The Adventures of E500 & IX3

My E500 as I know him, loves travelling more than anything. One day, he told me that he heard the dessert sands calling. He told me he must go... So together with IX3, they departed suddenly one Friday afternoon.

I was in Shanghai, he was in Uzbekistan. I missed him immediately.



The ancient cities of Samarkand, Khiva, Buhkara and Tashkent.

These are names I hear old folks speak of in legends. A land far removed from our world. A land of a bygone era. I imagined it as a scene right out of Marco Polo's journal - A city suspended in time. Buildings threatened by the lethal dessert dust. Residents, all rich merchants and great crafts people. Nomads, travellers with caravans selling their wares, exchanging tales of other faraway lands.

This land, some twenty five hundreds years ago was at the crossroads of the greatest trade route in history - the legendary silk road.  My silk road. And the extension of myself, my E500 was there.

For two weeks, E500 did not send word. I grew anxious... Uzbek is not a country I know anything about. I mean, other than an imaginary romantic past, what do I know about the present? Mika told me he remembered it having a civil war or something...Damn.. For others, Uzbek is more a "What?", "Where?".


Finally IX3's companion dropped me a short email... It went something like"... you missed out on the trip of your lifetime... 101 Arabic nites... stunning architecture ..." Ouch, I was not prepared for this. Salt on open wound... The old saying is true... No news may be actually good news..

This land feels like the motherland of civilisation, perhaps the most ancient in our world. People has been living here for thousands of years. Every corner hides a story waiting to be told. Stories of individuals and of great nations, bloody conquests and violent rebellions. This is a story of the origin of one of the most beautiful cities in Central Asia. And the extension of myself was there.



This lion/ human/ deer wall motif is really a strange sight. I thought Islam is not suppose to depict figurines??

If I am a traveller, arriving at these strange cities after seeing only endless sand dunes for weeks and months, what will be my reaction?? 

My first glimpse of civilisation after having survived the harshness of travels is of such grandeur and beauty. Will I break down and cry? Will I convert to Islam and wish to be protected against the dessert sands by these assuring walls?

How can.. how can anything be so achingly beautiful? How can such excessive detailing remain so subtle yet quietly stunning? There is no air of arrogance or pride even after having achieved so much... only a regal and majestic presence... This is beyond anything my architecture education has taught me. My extension of myself, you must be so honoured to touch and capture such greatness. E500, why was it not me to touch these walls... My heart ached...

E500's companions tell me that many of the roof details are made from paper mache technique. I need to seriously think about this.... E500, I trust you... not exactly your companions...

Perfect proportion

The pictures that they brought back - They feed my imagination. Images of harems of women cladded in colorful silk, resting in their balconies, overlooking the crowded marketplace below flash by my eyes. They say a picture tells a thousand words... my E500 is no doubt chatty.



E500 showed me the people he had eye contact with.

This is the restaurant E500's companions ate in...

This is the nice hotel E500 stayed in...

These must be the streets E500 walked by.... looks a bit shady in the evenings, I am glad you were not abducted.

Details

These are geometric and vegetal patterned glazed terracotta tiles, along with inscriptions using the Arabic Kufi and Maskhi scripts. The development of geometric patterns (girikh) coincided with the rise of mathematics and other exact sciences in the Muslim-Orient, which answers my initial questions on "How did they even construct these perfect close loop facades?" It did not take me long to find out that the builders did not only use maths and geometry in developing pattern systems, but also the overall proportions of structures to achieve the balance and oneness of it all.

Ancient verses Restoration

The left is original and the right is restored. To me it is a world of differences. The workmanship of the unrestored pillar is so fine as compared to the modern version on the right. Even a simple six petal flower in the center shows a remarkable lack of form in the latter. The actual kiln method to replicate the same cool blue tone of the terracotta facades are now lost.

FOOD

Cheese balls.. Hard cheese balls...

E500 doesn't eat but he say a good Uzbek bread should last for 3 years... I think his companions were not very impressed with its taste... Should have brought me a bread for souvenior...

Everyone raved about how sweet the honey dews were in Uzbek and how blissful it was to munch their teeth into its sweet flesh everyday. And typically, such greatness went unrecorded. No a single photo of the fabulous honey dews.. but dozens of shots of beans and parsleys and chillies.

... next stop, Kyrgyzstan