SAMARKAND, UZBEKISTAN: LUNCH, SILK CARPETS UZBEKISTAN, AND MEROS PAPER FACTORY

After all the intense sightseeing we were doing in Samarkand, a good meal was in order. It's possible to get an American meal even in Uzbekistan. Crazy.

But why would we go there when we could go to a restaurant with this lovely statue of a girl in shorts and a tank top greeting us? (I wonder what Muslims, who comprise about 93% of the population of the country, think of her choice in clothes?)

The inside was quite a bit more traditional than the statue led us to believe:

I love the way the bread in this part of the world looks--so much more complex in design. Note the pinhole pattern in the center. However, I wouldn't rank it among the best breads in the world. When it was hot, it was good, but when it was cool, it tended to be dry and a little flavorless.

The dining room was modeled after the exquisite ancient architecture of Samarkand--lots of beautiful colors and patterns, lots of gilding:

That's Jim Tyndall at the head of the table. He and his wife Carol, who is on the left, own Fun-for-
Less Tours. It was fun to have them along on the company's inaugural trip through the Stans.

On our way out of the restaurant after we finished lunch, we saw three moms sitting on the sofas with their babies, each cradled in a lacy carrier

They were delighted that we wanted to take their picture!

Our next stop was Silk Carpets Uzbekistan, a very posh rug factory. Rugs are one of Uzbekistan's major exports and part of the Silk Road heritage. We had an English-speaking local guide describe the rug-making process:

We learned all about silk:

We saw how the silk threads were spun into silk yarn:

Aren't the guide's slippers CUTE?

Oops, back on course. Here is a skein of silk . . .

. . . the dye vat:

. . . and the work room:

All of the rug makers were women. they were well-dressed and well-groomed and the rooms were spotless, but the work looked incredibly tedious, not to mention hard on the back:

Some of the more intricate rugs required more than one weaver:

They were using patterns that reminded me of patterns for needlepoint or counted cross-stitch, but it is hard for me to translate this drawing into the weaving motions made by the women:

Watch these flying fingers:

Some rugs seem impossibly complex, such as the one below. Look at all these colors! That's the pattern above the horizontal bar and the weaving underneath it:

A rug like this one takes six months to a year to make. Hours are spent on a square centimeter.

The elderly owner of the factory and shop was there to welcome us and oversee the showing of the different types of materials and patterns in the rugs. Prices started at about $500.

For an excellent (and short) video of the rug-making process, see the factory's own website.

I noticed this picture of who I think is Kofi Annan (General Secretary of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006) visiting the factory:

Our next stop was the Meros Paper Mill:

Supposedly the first paper ever created was made out of mulberry bark right here in Samarkand. A few years ago some brothers revived this ancient art and started producing mulberry paper at this factory using the ancient processes:

The "factory" was in a beautiful area next to a quiet stream shaded by lacy tree canopies:

We saw how the mulberry bark is shredded:

It is then boiled in a pot to create pulp:

I think these are giant mashers, used to further pulverize the pulp . . .

. . . until it looks like this:

The pulp is stirred . . .

. . . a wooden form is submerged in the pulp . . .

. . . and when it is lifted, voila!

Paper!

This mulberry bark paper is available in its natural state . . .

. . . or sanded to create a silky finish:

There is a little gift shop where visitors can buy not only sheets of paper, but also postcards, purses, notepads, and these cute dolls:

Okay, time to move on!