Central Asian Tableau
Bokhara, Uzbekistan 2012: An Uzbek couple relaxes at Laby Haouz square
Bokhara was first settled 2500 years ago. It was an important trading center on the Silk Road connecting trade routes between China, India and Europe. It was a center of Muslim culture and learning, also.
Now restored almost to its glory days, Bokhara resonates with the romance of the Silk Road. The soaring minarets, stately madrassas, mausoleums, mosques, and trading domes imbue the present with the past. Shops line the streets and fill the trading domes, selling Uzbek handicrafts, silks, carpets, embroidered hangings called Suzani, leather boots, spices and tea.
And, behind the monuments are neighborhoods where homes on narrow streets are hidden behind walls. Houses have ornately carved doors with two knockers…one for men and one for women. The different sounds made by the knockers tells the family who is calling and who should answer the door. The men answer the men’s knock and the women answer the women’s knock.
The photo above was shot as my friend, Torie, and I returned to our hotel. The lovely afternoon light, the handsome couple, the woman so upright, her clear gaze, their clothing…lovely! It’s Central Asia and I’m afraid it is fast disappearing.
The table they are sitting at is a tapchan. It is similar to a charpoy but has that little table so you can relax during a long meal or drink tea with your friends. To be honest, I couldn’t get comfortable on the tapchan. I can’t sit cross-legged for long (note to self: practice this) and I couldn’t stretch my legs out for long either. I did notice though, that once the food came, I forgot all about being uncomfortable.