Nathan's Insights

Sunday 28 May 2023
Highlights: Khoja Tabband Mosque, Exploring Khiva, Khiva at Night

A long drive ahead of us meant we wanted to be on the road by 8 am. I woke up slightly unwell but hopefully nothing too serious for today’s 8 hour plus of driving.

Before leaving Bukhara we had one final stop point the Khoja Tabband Mosque. This is a very picturesque former Mosque in a quiet part of the city. Lonely Planet had previously used this Mosque on the cover of their Uzbekistan guide.

The drive to Khiva was a long one but it was only 8 hours due to investments made back in 2009 to turn the main road into a cement road. Asphalt is not a great option for a country that can get high 40 temperatures mixed with the occasion freezing nights. The German company awarded the development contract has almost done 70% of the difficult work.

We arrived in Khiva around 4.15 pm. We are staying in the ancient and UNESCO recognised inner city which only houses 3,000 residents these days.

After a 45 minute rest period Rustam took us out for a quick city orientation walk before tomorrow’s more in depth exploration. The entire inner city is a wonder.

The main places we visited today was the main gate and the former Palace. At the Palace we went up the tower to get a good look at the inner city. Tomorrow we will learn more about the palace.

For our group dinner Rustam had booked a restaurant run by a 9th generation family of Khiva. One the balcony we got great views of the sun setting.

We also got some live local performers.

After dinner I left the group and slowly walked back to the hotel admiring the ancient architecture. I’m still not 100% but hopefully this isn’t anything serious.