BUKHARA: THE PRINCESS OF CITIES - Tourism in Central Asia: Cultural Potential and Challenges - page 68

INTRODUCTION
Let us start to depict Bukhara by reciting the Basmala, “Bismillahirrah-
manirrahim”: “In the name of Allah, most Gracious, most Merciful.”
“In all other parts of world light descends upon earth; from holy Bukha-
ra it ascends” (Blunt, 1973). To comprehend Bukhara's soul truly, one
needs to know her body first. Bukhara is like her elder sister Samarkand
in several ways, yet she is quite different. Samarkand represents wealth
and power, whereas Bukhara is the center of science and spirit. It is best to
imagine her as a 16-year-old maiden with long dark hair. On her head, she
is wearing a colorfully embroidered silken cap (Fig. 1). On the cap, there
is holy jewelry (Fig. 2) shaped as a bird of paradise. On her forehead rests
her turquoise, opal, topaz, and pearl ornamented glamorous börk (crown)
(Fig. 3). There are a kettle and birds symbolizing hospitality and fertility
on top of the cap. Her looks are compassionate and determined owing to
the pendants (Fig. 4) swinging from her temples down to her neck. Keys
to heaven hang from the end of one pendant and a dagger protecting her
chastity from the other. She stands upright wearing a silver belt (Fig. 5)
and an ikat (dress) that is scarcely embroidered signifying her nobility
and modesty. While the cylindrical turquoise amulet (Fig. 6) on her neck
protects her heart, the arm talisman (Fig. 7) around the upper part of her
right arm protects the strength of her fist. Noble Bukhara is a faithful and
brave princess who rides her horse valiantly in her colorful boots (Fig. 8).
As a Muslim tradition, in everyday life the Basmala is often recited before
performing each task in order for it to be propitious. The reason why we
used Basmala at the beginning of this paper is the same. The spirituality of
the city Bukhara requires a Basmala before studying it. Even Tamerlane,
one of the greatest conquerors of the world, visited Bukhara not on horse-
back but on foot, out of his respect to this glorious city.
The city Bukhara is one of the oldest settlements in Central Asia. It is
located in modern-day Uzbekistan. It lays between the rivers Amu Darya
(ancient Oxus) and Syr Darya (ancient Jaxartes) in the ancient Mawaran-
nahr (Transoxiana) region in the Zarafshan Oasis (Fig. 9). Bukhara is
hot in summers and freezing cold in winters. Traveler Ujfalvy described
Bukhara as follows:
“… do not assume that this plain land is deprived of poetry. The steppe, dried
out and dusted in summers and autumns, snow-white in winters, is elegantly
cool in springs. It is flourished with red, yellow, and blue flowers, covered with