Samarkand, Uzbekistan - Penjikent, Tajikistan

A new shirt for the twins.

The archeological dig of Sarazm Settlement.

 

The Ancient Panjikent Town ruins...

... and the frescos from the walls of the excavated buildings.

The History Museum.

The Soviet room.

A Soviet era apartment block in Penjikent.

Kids everywhere.

Coming back from school.

Saw lots of cows tethered around town and at houses along the highway as we left Uzbekistan and into Tajikistan.

Interesting: in Tajikistan I could edit my blog and post it but could not see the site; in Kazakhstan I could see the site and the posts I'd made but couldn't edit it or post anything. Hence why this is late. It goes to show that there are different levels of surveillance in the Stans, because here in Krygyzistan I am allowed to edit, post and see it. So here you go:

Thursday, May 1st.Thursday, May 1st.

Today, we bid farewell to the vibrant city of Samarkand and embarked on an hour-long journey across the Uzbek-Tajik border. The crossing was pretty simple and primitive, in that our luggage never got x-rayed, but we were stamped out of Uzbekistan and then walked across no-man’s land and welcomed and stamped into Tajikistan. On the Tajik side, we traded our coach for two vans for what should have been a scenic drive that takes us through the foothills of the majestic Fann Mountains, but it was a windy day and the air was full of dust or sand or something so that the mountains were barely visible. Upon arriving in Penjikent, we delved into the city's rich history and cultural heritage. Our exploration began with a journey to the Sarazm Settlement, an archaeological site dating back to the Bronze Age, revealing the early history of the region. We walked around the site as well as exploring the small museum of artifacts of the UNESCO recognized location. We continued to another ancient site, this one at the Ancient Panjikent Town ruin of a walled city that was excavated in the late 1940’s and where they discovered houses with fresco paintings illustrating the cultures and traders of the region which was part of the Silk Road. There was a museum there too with copies of the wall frescos. To gain a deeper understanding of Penjikent's cultural heritage, we visited the Rudaki Museum of History and Regional Study. This museum is a tired old Soviet built museum that houses some artifacts from the ancient sites we visited earlier in the day, as well as a hall dedicated to the Soviet period and the saddest display of stuffed animals and birds I’ve ever seen that serves as their natural history display. Then we drove the short distance to our hotel in Penjikent, Tajikistan's third-largest city. We had a couple of hours to chill before gathering again for dinner. Sadly no pool here. I did some blog work and then went for a walk around the streets near the hotel. Lots of kids, a few cows chained on the back streets, old Soviet era buildings, new construction, area in flux. Then we went to dinner at some relatives of our local guide. We stopped on the way to buy some drinks. It was in a big long new room where we could all sit around the table. They served little salads, lentil soup and plov; but the highlights were fresh real red strawberries that were delicious and a bowl of Snickers, Mars, and Malted Milk mini chocolate bars. It was nice to eat there, and we were served by the teenage son and daughter of the family but, sadly, we didn’t eat with the family so there was no cultural exchange in that way.. Were back at the hotel by 9:00 for an early night.