The past few days have been an absolute blur. So, here is a smattering of my thoughts and reflections from the past few days.
Arriving into Tashkent late at night and driving to the hotel, I was struck by the similarities of the streets, driving, and kind of stores to San Salvador. Coupled with the climate that night, I could not help but think about my time in El Salvador and the remarkable similarities between the two, at first glance.
The drive to Samarkand from Tashkent was one of the prettiest drives I have ever been on. The pitstop near Jizzakh for somsa and shishka was one of the most picturesque and beautiful lunch stops I have ever experienced and might ever experience.
Learning elementary Uzbek at the Institute in Samarkand and bearing witness to the unique cultural, heritage sites surrounding us at all times is absolutely extraordinary. The layering of history in these cities is absolutely magnificent. The evolution of architectural design in varying mausoleums, madrasas, and palaces (The blue, glazed terracotta tiling lining most historical sites is a sight to behold) to the clear development of Russian imperial influence and then the later Soviet period, walking through Samarkand is almost like walking through concentric layers of each cities’ history and ancestry.
Within Samarkand and Bukhara, we are surrounded by a type of history that we cannot experience in the United States.
Michael