Bukhara - this word like a rosy angel In velvet breeches tickles your throat and flies by like a breeze, Heat, stuffiness, sparse verdure and the uncommonly tranquil and content faces of people are the first impressions. The second one - is of local convivial fellow and sage Khodja Nasreddin, on his donkey smiling at you from every advertising board, It is an attempt of one of the ancient cities of the world to look like others - darkened windows of supermarkets, delicate gratings and air conditioners in the windows of offices, billiard clubs and open summer cafes, The city keeps pace with technocratic civilization but somewhere in the corner of the lips there is a slight mockery and understanding of its true meaning on the map of the world. Bukhara is rich in unique pieces of architectural work. Different architectural monuments are concentrated on the small territory of this warm southern city, This is the reason for the great amount of tourists coming to Bukhara and that's why the tourist business is more or less developed here. If you want to spend a day avoiding the tiresome talk of a guide, alone with antiquity, and at the same time become acquainted with the new Bukhara, we offer you a round-up of places, having visited them you'll remember Bukhara with nostalgia.

Hotel "Bukhara-Palace" where you're likely to stay is the most prestigious building in the city and embodies all refinements of modern civilization. A spacious cool hall, a bar where you can drink a proprietary cocktail "Screwdriver" for $1, an out door pool, on cool days with heating, and a highly noteworthy restaurant and chaykhana with national cuisine, The square in front of the hotel is flooded with sun light, from time to time they switch on fountains but they don't give much coolness, that's why life seems to stand still here, and freeze till evening when awellers with their children slowly fill up small cafes or walk quietly and have photos with Mickey Mouse, Scrooge and other Disney's characters, All over the city people are treated The various sorts of ice-cream at 10 to 50 cents and the square isn't an exception.

Diagonally away from the hotel a large sports complex has been built recently and if you're a fan of any kind of sport than you'll probably find new friends here. The local population hopes that this building meets the most rigorous international standards so you have a good chance to confirm them in this complex. If the new stadium doesn't draw your attention, then go straight down the street for 10 minutes and you'll go up to the Covered market. Generous Uzbek land will open itself with a variety of fruits and vegetables. Undoubtedly, you won't be disappointed here as you can in reality taste juicy apricots, red tomatoes luminous from within and causing a chill in the mouth and also grapes, having looked at its bunches your lips begin itching and the hand reaches out for money. Especially since this pleasure costs from 200 to 800 sum a kilo, Sweet-scented melons will cad you the in way, And it's better to eat them with obi-non (hot flat cakes), the national sort of bread, which can be bought here and there, 150 sum for a flat cake and 400 sum for a meion, and you'll get maximum pleasure.

The part of Bukhara, which from the moment of its foundation till 1920 didn't go outside of the boundary of the huge fortress wall built in XVI century, is the old part of the city. Therefore there is an extraordinary dense building even for an medieval city, narrow pedestrian streets, tangled lanes, and small cramped yards. Many times in its history the city was ruined and burnt but its life was revived from the ruins, buildings were reconstructed or new ones were built on the leveled remnants. This cultural strata that is many meters deep is fraught with remnants of early epochs that can be found under your feet. Buildings of early IX-Xl th centuries such as the Mausoleum of Samanids, the portal mosque Magoki-Attari are grown and preserved here. Architecture of old Bukhara is diverse and many buildings such as trade rows (Toki-Saraffon- dome of moneychangers, Toki-Zargaron- dome of jewelers, Toki-Telpak-Furushon- dome of head-dress sellers), bath-houses, karavan-sarays, madrases, mosques and mausoleums, houses still preserve their original significance.

An uzbek bazaar is the place where people not only sell and buy things but is also the place to meet, exchange news and city gossip, Here and there you can hear people's greetings, asking about children and parents' health but if you feel sad or a little lonely you can send your regards to people via Internet or by e-mail. German cultural center "Wiedergeburt" offers you this service. Tables in the cosy cafe with a great assortment of cold drinks are hidden away from the sun light behind the green grating of the center under the grapes shadows. It'll be quite unexpected to taste the dishes of German cuisine in Uzbekistan, so extend the pleasure and have a light breakfast before getting on von way, If the food is to your liking you can even order it by phone: 223-27-92. Bukhara is constantly reminded of its architectural antiquity by various ensembles, strange window apertures, carved doors and if you think of the Old City after substantial German food you can go there by the fixed-route taxi 52 that goes from the Covered market for 100 sums.

From 1 pm till 6 p.m. temperature in Bukhara rises up to 40-43 degrees. Life stands still, The dwellers sit cross-legged In trestle-beds In chaykhanas and have a substantial dinner, sipping aroma green tea, nod ding their heads drowsily, suppressing lazily files also exhausted by hot weather. For tourists who dont get accustomed to this mode of life Ifs better to drop In on a small private hotel such as "Nodirbek" or "Nazira-Azizbek"hotels located In the heart of the Old city. Apart from various kinds of drinks to quench your thirst In cool chaykhanas of the hotels you'll have a chance to enlarge your ideas about national peculiarities of Uzbek people's life watching them spontaneously In their dwellings. In the cool and silent atmosphere, sipping tone up green tea, you'll hear all the latest news be cause everyone In such hotels speaks English. Without passing the carved gates of the hotel, one can get to know the folk creative work of Bukharan craftsmen.

We'll take note only of one of them. Kumgans for ablutions, serving trays, water vessels, and basins served practical purposes, and It was In the eleventh century that copper gained popularity and ornamental decoration became the predominant style displaying the wealth of Its owners, Therefore copper chasers handed down their secrets from one generation to another. At age 11, Islom Musinov began studying metal chasing under his great-uncle Sallmjon Hamidov, a famous Bukharan master, and now he Is one of the best engravers In Uzbekistan, Producing a copper Item can take from 3 days to 2 months, If you take an interest In it you can drop Into Bukhara Artisan Development Center and watch this master at work.

In the old part of the city one can have both a good time looking at the monuments of architecture buying small souvenirs, paying some money for antiques and nice knick-knacks Having roamed the ancient land, admired sunsets over ancient mosques and mausoleums you'll probably have a desire to return to the goods of civilization, Back to hotel having taken a swim or a bath, and washed off the dust of centuries, you can go on with getting to know night Bukhara at one of the most elite places "Kuk-Saray-Plus" restaurant. It's a small restaurant In European style of warm colors (dare and gold colors are predominant) with 9 tables, 3 of them are cabins separated from others by wooden gratings.
Waiters in the restaurant are lads- more trained and experienced- that one doesn't see often In Central Asia, Take our advice and taste and propriety dish of the restaurant - meat In a French style that Is a huge chop, mushrooms, and cheese and costs $2. This dish will be served with Uzbek dry wines Kaberne, or Jilvon at $3 a bottle. Another propriety dish "Kuk-Saray" meat is a meat stuffed with walnuts, cheese and mayonnaise and will be quite to your liking. The menu contains 20 various sorts of salads, 8 of which are vegetarian (at $0,5 to $2), a great assortment of cold drinks, spirits and juices. This is the only restaurant in the city where live music is heard every evening. You can listen to the most popular songs performed by young talented Bukharan musicians and also bard songs and Russian chanson
tel: +998(365) 180-05-27, 225-02-10