eye opening

You have read it here before - the reason to spend 36 hours in transit is because when you have lived through it you are absolutely elsewhere... really truly in a place where many things look unfamiliar and there is so much to see, smell, hear, learn... Each of us lives in our own little worlds and to go to someone else's world and at least get a glimpse of it can be eye opening.  On the morning we started our culinary adventure in Uzbekistan I already knew from my trips to the airport and back that this was a place of surprises.

Think about it- in America we lump all the 'stans together - and our experience of the 'stans is shaped by the reporting on the news and in the papers by especially Afghanistan where we have lost so many of our soldiers in a war we ordinary people really don't understand at this point.  World War II was over in roughly a third of the time we have been fighting in Afghanistan.  Furthermore it isn't like we didn't know it would be that way - the Soviets fought there for years and went home with their tails between their legs.  For years we have said that the stupidest thing Carter ever did as President was oppose the Soviet action in Afghanistan.  They tried to create a bulwark between themselves and radical Islam... we all know the course of the following decades... Afghanistan has been a complete and utter disaster - but you didn't come here to listen to my rant on Afghanistan.

I mention it in this context to begin speaking about how eye opening the trip to Uzbekistan was.  It seemed everyone I talked (except Poul Hansen who had worked here for a while) asked me if it was safe (the images of TV Afghanistan ruling their impressions) I had to explain that even though the countries share a small border, Uzbekistan was known to us as a "police state" and it was extremely safe.  Now after spending the better part of two weeks there I would not really typify it as a police state.

The first president of the modern republic of Uzbekistan had priorities and his very first was secure the borders.  This concept is one that Americans have been hearing a lot about in our own country of late (wall with Mexico anyone?) As we traveled through the country, we learned the story of  Islam Karimov, the only President of Uzbekistan for the 25 years following the establishment of the office. He won three consecutive elections (possibly not 100% clean wins) and died last year.  The thing is - this was a transition that could have gone very badly and sucked this country into the void of radical Islam and he had a very clear intention that it would not happen that way.   Karimov's strategy of relative neutrality, seeking stability in Central Asia via balanced cooperation with its neighbors and competing superpowers, including Russia, China and the United States seems to be a success story in Central Asia.

So I know you didn't come here to get bogged down in a heavy duty history of the ramifications of the fall of the Soviet Union and will move on - just a executive overview - the security of the state and the controlled growth of the economy has been a positive thing for Uzbekistan as far as I could tell.  They avoided that leap into crass western consumerism that typified some of the other former Soviet states and they have protected their culture, developing old forms of handicrafts and artisans to help hand down their Uzbeki heritage at the same time affording their peaceful Sunni Muslims protection from the Wahhabi Islam that has caused much of the conflict in their neighbors to the south. Enough said- let's go do some touring.

We started the day with a lecture by Caroline Eden (our tour host) about the state of the region and background information on Uzbekistan.  Then we left for some city touring.

Tashkent- literally "Stone City" is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. Due to its position in Central Asia, Tashkent came under Sogdian and Turkic influence early in its history, before Islam in the 8th century AD. After its destruction by Genghis Khan in 1219, the city was rebuilt and profited from the Silk Road. In 1865 it was conquered by the Russian Empire, and in Soviet times witnessed major growth and demographic changes due to forced deportations from throughout the Soviet Union. Today, as the capital of an independent Uzbekistan, Tashkent retains a multi-ethnic population with ethnic Uzbeks as the majority. (wikipedia)

Tashkent is the capital of and the most cosmopolitan city in Uzbekistan. It was noted for its tree-lined streets, numerous fountains, and pleasant parks.  Since 1991, the city has changed economically, culturally, and architecturally. New development has superseded or replaced icons of the Soviet era. The largest statue ever erected for Lenin was replaced with a globe, featuring a geographic map of Uzbekistan. Buildings from the Soviet era have been replaced with new modern buildings. The "Downtown Tashkent" district includes the 22-story NBU Bank building, an Intercontinental Hotel, the International Business Center, and the Plaza Building. Tashkent Business district is a special district, established for the development of small, medium and large businesses in Uzbekistan.  The city has numerous historic mosques and significant Islamic sites, including the Islamic University. Tashkent holds the Samarkand Kufic Quran, one of the earliest written copies of the Quran, which has been located in the city since 1924. (wikipedia)

We began our touring with a stop at a monument to the earthquake victims - in 1966 at roughly 5:30 AM the city was hit by an earthquake that had a magnitude of 5.1 with an epicenter in central Tashkent. The earthquake caused massive destruction to Tashkent, destroying most of the buildings in the city, leaving 300,000 homeless. Following the disaster, most of the historic parts of Tashkent had been destroyed and the city was rebuilt, modelled on Soviet architectural styles. Despite the massive destruction apparently less than 200 people were killed.  In total, over 80% of the city was destroyed,including over half of the old city. 95,000 homes were destroyed, most traditional adobe housing in more densely populated central areas. The new Tashkent contained architectural styles found in other Soviet cities, wide boulevards and large apartment blocks.  100,000 new homes were built in the five years following the quake.  A memorial stone to victims of the earthquake located above the epicentre was unveiled in 1976. This was our first stop...

along the way we saw the city's new look - parks - boulevards - trees

and their own variations on soviet architecture-

  (detail of above buildings showing mosaic tiles on blank end)

 (notice details on style of balconies)

As we left the bus it began to drizzle and turned into a light rain... so the blue skies of yesterday turned overcast and grey...

And now it was time for lunch - our first meal together as a group-

 we would always start with salads (mezzes) and then go on to soup or a pastry stuffed with something and then a main course and a dessert...

and there was always bread- bread is a symbol of life to the Uzbekis- and we will come to see this NON bread as it is called - everywhere- on street corners, in market stalls, outside houses where the baker sells at a stand... frequently sold from old baby carriages- it might be the single most recognizable food stuff of Uzbekistan.

being a cross roads for millennia - the Uzbekistan cuisine has the feeling of familiarity - Russian influences, middle eastern influences and Asian influences all come together here...Alas I must have still been jet lagged as I did not get every course and honestly don't remember what we had as a main... but the food was uniformly good to excellent throughout the trip...

from lunch we went to see the old Koran and visit a former Madrasah (school) that now holds artisan stalls... as many do in other cities we see along the way... but first on the trip to the museum we see a lot of variety in the soviet block housing - so I will give you a few of those to see before we get to the museum with the Koran...

I promise this is it on the soviet buildings- LOL- on to the museum (no photos inside) where in the giant courtyard there were kids flying kites - and the light was constantly changing as a storm blew in and out as we explored the complex of the museum and madrasah...

Then it was on to the Chorsu Bazaar but there are so many photos of the bazaar that I will put those in another post... so come on along to the market for everything from kimchi style carrot salad to wedding clothes!  See you back in the next post!

36 hours in transit

I left home at 3:15 PM on Wednesday and arrived to the Lotte City Hotel in Tashkent on Friday morning around 9 AM - the nine hour time change made for some difficulty calculating the amount of time I spent in "airport land" but it included a four hour layover in NYC- JFK and a nine hour layover in Istanbul... which I luckily spent in the fabulous and spacious Turkish Airlines club... which had non stop food making for many stations and lots of seating - reclining chairs in a darkened room and if you wanted to pay extra sleeping rooms with in security (which I had only seen in Singapore up until now)...

After arriving and finding out that I had made it but my luggage hadn't our local guide Abdu helped my fill out a report and they looked it up on the computer and found out my luggage was still in Istanbul and it would arrive tomorrow morning- no big deal as I had all I needed for emergency purposes in my tote bag carry on (phone charger, camera, change of underwear LOL) - so we took a hotel transit bus to the hotel and caught a few hours of sleep before going out to get lunch - which also turned out to be dinner in my case as I hit the wall and crashed later in the day around 6:30.  I slept from 6:30 to 4:30 the next morning and then I was on schedule for the rest of the trip...  it ended up working out really well since I had to leave at 7:30 for the airport to reclaim my delayed luggage.

I got tons of help doing that from a guy in the lost luggage office who shepherded me through the process and pushed us past the hordes of people waiting to exit customs. I waited in the car while Abdu and Alexy rounded up four more people who were arriving that morning for the trip.

We set the meeting for 11 AM that morning to official start the trip.

Let me backtrack a little and tell you that I called immediately upon reading the write up of this one time (first time) trip offered to Uzbekistan with the author of Samarkand (a travelogue/cookbook) Caroline Eden.  I was the third person who signed up - in July 2016 - and they would go with four passengers - up to twelve... and then the three of us (I didn't know anything about the other two) waited until December for the fourth person - but between December and the March departure, eight more people signed on for this culinary exploration of ("if you only go to one of the five stans make it Uzbekistan" said anyone I talked to who had done all five of them) Uzbekistan!

here was part of what got me there for this particular trip-

Here are just a few of the highlights on this culinary expedition through the heart of the Silk Road:

• ·        Take part in cooking classes and demonstrations led by local masters, learning how to make traditional bread and Uzbekistan’s signature dish, plov. 

• ·        Dine in the homes of Uzbek families, experiencing Central Asian hospitality at its best. 

• ·        Enjoy lunch and a demonstration of Uzbek cuisine hosted by famous Tashkent chef Bahriddin Chustiy. 

• ·        Wander the streets of ancient Khiva, remarkably preserved within its undulating city walls of plastered mud-brick.
• ·        Experience the timeless character of Bukhara’s ornate madrassahs, billowing turquoise domes and colorful markets in the heart of the Old Town. 

• ·        Celebrate Navruz with an evening feast of traditional Central Asian dishes. 

• ·        Join with the locals as they take part in a Muchal Tuy or Sallabandon Tuy, traditional Navruz ceremonies unique to Uzbekistan. 

• ·        Explore the architectural wonders of legendary Samarkand, admiring majestic Registan Square.

• ·        Engage all your senses at the labyrinthine Urgut Market. 

• ·        Cheer on the participants at an exhilarating local buzkashi match, a traditional equestrian game still played much the same way as it was by medieval nomadic tribes on the Central Asian steppes. 


Before I go on- let me say that I have wanted to travel the Silk Route countries - The Five Stans- as they are known in the travel world, since 2005 when I went to India the first time.  I remember discussing with my buddy Oscar as we saw amazing India that this was high on my list to get to.  As with India - Phil had no desire to go and although I would have gone as a single, the trips were all so long it seemed to be away leaving my hubby to his own devices especially after we both retired.. so this shorter trip focusing on the center jewel of the five stans- the doubly land locked Uzbekistan - was a perfect way to check out the area.... so off I went... more than a decade after expressing an intention - to Uzbekistan....

So here is the sum of what I learned the first day - all cars are white and made on a license by Chevrolet in Uzbekistan and the rebuilding after the earthquake in 1966 (more on that later) created more than 100,000 units in concrete soviet style nine story apartment blocks... so you would think - Yuck - but actually for soviet apartment blocks these had character and nearly all had these lovely mosaic decorations on the windowless sides of the buildings - and even the concrete sides had different balcony decorations - it was sort of "noveau" utilitarian LOL.  We walked past the opera and ballet theater across from the hotel and located a market and a coffee place and a cafe for lunch.  At this point eight of us had arrived and four more would come the next morning with my luggage LOL.

Two of the group had flown in from Azerbijan (Alexis and Tim) where she was stationed with the State Department. So they were not suffering from jet lag and double overnight flights and went off to explore. Rusty and Patti and Caroline and I all decided we needed to eat and so we went to the cafe on the corner across from the opera and down the street from the hotel for a quick lunch... we had a terrific pita style bread filled with cheese (called katchapuri) and lentil soup... our first meal in Uzbekistan (and I later found out it was Georgian LOL)

Here is the reason why (from wikipedia) -
Tashkent, literally "Stone City" is the capital and largest city of Uzbekistan. The officially registered population of the city in 2012 was about 3 million.  Due to its position in Central Asia, Tashkent came under Sogdian and Turkic influence early in its history, before Islam in the 8th century AD. After its destruction by Genghis Khan in 1219, the city was rebuilt and profited from the Silk Road. In 1865 it was conquered by the Russian Empire, and in Soviet times witnessed major growth and demographic changes due to forced deportations from throughout the Soviet Union. Today, as the capital of an independent Uzbekistan, Tashkent retains a multi-ethnic population with ethnic Uzbeks as the majority.

so you can get anything you want by way of ethnic foods here in the extremely modern capital of Tashkent...and you can almost read the signs as they dropped Cyrillic after independence!

here is our lunch and a few shots of the day I arrived before the trip actually began-

here are a few more things I saw in the haze of the long transit from Sarasota to Tashkent -  signs from a local fast food place with left over Cyrillic letters -

the view from my room at 4:40 AM LOL

the little bus that picked us up at the airport - where I first met Rusty and Patti and Caroline (guest host and lecturer) and Linda and Kay (college roomies traveling together)

the seat covers of the car we used to return to the airport to pick up my luggage-

a view of the white cars from the hotel room window- LOL

the soviet style housing blocks passed on the way from the airport (most of them nine stories tall)

views of the mosaics (above and below) all apartment block photos from a moving vehicle so not so in focus but they do show the architectural details I mentioned-

a newer taller apartment building shows the decorative motifs continue into the more recent buildings-

on the trip over - some relevant photos-  the guy making flatbreads in the Turkish club (one of many food stations that run 24/7)

these were totally yummy!

a first for me--- on the way - the five hour flight between Istanbul and Tashkent - business class was only half full  (at 2 AM in the morning - go figure!) so when the bins in the economy class got overstuffed (you would not believe the shit the passengers carried on and certain the two bag limit was completely ignored by all - this was more like the bus to Cartagena from the Romancing the Stone movie) anyway- when the bins were full they just piled the luggage in the back row of business class - forget that issue of securing flying objects in the event of turbulence etc ... they didn't make anyone check the crap they had - they just let them carry it on and I don't have a clue where they would have put it has the business class actually been full...

 Phil would have loved the nut snack LOL

 a very nice appetizer plate and the entree was a pasta dish with pesto/alfredo sauce...

but I arrived on that flight not my luggage, and then the next day at 7 AM-  finally my luggage arrived and I was ready to begin the trip!

So if this post seems disjointed and rambling that is just fine because focusing after a nearly 36 hour transit was not a possibility and hence the post captures somewhat of the feel of the random things that popped up in the trip over... the amazing sights we saw and things we did will begin in earnest in the next post but let me add just a few more tid bits- about our trip lecturer and our trip manager-

Your Host Caroline Eden is a British travel, food and culture writer with a focus on Central Asia and the Caucasus. Her travel stories have appeared in The Guardian, Conde Nast, The Telegraph and BBC Radio, among other publications and media outlets. She's traveled to the former Soviet Union over a dozen times since 2009, and has a particular interest in food history and under-reported aspects of this part of the world, such as cuisine, textiles and modern trade routes. Caroline's first book, Samarkand: Recipes & Stories from Central Asia & the Caucasus, was released in June 2016. Coauthored with British food journalist Eleanor Ford, Caroline's new book includes recipes developed over her many years of travel to the region, along with gorgeous photography and personal stories from the Silk Road.

Your Tour Manager- Born and raised in Samarkand, Abdu "Abdu" Samadov is full of inside information about his hometown and country. He has studied in England and the U.S. and is fluent in English, Farsi and Russian. In addition to guiding travelers throughout Uzbekistan, Abdu works with MIR's affiliate office in Uzbekistan and enjoys sharing his knowledge with other travelers. He has worked in the hospitality and tourism business for more than 14 years.

and finally so you have an idea of the places we will be along the way - here are some maps-

and for those of you who look at the map above and wonder (those FEW of you who do) abut Nukus- it is the capital of the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan... LOL and more on that later too!

Nukus is the capital of the autonomous Karakalpakstan Republic. The population of Nukus as of April 24, 2014 was approximately 230,006. The Amu Darya river passes west of the town. (wikipedia)

So as always - stay tuned! We are off.....

two and three

So today I went off to the Jewish Film Festival to see films two and three for me- Phil joined me for film #3 -

I liked them in the order that I saw them with yesterdays charming Shalom Italia in the first position and then second Fire Birds and finally Kind Words.  Overall I liked them all - Phil wasn't keen on Kind Words because he didn't like the main character but I had real sympathy for her and liked the fact that the story was not predictable and was quite complex (something you rarely see in American films.)

So as if we weren't busy enough we also had to come home and go through the catalogue for the Sarasota Film Festival tonight before I leave because tickets go sale to the general public while I am away for the next two weeks-

so we picked about twenty films between the two of us (13 for me and 7 for Phil) and bought our tickets while they were on pre-sale...

meanwhile- back to the current film fest... the first film Fire Birds was a tale of poetic justice with a lot of quirky characters including a fading glamour-puss who still saw herself as a full blown star...

overall - the three films I saw were winners in my book... I would look for Shalom Italia and Fire Birds... both worth seeing -

and now off to my trip so you won't be hearing from me for a few weeks! but stay tuned!

a hit with us

so off we went this afternoon to the Jewish Film Festival in Sarasota... and the first film we saw was a big hit with both of us.... a story of three brothers in their 80s who come back to Italy (where they were born and lived during the war) to locate the cave where they had hidden with three generations of their family to escape the Holocaust.  The brothers - of course -  all had different memories of the time the family lived in the cave and how difficult it was (they were there a year).

so during the movie they were looking for the cave and spending time reminiscing and eating - LOL -
hey it's a film about Jews - of course there is food... they go to the market and buy food, they prepare food, they have a nice dinner in the "fancy" living room on Shabbat - and near the end a huge family meal to conclude their time together.

The oldest of the three brothers is an anthropologist and another is a physicist and the third was either never clear or I didn't catch it... in order of the vocations above- Meme (Emmanuel) - Andrea - and Bubi (whose given name was Reuven  - all last name Anati (now).

here is a lovely synopsis of the movie from the website of Bernard Dichek-
http://www.bdichek.com/uncategorized/reflections-from-a-cave/
some editing for clarity -

Emmanuel Anati, 84, is addressing an annual conference of psychoanalysts in Sicily. An eclectic scholar, world-renowned for his expertise in archeology, anthropology and pre-historic art, Anati,  for years, has been invited by this elite group to share his observations about various subject matters. This year, the topic is solitude.  “My dear colleagues,” begins Anati. He pauses and then continues. “For the first time, I am going to talk to you about something personal.”  This brief dramatic moment is included in the epilogue to the new Israeli documentary Shalom Italia (Hebrew version: Three Brothers and a Cave). Emmanuel, in the course of his lecture, will harken back to his childhood in Italy. 

He has just completed a journey with his two younger brothers in which the three  visited the places where they grew up and hid during the Holocaust – places they had not been to in some 70 years.... an intriguing character study of the three brothers around their late-life road trip that is rich with humor, yet unspoiled by a single maudlin moment.  Bubi [Reuven Anati], the youngest of the three brothers, mentioned that he was headed to Italy where he was determined to find the cave where he and his family hid during the Holocaust. His two older brothers, Andrea and Emmanuel, after a bit of convincing, had agreed to go with him.  The Anati brothers consented, and a month later the five flew to Rome where they squeezed into a Fiat Panda and drove into the Tuscany countryside.

The brothers had never before traveled together without their wives and children. They also had never tried to find their old family home in Florence or talked very much, among themselves or with anyone else, about what happened to them when they were children. The Anati family, headed by Hugo, a well-established architect, and Elza had lived in Florence for generations. In 1942, as Jews were being rounded up and deported to Auschwitz, Hugo and Elza, two grandmothers and their four sons, including Gabriel who died 20 years ago, fled into the countryside. During the next three years, they moved from one hiding place to another.

The dramatic structure of the film revolves around the attempt of Emmanuel, Andrea and Bubi to locate one hiding place in particular – a cave, high up in the mountains, that was their last safe refuge.  They wander around the forest, equipped with nothing more than picnic baskets, examining every possible lead. Where exactly was the cave? What was it like living there? Is it possible that there really wasn’t a cave, after all?  It soon becomes clear that whether or not they find the cave is not of paramount importance.  “They have become like they were as children again. And, now, despite all of their differences, the brothers can decide if they want to accept each other’s story as it is.”

As they climb, talk, argue, laugh, gaze into the breathtaking Tuscany scenery, and partake of local wines, cheeses, tomatoes and salamis, we begin to get a picture of three very different personalities with three very dissimilar recollections of the past.

Serious-minded Emmanuel, who was 14 years old when the family began its odyssey, is skeptical about many of the stories the others seem to recall. He speaks about the past with a sense of loneliness. Andrea, cheerful in demeanor, 12 at the time, recalls playing Robin Hood with bows and arrows in the woods. “We had fun in the Holocaust,” he says unabashedly. He often is seen trotting up and down the mountainside ahead of the others. Easy-going Bubi, 4 at the time, doesn’t really have too many first-hand memories but draws on stories he has heard from others. He initiated the trip and he is the most curious.

“What really interested me in making this film was exploring the way memories influence our lives,” says Tal (the film maker and a family member). “I tried to focus on what happens when a group of siblings relive their childhood and unravel strands of memories. I wanted to let the viewer be in that moment with them and observe the effect it has on them.”  The film doesn’t include on-camera interviews or other didactic documentary techniques; instead, it emphasizes contemplative dialogues, melancholy and humorous sequence and lyrical renditions of landscapes as the brothers slowly come to terms with each other.

Emmanuel, who was forced away from his studies and friends at an early age, has built his career around academic study and seems most at ease wandering around the isolated desert landscape near his home in the Negev. Andrea, the nature child, now in his eighties, continues to be a nature lover, spending his weekends pulling himself up and down mountains with climbing ropes. Bubi, is a bit like both Andrea and Emmanuel. Like Andrea, he is immersed in nature and has built a career designing natural science parks around the world. Like Emmanuel, he was not willing – until now – to face the past, and previously did not attempt to venture near the family home in Florence, even though he spends half the year living in Italy.

So we came home feeling like it was a very worthwhile couple of hours- tomorrow I have two films scheduled and Phil will join me for one - then he has another on Friday after I have left for my trip... so stay tuned...

closed another one

We always know when acquaintances are destined to become friends - just have dinner with them and see how long it lasts - how easy the conversation flows and never ends and before you know it you are closing down the place...

We used to laugh about this back when Laure and Arno lived in Chicago- we WERE all relative night owls with work at home schedules that gave us the flexibility to talk into the night as the bus boys were mopping up or putting chairs on the table... but we found it takes a combination of elements to create this level of comfort with another couple - along the way we are lucky to have found it more than once... Tonight was one of those nights.

It was only about a year ago now that we met Gene and Mary Ann at an afternoon snack at a bar next to the cinemas where the Sarasota Film Festival is held... we hit it off immediately on so many levels (all lawyers/all winos/all travel addicts) Our subsequent meetings have been dictated by travel schedules in the intervening months and we even found out after nearly a year that we have both traveled with the same company a number of times....

We joined a wine group that they put together for collectors they knew and we have had a couple of blind tastings which were interesting but really we like seeing them- the time goes by so quickly and we find ourselves laughing at how can finish sentences the other starts....that kind of stuff.

They live in Venice (roughly an hour away) and so we frequently have met in neutral territory of Sarasota... so tonight they came 35 minutes north and we went 40 minutes south and we had dinner at Mattison's 41... now I don't have a ton of photos because it was too distracting catching up on the latest travel (they just returned from Antarctica- where they sailed on the very same ship we took last August around the Baltic Sea - even had the very same handsome captain- not a scintillating conversationalist but certainly worth looking at LOL- not that I am objectifying him LOL)

We brought Champagne a favorite and ChateauY'quem for dessert and they brought two 2007 Cabs from vineyards in California (where they lived for many years until relocating to Florida) L'aventure and Navarro- all wines showed well and we spent a good deal of time discussing various tastes in wine and how collections of the wine group varied greatly...

We had a terrific waiter named Bill and a fab meal - the winners were the Beef Tartare starter and the wedge salad (split) and the rack of lamb (Phil's entree) but everything we each ordered was well prepared and we had fun tasting and talking to Bill (who was able to join in the tasting a bit)

so as we left the place (no one else but the two last waiters and the bar tender- hanging out at the bar) we said our farewells and planned for the next time - during the Film Fest - to get together - since I am traveling from this coming Wednesday through the end of the month basically...

so how about a few pictures -

I had the Skate with some yummy asparagus and a squash based "latke"

so we have the Jewish Film Festival coming up and I have to finish packing - meanwhile we are juggling the appliance repair guy for the ice maker and getting our SFF tickets lined up so all is ready upon my return which will be the night before a wine dinner at Michael's Wine Cellar and then later in the week The Wine Walk to Ca d'Zan with CBGB and John and Barb!

And OMG then it's April and time for this year's DART (Disappearing America Road Trip) #timeflies #lifeisgood... stay tuned!