be enough for us – memories of our 5 hour tour of the Lavre Monastery at Kiev, in the Ukraine, loom large in our minds.

Our guide, Nodira, is extremely good and very thorough – she explains that Bukhara is one of several holy towns in the Muslim religion, and has several saints buried there. Before Muslims do a pilgrimage to Mecca, they have to come to a “holy city” like Bukhara first. I am told later by a young stall attendant we get talking to that these pilgrimages don't happen so much nowadays.

We are shown buildings displaying stunning, intricate architecture, in parts inlaid with blue mosaic, blue being the colour of peace. These buildings, now used as trading places for stalls selling all types of goods, including carpets, paintings, silkwares, metalwork and wood carvings, were the university buildings (Medrese) of the ancient world, dating back many centuries. The universities educated young men in the Koran and other subjects; it is only in recent years that young women have been able to attend university, and even now they attend a separate establishment. Boys and girls today still receive different types of education; girls are very much taught how to run a home, cooking skills, etc- and apparently, how to manage a husband ( I should attend that class!)

I'm very interested in the role that religion plays in society here. Nodira tells us that Muslim is the main religion. She shows us another beautiful, huge building which was a mosque, where thousands of pilgrims used to come; it's just a historic sight now. There is still a “working” Friday mosque in Bukhara, which accommodates up to 500 men. Friday is the most important day for prayers. Devout Muslims pray for 15 – 20 minutes, 5 times a day, and there is ritual washing before each prayertime. I am interested to know the woman's role in all of this.

Nodira said she is a Muslim, but not devout – she doesn't pray 5 times a day – she doesn't think she could keep it up. Women are allowed in the mosque, but in a separate place from the men. Nodira says that in actual fact women don't usually come to the mosque to pray – they do their praying at home. She said it's very important to pray in private – not to show off that you are a good person. I say that I am a Christian – and that Christ didn't like hypocrites, for example some of the Pharisees and Saduccees. Dinara said that there are many religions in Bukhara – Buddists, Jews and Christians, as well as Muslims – and they are all tolerant of each other.

Our last stop is the ancient prison of Bukhara, where two Englishmen, Stoddart and Connelly, were imprisoned for 3 years before being executed.  They had not committed serious crimes, but the ruling Emir, it seems, took a dislike to them.  Prisoners on “death row” were put in the notorious “bug pit” - a pit many metres deep, only accessible by a rope, and bugs were regularly thrown in on top of them. These 2 Englishmen were eventually executed.  There were photographs dating back to the early 1900's, of men who had received lashings and been imprisoned for missing Friday prayers or not observing “Ramadam” (the period of fasting for Muslims).

After the prison, it's 3.00pm, and we tell our guide in a kind and gentle way that we're now really tired and ready to return to our hotel. We thank her (“Rakmat!”) for her excellent tour, and say our goodbyes.

We enjoy a siesta, and in the evening visit  a local cafe where we order chicken and chips – we think we'll be safe with that. After a wait of about an hour (nothing happens quickly in Bukhara) we receive a small plate of fried chicken pieces on the bone (just like Kentucky Fried Chicken, says Reg) and a separate plate of Pringles.  Of course – chips are crisps in this part of the world.

Later that evening we pay 3000 soms (about 70p) for an hour in an internet cafe, where I read my emails and publish my previously written blog.

I buy an icecream, which I share with Reg.  It's 10.00 pm ,but there are lots of people wandering around, enjoying the cool evening air after the heat of the day.

We pack up, ready for our taxi to collect us at 6.30 am tomorrow, for our train journey to Samarkand.