Uzbekistan - Central Asia - page 181

All yurt camps include short camel¨
trekking rides in their rates; the ones in
Dungalok offer fishing. Longer treks, in-
cluding multiple-day excursions, are also
possible for an extra charge.
The comfortable camel-hair yurts, most
of them tastefully decorated with carpets
and suzani, sleep six to eight people. Pric-
es vary from camp to camp according to
the level of comfort. Rates include three
meals a day, as there's no option but to
eat in camp. Camps close from November
to mid-March, and sometimes during July
and August. Showing up unannounced isn't
a good idea; you're far better off calling
ahead and arranging a deal via the office
of a travel agency, that way your transfers
will be taken care of, and you can tailor your
package to your needs where possible.
Sputnik¨Camel¨Camp¨ YURTSTAY
( % 223 8081; [e-mail]; Yangika-
zgan; per person US$50) The first and probably
the fanciest of the lot, run by the mischie-
vous, tough-as-nails Radik. Has attractive
dining yurt and lots of creature comforts.
Yangikazgan¨Yurt¨Camp¨ YURTSTAY
( % 225 1419; Yangikazgan; per person US$45)
There's welcome electricity and creature
comforts here, but the dining room is in a
cement building that rather detracts from
the otherwise traditional vibe. It's quite
close to Sputnik, in the middle of the desert,
6km north of Yangikazgan.
Aidar¨Yurt¨Camp¨ YURTCAMP
( % 222 5618, 223 9546; Dungalok; per person
US$45) The closest camp to the lake, just
10km away, Aidar has 11 charmingly decorat-
ed yurts, as well as electricity and hot water.
Safari¨Camp¨ YURTCAMP
( % [phone], [phone]; sputnik-
[e-mail]; Dungalok; per person US$40)
With ten colourfully decorated, Kazakh-style
yurts, this place is popular with groups and
has electricity, hot showers and plenty of
creature comforts.

Bukhara (Buxoro)
% 65 / POP 263,000
Central Asia's holiest city, Bukhara has
buildings spanning a thousand years of his-
tory, and a thoroughly lived-in old centre
that hasn't changed too much in two centu-
ries. It is one of the best places in Central
Asia for a glimpse of pre-Russian Turkestan.
Most of the centre is an architectural
preserve, full of medressas, minarets, a
massive royal fortress and the remnants of
a once-vast market complex. Government
restoration efforts have been more subtle
and less indiscriminate than in flashier
Samarkand, and the city's accommodation
options are by far the best and most atmos-
pheric in the country.
Until a century ago Bukhara was watered
by a network of canals and some 200 stone
pools where people gathered and gossiped,
drank and washed. As the water wasn't
changed often, Bukhara was famous for
plagues; the average 19th-century Bukha-
ran is said to have died by the age of 32.
The Bolsheviks modernised the system and
drained the pools, although it's most fa-
mous, Lyabi-Hauz, remains a cool, mulber-
ry-tree shaded oasis at the heart of the city.
You'll need at least two days to look
around. Try to allow time to lose yourself
in the old town; it's easy to overdose on the
140-odd protected buildings and miss the
whole for its many parts.
History
It was as capital of the Samanid state in
the 9th and 10th centuries that Bukhara -
Bukhoro-i-sharif (Noble Bukhara), the
'Pillar of Islam' - blossomed as Central
Asia's religious and cultural heart. Among
those nurtured here were the philosopher-
scientist Ibn Sina and the poets Firdausi
and Rudaki - figures of a similar stature in
the Persian Islamic world as, for example,
Newton or Shakespeare in the West.
After two centuries under the smaller
Karakhanid and Karakitay dynasties,
Bukhara succumbed in 1220 to Chinggis
Khan, and in 1370 fell under the shadow of
Timur's Samarkand.
A second lease of life came in the 16th
century when the Uzbek Shaybanids made it
the capital of what came to be known as the
Bukhara khanate. The centre of Shaybanid
Bukhara was a vast marketplace with doz-
ens of specialist bazaars and caravanserais,

8 Getting¨There¨&¨Away
To get to Nurata, make your way from Bukhara
or Samarkand to Navoi, then take a shared taxi
(10,000S, one hour) or marshrutka (6000S). in
Nurata sporadic marshrutkas run to Dungalok
and Yangikazgan, but you'll likely have to hire a
private car, or arrange a transfer with your yurt
camp. Negotiations start at 50,000S one-way to
the yurt camps.