Bukhara

The journey from Khiva to Bukhara was a long six hour train journey across the desert. Despite most of the journey passing arid desert, we occasionally came across farming villages, which were once collective farms during the Soviet era. Unlike farming in most European countries, the fields were mostly cultivated by the hand of labourers. They were all heavily covered to avoid heavy sun exposure and a number of the workers waved at the passing train. The train was almost a Central Asian answer to the Hogwarts Express, with compartments and a man bringing jugs of green tea round the car.

Once we arrived in Bukhara, we immediately got a sense of the local heat. Bukhara is renowned for being one off the hottest places in Uzbekistan and temperatures can hit 50ºC in the the summer. However, Bukhara has a large pond in the city centre with cafés which serve Coke Zero, a very rare commodity in Central Asia!

Bukhara is also well-known for its minority communities. Bukhara is home to a large number of Tajik people. Unlike the Uzbeks, the Tajiks are related to the Persians of Iran and the Tajik Language is very similar to Farsi, with the main difference being the scripts, with Tajik using Cyrillic script and Farsi using Arabic script. Bukhara As well as the Tajik people themselves, Bukhara’s Jewish population also speak Tajik. Although most of the population now live in Israel and the United States, Bukhara still has a Jewish quarter with an old synagogue.

Bukhara’s Tajik Persian past is still visible today, an obvious example being the Samanid Mausoleum in the North-West of the city. Although the mausoleum is Islamic, it has been built in the design of a Zoroastrian fire temple, the pre-Islamic religion of Ancient Persia. The mausoleum was complete with elaborate carvings throughout the temple, including the windows.

The main landmark of Bukhara without a doubt is the Kalyan minaret. The minaret was used not only to call Muslims to prayer, but also as a lookout post to warn if an attack on the city was imminent. As well as its towering statue, the engravings and calligraphy on the minaret are ornate.

Bukhara is also renowned for its production of rugs, particularly those with Turkmen patterns. Our guide brought us to a family-run rug factory that was located not far from the Kalyan complex to allow us to explore the different types of rugs made and how they were produced. The production of the rugs is extremely painstaking, with the workforce being made of young girls. This is due to the fineness of the patterns and due to the workers’ hands becoming bigger with age, weaving the rugs becomes much more difficult. Rugs can take anywhere between a few months to years, depending on the size of the rug and the workers use images to work out where each knot should be placed. Although these rugs are expensive, it is not difficult to see why considering the dexterity, ornateness and artistic nature of their production.

One memory I have of Bukhara is when I needed to go the pharmacy, due to a wisdom tooth coming through. As I had nothing with me that would help, I decided to brave it and go to the pharmacy, known as ‘Dorixona’ in Uzbek (one of the few Uzbek words I remember) and ‘Аптека’ (Aptyeka) in Russian. Luckily, my Russian phrasebook that I brought with me had a health section in it, so decided to ask the person over the counter in broken Russian for some teething gel. Luckily, an elderly Russian ‘babushka’ knew what I was asking for and helped the man behind the counter and I ended up with a tube of Russian teething gel. The gel worked wonders and I was fine the next morning! It also gave me huge confidence to speak more Russian throughout the trip.

On the way to the station to catch the train to Samarkand, we had time to see the Char Minar Madrasah. The name ‘Char Minar’ means ‘four minarets’ in Persian/Tajik and the building resembles a mosque. Although the minarets are not used and cannot be accessed, it is possible to go onto the roof and explore the motifs of the minarets and dome, some of which resemble Zoroastrian, Buddhist and Christian designs.

Khiva- Western Uzbekistan

After spending time in Tashkent, we took a domestic flight to Urgench, on the other side of the country. The domestic airport in Tashkent was small but I loved the 1960s feel, which felt like airports in the Sean Connery-era James Bond films.

After arriving in Urgench and driving through some bumpy roads, we explored the ruins of an ancient fort. The fort is thought to be so old that it dates back to the time when Zoroastrianism was the predominant religion, predating Islam. We also passed through the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan. Although mostly barren, it is home to the Karakalpak people. They have their own language which despite Karakalpakstan being in Uzbekistan, shares more similarities with Kazakh.

Eventually, we arrived at our next destination, Khiva. Although Khiva is a city of nearly 90,000 people, it is best known for Itchen Kala, an ancient citadel which is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Once inside the imposing city walls of Itchen Kala, it feels as if you are in a massive outdoor museum or a real-life Aladdin set. There are no cars, which added to the ancient feel of the city. Khiva is home to a number of mosques including the Juma Mosque, which is known for its forest of carved wooden pillars and being the place where Genghis Khan stabled his horses during his stay in the city.

Itchen Kala has two main madrasahs (Islamic schools), the Mohammed Amin Khan Madrasah and the Mohammed Rakhim Khan Madrasah, the former of which has been converted into a luxury hotel. Both these madrasahs are elaborately decorated and were important in educating the next generation in the ways of the prophet and the Qur’an.

As well as being a city, Khiva was once an khanate or kingdom. The Khan of Khiva once lived in the Tosh-Khovli palace, which as well a court as well as a palace. The Khan used to pass judgements on the crimes and return through one of three doors to indicate whether the defend was to be executed, incarcerated or freed. The palace was also home to the Khan’s many wives and concubines. Each woman had their own rooms and only the Khan knew the secret passageway to their living quarters, through a secret tunnel.

The three doors at the Tosh-Khovli palace

Aside from the beautiful ancient buildings, Khiva was also the first place I tried Uzbekistan’s national dish, Plov. It is a filling dish, consisting of rice, meat and vegetables and goes very well with a pot of green tea afterwards! Green tea is a popular summer drink in Uzbekistan and is often drunk out of small traditional tea bowls. Despite being a hot beverage, it is effective at cooling one down during the hot summer months.

Throughout the streets of Khiva, there are various stalls selling traditional wooly hats, called Chugirmas. Although these hats are mostly made across the border in Turkmenistan due to the city’s close proximity to the border, they have also been traditionally worn in Khiva and the surrounding Khorezm Region. They have practically uses, as they keep the wearer as warm in the winter and cool in the summer. It was also used by travellers as a pillow whilst sleeping, due the hat’s soft, wooly texture.

After our fascinating stay in Khiva, we boarded an six-hour train eastwards across the desert to Bukhara.

Tashkent – a reflection

With the world in lockdown due to Covid-19 and a whole host of events and travel cancelled, I have decided to blog about my family’s trip Central Asia last July. It is a fascinating region that is not often spoken about in the Western World and an area of mystery to many. We visited three countries on our trip: Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. After finishing my university exams and dissertation, my Mum suggested I read a book she had read called ‘Sovietstan’ by the Norwegian Erika Fatland. After reading the book, this made me reflect on my own visit to Central Asia. In this blog, I will talk about Tashkent and discuss the other destinations in subsequent blogs.

Getting to Uzbekistan is surprisingly easy, as we flew from Edinburgh to Tashkent with Turkish Airlines via Istanbul. The airport in Istanbul is perhaps one of the biggest terminals I have ever seen in my life and our flight was delayed, triggering a slight panic at the terminal. Luckily, we did not have too far to walk to get to our connection. Our connecting flight was by far the most bizarre flight I have ever been on in 21 years of flying and we were practically the only non-Uzbek passengers on the plane. The Uzbek passengers all carried huge amounts of hand luggage, from huge wheelie cases designed to go in the hold, to plastic bags filled with all sorts of goods from books to washing powder and baby nappies. Once on the plane, it became a scrum of different people constantly swapping seats to sit next to their family and friends and people struggling to squash as much hand luggage as they could into the overhead bins, much to the frustration of the flight attendants. One Turkish flight attendant told us that these types of scenes were an everyday occurrence on the Istanbul-Tashkent flight!

Once we arrived in Tashkent, it appeared to be very similar to watching old films of the Soviet Union. There were the grand boulevards, rows of Soviet-style apartment blocks and 1970s Soviet Lada and Vaz cars. However, Tashkent is a fun and vibrant city. Amir Temur Square, overlooked by the Hotel Uzbekistan is very impressive and a nice place for a walk and talk in the hot sun. In the middle of the square, there is a towering statue of Amir Temur (frequently known as Tamerlane in the West), who is a national hero in Uzbekistan. As well as Soviet architecture, Tashkent is home to some beautiful Islamic architecture, including the old Barak-Khan Madrasah, a madrasah being an Islamic school. Near the madrasah, there was a library which housed one of oldest Qur’ans in the world. Thought to have originated in Samarkand in either the 8th or 9th centuries, it was very large and featured a style of Arabic script that is no longer used or understood by many.

Amir Temur Square, with the Hotel Uzbekistan in the background

Tashkent is also home to a number of museums dedicated to the history, art and culture of Uzbekistan. The museums housed a plethora of carpets, suzanis and paintings from various eras of history and gave us a flavour of the richness of Uzbek culture. In the past, Uzbek art was often present in other parts of the world due to Uzbekistan being in the middle of the Great Silk Road.

My personal favourite aspect of Tashkent was its metro system. It is very cheap, with one ride costing only 1,200 Uzbek Soms (10p GBP or 15¢ USD). It is also very easy to navigate the system as tokens are used as opposed fancy prepaid cards or tickets, and there are only three lines which at the same time, cover most of the city. Unlike London, Paris and New York City where underground stations are often dirty and plastered with adverts peeling off the walls, stations in Tashkent are decorated with art and each station has its own separate theme. For example, the station ‘Kosmonavtlar’ (Космонавтлар in Russian) is space themed with portraits of the well-known Soviet cosmonauts including the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova and the first man in space, Yuri Gagarin on the walls. Although considerably smaller than most underground networks I have travelled on (albeit bigger than Glasgow!), Tashkent has to be one of my favourite, if not my favourite underground system in the world.

After spending two days in Tashkent we made to our way to the airport to fly to Urgench in the west of Uzbekistan. From then on, we would travel by road to the ancient city of Khiva.

FC Basel vs BSC Young Boys

Sundays in Mulhouse can be dull, as apart from McDonald’s, Starbucks, and a small Carrefour market in the centre of town, virtually everything is closed. I decided to look at the FC Basel fixture list and saw there was a home game against Young Boys, a team from from Bern. After the fun I had going to Everton de Viña games in Chile, I knew I had to make the most of my Sunday and get a ticket.

After I bought my ticket, which was an e-ticket in order to avoid the 10 CHF handling fee, I found out that FC Basel vs Young Boys was a highly anticipated encounter as FC Basel were second in the league with Young Boys eleven points clear at the top of the table. Despite Young Boys being knocked of the Champions League in the group stages this year, they beat Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus 2-1 and put up a stern fight against Manchester United at Old Trafford. It all made for a great match.

When I arrived at St Jakob-Park, the impressive home of FC Basel with a capacity of over 38,000, I immediately took advantage of something banned at football matches in Scotland and Chile, beer. In addition to this, the one thing that I noticed was that despite the availability of beer, there were far fewer fans visibly drunk than a match in Scotland or England. The beer is served in plastic tumblers and you have to remember to bring your cup back in order to get the 2 CHF pfand! (deposit)

Although I was sat in one of the side stands, I was close to the FC Basel ultras who put on quite a display, featuring balloons, banners, massive flags, flares and ticker tape. On the opposite side, the Young Boys fans also set off flares and displayed a wall of yellow scarves. The electric atmosphere definitely made up for the cold wet weather.

The game did not disappoint in the slightest. FC Basel started well going 1-0 in front of a corner that went in via a deflection from a Young Boys defender. However, Young Boys piled on the pressure, took advantage of some lax Basel defending and went 2-1 up just before half time, the first goal came from a cross whilst the second came from a free kick. The best goal of the game came in the second half when Basel talisman Noah Okafor thundered home from outside the box. Both sides had chances later on to win the game but the match ended 2-2.

One thing I also loved about the experience was that public transport to and from the stadium is free, a real bonus if you are a student! In addition to the free transport, special trams were put on so supporters could get home from the ground swiftly. I think the free transport is an excellent idea, maybe Hearts should consider bringing in a similar concept?

Overall, I really enjoyed the experience of my first football game on the continent and hope to get to FC Basel’s next home game against FC Lugano, from the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino.

Grüezi aus Basel!

One of the things that I love most about living in Mulhouse is the ability to travel to a plethora of different places within easy reach by train. Due to Mulhouse’s location on the border, as well as places in France, Germany and Switzerland are both easily accessible. Therefore I have made the most of this situation and went to Basel, Switzerland for the day.

The train to Basel from Mulhouse takes about 20 minutes and feels like a shuttle train. Although Basel is one of Switzerland’s biggest cities, it is smaller than both Edinburgh and Viña del Mar. This, however, means that the city is very walkable and the Altstadt (Old Town) and Marktplatz are within walking distance of the train station. The Rathaus (town hall) in Basel is a beautiful building, with historic paintings and murals on the walls. A busker is always present in the cloister and at one time, a cellist was playing The Swan by Camille Saint-Saëns, one of my favourite pieces. Like all of Switzerland, prices in Basel are fairly expensive. The Marktplatz however is home to a number of stalls selling traditional Swiss food at reasonable prices. I ate a Baseler Wurst, a traditional sausage from the area, which was served with a slice of rye bread and hot mustard.

One funny moment happened when a lady heard me talking to my friend Danielle and came up to me in English and asked if I was American. I initally thought her accent was Swiss as her accent was not Anglophone and her granddaughter and her Dad were speaking in German to each other. I responded by saying, ‘Nein, Mein Freund ist Amerikaner aber Ich komme aus Schottland.’ (No, my friend is American but I’m from Scotland). The lady looked most perplexed and I was beginning to think I had said something odd. It turned out that she and her husband had come from Wisconsin, U.S.A. to visit their daughter and family who lived in Basel. Luckily, the lady’s daughter spoke German so was able to translate!

Basel is a very nice city and I hope to be back several times before I finish my placement, particularly as there is a Lindt shop in Basel!

First impressions of Mulhouse

Earlier this month, I began my the French leg of my third year abroad in Mulhouse, a small city Alsace in Eastern France near the border with Switzerland and Germany. My host university for the semester is the University of Upper-Alsace (a.k.a Université de Haute-Alsace or UHA), a small university on the outskirts of the city. It was established in 1975, so it is much more modern than both Heriot-Watt and PUCV in Chile. However, it similar to PUCV in the sense that one must walk up a hill when going to classes! Despite the bureaucracy and inefficiency, the University staff are very accessible due to the small size of the university.

Mulhouse is a small but an interesting city of contrast, with a mixture of French and Alsatian-Germanic architecture. In certain areas of town, you could be forgiven for thinking you were in Germany or Switzerland! This is however when you look at the history of the Alsace region, as it has previously been a part of Germany.

One thing I am loving about France at the moment in the transportation. Although not as cheap as Chile (but definitely a lot less hair-raising!), the trams and buses can take you anywhere in the city, including the centre of town, the supermarket or the train station An unlimited pass for a month costs just under 20€.

As well as public transport in Mulhouse, intercity transport is also fantastic. From the central station in Mulhouse, one can travel to multiple destinations across France, Switzerland and Germany. The previous two Saturdays, I have been in both Basel in Switzerland and Freiburg im Breisgau in Germany. I will write both of these visits in later blogs.

Everton de Viña vs Palestino

Last weekend, I attended Everton de Viña’s final home game of the season and also my last football match before I leave Chile. With relegation still a threat for El Oro y Cielo, a win and three points was vital. This week, Everton welcomed Palestino, who the week before won the Copa de Chile, beating Audax Italiano 4-2 on aggregate.

The atmosphere in the stadium was electric and there was a high turnout. For the teams coming out, everyone in the stand I was in had to hold up cards which when looking at it from the other side, would appear as blue and yellow stripes. The Everton de Viña Barra Brava, Los del Cerro was in full voice, with usual songs, chants, banners, umbrellas, drums and trumpets, combined with fireworks and ticker-tape.

Everton de Viña dominated the game from start to finish. They got on the scoreboard early when after seven minutes, Patricio Rubio smashed the ball from the edge of the box past the goalkeeper and into the left side of the net. Everton were initially given a penalty for a handball but just before it was due to be taken, the penalty was waived on the advice of the fourth official, to the fury of the home fans.

However just before halftime, Everton de Viña were given a penalty for a handball in the box. On look at the replay, it was a harsh decision but the penalty decision stood and Cristián Suárez slotted it home to make the score 2-0 at the break. By this point, the atmosphere inside the Estadio Sausalito was positive and Los Del Cerro were in party mode.

Palestino began the second-half fired up and looking to get back into the game. However, their momentum collapsed when after 47 minutes, when Diego Orellana added Everton de Viña’s third. From that point onwards, El Oro y Cielo dominated the game and had numerous chances to add a fourth. Palestino’s evening was summed up when winger Cesár Cortés was shown a straight red card for a strike to the face on Everton de Viña’s Sebastián Leyton. When the final whistle blew, the home fans were delighted as Everton de Viña are all but safe and set to play next season in the Primera División.

The game was my final game watching Everton de Viña and I have really enjoyed going to the games and following their season. In a week which has definitely not been the finest for South American football, the final game did not disappoint and I will remember going to watch Everton de Viña for a very long time.

Isla Negra, Eugenics Debate and Strikes

At a loose end one weekend, the three of us decided to complete the trio of Pablo Neruda’s houses by visiting his favourite house in Isla Negra. The house is located in a town which shares the same name and is very popular with tourists, particularly from other parts of Chile and is located about an hour and a half away from Valparaíso.

The house was all on one floor, but very spread out and spacious. The best part about Neruda’s house however was the amazing view out over the ocean, beaches and waves crashing on the rocks. When we arrived at the house, we were greeted by a Spanish speaking guide who when we said we were from Scotland, she responded in perfect English. It later transpired that she was an Australian who after a gap year in Chile had decided to return and call the country home. After visiting the house, we later went to eat some of the area’s amazing seafood, before taking the bus back to Valpo.

One of my hardest subjects or ‘ramos’ in Chile is Lengua Española (Spanish Language). Although it is for native speakers, I take it due to the fact that I believe it will be very useful for the fourth-year dissertation, as some of it will be written in Spanish. Our most recent assessment was a debate on Eugenics, also known as Human Genetic Modification. I was slightly worried when I heard the topic as I did not know much about it, even in English! However, we were split into groups for the task and the Chileans in my group were all very helpful. The debate was slightly different to debates in Scotland. as each team has two or three people arguing their case and the others are either rebutting the opposing side’s arguments. Each team also has a moderator who introduces and summarises the main points of each side of the debate. I was one of the people arguing against Eugenics, however we had to prepare both sides of the debate as we only found out on the day whether we were for or against the motion. Our team did well and we got a 5.6 (roughly equivalent to a B/B+).

Before we set off for Chile, one of the lecturers who is very familiar with Chile said that strikes and student protests were very commonplace. Until now, we had not had any strikes and classes went on as normal. However as a result of conflict between the native Mapuche and security forces, the students voted to go on two separate strikes which has led to the cancellation of classes!

Birthday and Everton de Viña vs Antofagasta

On the 28th of October 2018, I celebrated my 20th birthday, my first celebrated outside Scotland. However, it was certainly one that I will remember for a long time.

For my birthday, I went with Holly and Charlotte to the Everton de Viña del Mar match vs Antofagasta, a team from the north of Chile. Everton de Viña are at risk or relegation this season whilst Antofagasta our competing for a spot in next year’s Copa Libertadores. (South American version of the Champions League) Therefore, everyone was in no doubt that this was going to be a hard match el Oro y Cielo. After long lines and numerous security checks, we finally got to our seats. Although slightly cloudy, it was 20 degrees Celsius and no rain was in sight- very different from compared to Scotland!

Right from the start, Antofagasta’s prowess showed when Venezuelan star striker Eduard Bello capitalised on a goalkeeping error to put the visitors 1-0 ahead. However, things to a romantic twist as during his goal celebration, he ran up to the stand and proposed to his girlfriend!

Everton de Viña later drew level 1-1 from a superb free-kick leaving the keeper frozen and later went 2-1 in front. However, they failed to hang on until the half-time whistle when Eduard Bello scored a fantastic skillful goal to make the score 2-2 at the half.

Everton de Viña were by far the better team, with more possession, passes and shots on target. However, they wasted quite a few chances and it looked progressively more likely that the match would end a 2-2 draw. Despite this, their relentless pressure soon paid off and Óscar Salinas scored the winner in 83rd minute, causing the Estadio Sausalito to erupt and Los del Cerro (Everton de Viña’s Barra Brava/Ultras) to bring out a massive banner that covered the entire end. The match ended 3-2 and Everton de Viña got an important but well-deserved three points.

After the match, the three of us headed back into the centre of Viña del Mar for the post-match pint before our meal at one of Viña’s Peruvian restaurants. It was a lovely meal and it was washed down with a Pisco Sour and an Inca Kola, one of my favourite soft drinks. What I did not realise however was that Holly and Charlotte had bought me a surprise birthday cake and given it to the restaurant before the match, which was very kind of them!

I had a great birthday and hope to get to the last Everton de Viña home game against Palestino at the end of November.

Mi Buenos Aires Querido

For the last weekend of September, my classmates Holly, Charlotte and I took a plane across the to the other side of the Andes to Buenos Aires, Argentina.

We arrived in Buenos Aires in the evening after a turbulent flight. The thunder and lightning reminded me of the scene in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows when the Order of the Phoenix were transporting Harry to the Burrow. Once we arrived at Ezeiza Airport, we took a taxi to our hostel which was located in the Palermo District of Buenos Aires. The hostel was nice and was more like as all the rooms were privates and breakfast was free. After we arrived, we went to a bar and restaurant in Palermo where I pint of beer was an amazing $70 Argentinean Pesos (£1.50/$2.00 USD)!

The next morning we were woken up by one of the heaviest storms I have ever seen in my life. It was a humid day with thunder and lightning and the rain bouncing off the pavements. Our first trip of the day was to the ticket office to buy our tickets to the Argentina vs New Zealand rugby match. After drying off, we then went to the Evita Museum where we learned about the life of former Argentinean President Eva Perón.

Later, we took a trip on the metro to the El Ateneo, the biggest bookshop in the world. As well as the sheer number of books, the architecture in the building was grand as the building was once a theatre. Some of the artwork on the ceiling resembled that of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Before going to the rugby match, we went for a pizza at one of Buenos Aires’ many pizzerias. Pizza in Buenos Aires has a very good reputation as a result of high Italian immigration to Argentina and to this day the majority of Argentineans have at least one Italian ancestor. After enjoying the pizza went to a 45- minute bus trip to Liniers to watch the rugby.

The next morning we went a tour round some of the main sights in Buenos Aires. Thanks to the amazing public transport and SUBE cards that you can use between people, we were able to see quite a few things in one day. Our first port of call was the Sunday market at San Telmo, which had various articles such as souvenirs, antiques and sports merchandise. Afterwards, we took the metro to the La Boca, a colourful neighbourhood decorated with murals and home of Boca Juniors, one of the most successful South American football teams with ex-players including Diego Maradona. We witnessed first hand the religiosity of Argentinean football when due to Boca Juniors playing at home, the whole neighbourhood went into shut-down so everyone could attend the match at La Bombonera.

We then went to Plaza de Mayo which lies next to La Casa Rosada, the residence of the President of Argentina. The square is often a flashpoint where demonstrations take place and crowds also gather to listen to the president.

In the evening, we went to a restaurant to try some local Argentinean steaks. At the restaurant we went to, we got a discount as we arrived early and if promised to vacate the table by eight o’clock. However, we had to wait a while for the food to come out so as a result, the staff made up for the delay by allowing us to stay for as long as we liked and by giving us free champagne and lollipops! The steaks and wine we had were amazing and the steaks were an enormous 700g!

Going to Buenos Aires was an amazing experience and it was such a fascinating and charming city. I will definitely add it to the list of places to return to in the future. I even picked up the Argentinean accent I liked it so much!