BUKHARA, UZBEKISTAN: SHOPPING HEAVEN

The name "Bukhara" is supposed to mean "full of knowledge," but I think it really means "full of shopping." What we found, however, is that it is expensive shopping, at least as compared to Khiva, which had many of the same things for lower prices.  Bukhara is a much bigger tourist destination, which drives the prices up.

One of our activities was visiting another rug-making place.  (We had previously visited one in Samarkand, the city that became the most important city in Central Asia after Bukhara started to fade.) There were rugs for sale in all shapes, sizes, and colors:

 My personal favorite:

A knowledgeable woman educated us about quality, pattern, colors, etc., and her friendly henchman helper lifted up various rugs so that we could all buy them see them:

These antique samovars look like they could contain genii. So THAT'S who made all these rugs!

Actually, not really. The backroom revealed the truth.

The rugs are made by colorfully dressed, attractive young women. Why are they all young? I'm guessing it is because this fine work ruins both the eyes and the back. It also seems (at least to me) to be mind-numbing work, at least for eight hours a day:

 Next we visited what are called "trade domes." They date back to the 16th century:

Inside is an exotic bazaar selling dozens of items I wanted to buy.

Bells and musical instruments:

 Herbs and oils:

A shop devoted to gourds:

I wish our shopping malls looked like this:

No, this isn't another monument; it's our hotel, situated conveniently close to some of the busiest market areas in town:

 There were many buildings that looked like they came from a Hollywood movie set . . .

 . . . mixed in with open air markets that had lots of fun things to buy.  I wish I had bought this embroidered pillow for my granddaughter, who loves cats:

 

I DID purchase several pairs of these stork scissors, one for me and a few more for gifts. They are a trademark item made right here in Bukhara:

The scissor (and knife) forge:

Dishes are one of my weaknesses. I want one of each, please:

Other items did not tempt me nearly as much:

 Another beautiful Hollywood-ish building . . .

. . . with lots of treasures inside:

Artisans at work:

There's something for everyone in Bukhara:

 One of my favorite places was a puppet shop:

 They had a wonderful array of fanciful puppets, all made in a room in the back of the store:

This man in our group found his doppelganger:

Of course, shopping is heavy work, and constant nourishment is needed to do it adequately. I can recommend this cozy little place, Minzifa Restaurant:

They serve very tasty borscht:

Bob looks quite happy with his plates:

That was lunch. For dinner, we were welcomed to another restaurant as if we were royalty: 

Before dinner, we were subjected to enjoyed a lovely performance

I had a hard time following the story line, but the costumes were nice:

At the end, they called up Jim and Carol Tyndall, the owners of Fun For Less Tours, and dressed them in proper clothing for dinner. Very nice.

At this point a group of us left the huge group, caught a cab, and went to dinner on our own. Sometimes you just have to get away.

All in all, Bukhara is a great city for foot (and hoof) travel. There is a lot to see in the old downtown, and many of them are things you have not seen before:

Some things are pretty unique to Uzbekistan.