September 12, Tashkent

Day two here in Uzbekistan... Here is what happened.

Blast from the past

Did a Spanish class at 5:00 AM. The time difference is interesting, but it helps make the most of the day. Went for a run after that in the morning, one of the more pleasant, easy ones. The air is very dry here. We proactively started on the laundry to keep inline over this month that we are on the road, and stuff is drying very fast. So back to the run: it was mid-25°C, but the altitude is decent here, the roads are very nice and even, the pavement is great, and because of the low humidity, it was nice and easy. Even when the weather gets up to 30°C in the course of the day, it is easy to manage because of that low humidity.

Then we continued the day by going to the State Museum of Applied Arts.

A bit of background on this remarkable building: it was originally built in the late 19th century as a private palace for Alexander Polovtsev, a wealthy Russian diplomat and art collector who was fascinated by Central Asian architecture. He brought in top master craftsmen from Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara to design the interiors. The result is a stunning showcase of traditional Uzbek architectural wood carving, painted plasterwork known as ganch, and intricate ceiling details. Some of the building looks like the Alhambra ceiling, but with vibrant colors woven in.

Really beautiful art inside, much of it made from the mid-60s to current times. Costume exposition is lovely. Very different style from Mongolian. While Mongolian traditional clothing, being as luxurious, is more utilitarian, with easier side buttons and prominent belts making it more conducive to daily wear, Uzbek seems more oriented to beautiful displays.

In the hallway, there are beautiful miniatures. What struck me was that there were some with "unknown author" labels, even though they were made in the 2000s... How is it possible that there is no name for the author in the 2000s? Some ideas related to what Alexander & Vladimir talked about... no need to elaborate. The museum also had beatuful examples of weaving, jewelry, and fantastic musical instruments.

M&F came and we had expresso tonics and worked on the postcard to Isabella, while waiting for them to go through the museum. 

After that we walked together back to the park near our hotel, where we split again. Dan and I went to meet with his friends while M&F went to grab breakfast/lunch. After meeting the friends and making new friends, Dan and I went to the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan. Beautiful building and some nice sculptures. The paintings were pretty, not striking. There was also a beautiful modern designer costume competition happening.

Then we went to the Tashkent City Mall, met up with the Snitkovskys there, and went for a tour of the subways.

Tashkent Metro opened in 1977, it was the very first underground transit system in Central Asia and was built to double as a nuclear shelter. Like Moscow's metro, each station was designed as an underground palace with marble, granite, chandeliers, and mosaics, though Tashkent's stations sit much closer to the surface. The Kosmonavtlar (Cosmonauts) station is easily the most striking, featuring gorgeous blue-and-black ceramic panels honoring space exploration, from Icarus and Ulugh Beg to Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova.

Uzbekistan continued building subway stations after the fall of the Soviet Union! The system has expanded significantly, particularly with the opening of the Yunusabad Line in 2001 and the massive new elevated Circle Line (30-km Ring Line) constructed in recent years to connect outer districts.

Uzbekistan has been undergoing a massive transformation since 2016, opening up to foreign investment, modernizing infrastructure, and shifting away from old state controls. It's one of the fastest-growing economies in Central Asia. Its main exports are gold, copper, natural gas, cotton and textiles, uranium, fresh and dried fruits, and automobiles produced in partnership with global manufacturers.

Dan and I hung out before dinner some more, hitting on the various coffee shops near our hotel, which was really nice. Afterward, we went with Mishka and Fainka to dinner near the Tashkent City Mall in that beautiful neighborhood. At our restaurant, they came over to our table with a portable tandoor and we ripped ourselves some fresh samsas right off the clay wall—so cool!!!

Then we walked back to our hotel and called it a day.