My night in Khiva was probably one of the most comfortable I’ve had since I came to Uzbekistan. It seemed like I was in a rush every day. Even after staying in Samarkand for two nights, I was enjoying the night scene and the bars were busy. Shiva arranged the whole two days because he saw very beautiful photos of the old city on the Internet. It was snowing heavily all day and the temperature was below zero. It was too cold to take selfies.
I found a nice B&B on the booking. When I made the reservation, I left a message saying that I would arrive at the railway station at 07:00 in the morning and go to the airport at 20:00 in the evening of the next day. However, the boss said that I could pick up and pick up and let me check in the room in advance. The transfer fee is a good one, $2 for 2km of train station and $10 for 35km of airport. My boss told me earnestly, “If you come back to China, please study English hard.” Ha-ha, there are not many people who can speak English fluently in Stan country. What is terrible is that I, a tourist, can’t speak English.
In Uzbekistan, I can often feel the kindness of people. From the beginning completely do not understand the train ticket, often can not find the train is very upset, but in fact as long as you give the ticket to the conductor to see they will help you, for example, I saw that it is almost time to start, but this train is not my ride. Then I asked the conductor, and he took my luggage on, through the first train, and off again, and I learned that I had to cross the train to find my train. This makes me think Uzbeks are very friendly.
Khiva City walk: West Gate, 120000 Sompass for foreigners, then follow my route. Shiva is very small, don’t waste 10,000 soms on maps like I did. There is a very famous Central Asian proverb about Khiva:
“I will give you a bag of gold, but I beg to see Khiva.”
The capital city of Khwarazm prefecture is in Urgench, 35 kilometers away is the nearest airport of Khiva. Mentioning Khwarazm is like coming to the archaeological sites in ancient times. There are still many ruins of towns and fortresses of Khwarazm period in the east and north of Urgench. But the old town of Khiva still seems to be the biggest destination for tourists coming here, and I thought it would be nice to regret that many places might not be a once-in-a-lifetime visit anyway.
After purchasing your ticket at the West Gate, enter the city gate and begin exploring the beauty of the ancient city along the central axis of the East and west gates, Pahlavon Mahud. Khiva is not like Bukhara, which is an old city with no visible walls, but the Ark of Bukhara has its own walls; The entire city of Khiva is located within its rectangular walls. You don’t have to buy a ticket just to get around the ancient city, but you do need to buy a pass to get closer to the buildings.
The Old Town of Khiva ticket set is valid for 120,000 soms for two days and 100,000 soms for the top of the tower. I finished a dozen museums in Ichon-Qala in two days, in a state of “They know me, I don’t know them”. On the road, selfies are now the norm, and traveling alone, it’s really hard to get both photos and videos. For me, it’s basically just a photo.
Upon entering the west gate, the Kalta Minor minaret is greeted with a map made of tile on the right hand side. The Kalta Minor minaret is like a small fat block that looks like an unfinished building. The one next to it turned out to be a hotel. I wanted to go in, but was told it was not open and had to give up.
Kuhna Ark is the palace of Khiva Khan, just opposite the Kalta Minor minaret. I walked almost everywhere I could into the Ark and found the mosque very beautiful. The walls are still the blue and white tiles common in Uzbekistan, while the roof, which is made of red, orange and gold geometric patterns, is unusual.
In the Ark, I can see some ruins, stages, and some areas that may be harem and barracks at that time. The most important one is Oq Shihbobo Fortress. After entering from the ticket gate, go straight to the right, and there is an attic where you can climb high and see far. It is on this roof, overlooking the ancient city of Khiva and the former Ark, which is really beautiful. At this point, as the snow began to fall harder, I put away my camera, returned to my hostel, and simply strolled through the ancient city of Shiva with a map and my ticket. At this point I didn’t care which school or mosque it was. I just wandered through one museum after another. I saw cotton, stuffed animals, fruit, oil and more, and once again got to know Uzbekistan a little in an old city.
Wake up in the morning, open the curtain, the roof is white, the sun soft sprinkled on the above, let a person feel very warm. Simply pack up things to walk on the street, the temperature is much higher than yesterday, the street is gradually more people up. Lucky enough to wake up in the morning to see people sweeping the snow on the floor. I grabbed a picture of the old town of Khiva on a sunny day after the snow while I was still cleaning. The tickets are valid for 24 hours, but I bought them yesterday at noon, and the guards will let me in if I haven’t been in until one or two o ‘clock in the afternoon.
These two days may be a good day. I often meet married couples on the road. What is especially happy is that they play folk music and dance unconsciously with the sweet music beat, and they are more happy than one, which makes people happy involuntarily. When I saw the China, it was the first time in years of traveling that I wanted to take something home. It was beautiful beyond words, like having a brick, and seeing it reminded me of the good times I used to walk alone in this ancient city.
