Dazzling Dioramas At Abdullakhan Madrasah In Khiva

There are a handful of nice dioramas at the Abdullakhan Madrasah, nature scenes with bright, blue skies. What's up animals?

Aquatic birds, gathering for a group shot.

A curious collection of small animals, some look alive, some deflated, some down to bone, getting lined up.

Land and air represented, hidden among grasses that look more like a coral reef.

Action shot with oblivious fowl. Be careful with your taxidermy placement.

Flora porn.

Learning About Animals And Food At The Abdullakhan Madrasah In Khiva

You never know what you might find inside one of the historic structures in Khiva. Will the madrasa look like a school? Will the mosque still be used for prayer? The Abdullakhan Madrasah in the Itchan Kala section of old Khiva is a little museum, dedicated to fun examples of typical living and growing things. A fun visit for kids and fans.

One of the galleries, cases full of good stuff.

Photographed carefully, objects turned into Old Master still lifes. Dried fish and fake melon.

Waxy grapes.

Curious weasel and classic fruit plate.

Looking an animal in the eye. Or the other way around.

Have Yourself A счастливого русского рождества*

*Merry Russian Christmas

In Uzbekistan, a lot of products are imported from Russia. Groceries, clothing, attitudes. OK, maybe attitudes are quickly shifting to homegrown or from elsewhere. Holiday trimmings are definitely still from the former Motherland, easy to tell from the packaging. The designs are full of Tsarist, Comrade-like customs and fantasies about what life is supposed to be.

Exhibit A, a couple of candy tins featuring "genre scenes." It's looking a lot like throw(way)back New Year's. After all, the name means "Favorite since childhood." What's junior doing up? And why is he in a sailor suit? Hypnotized by candy, that's troubling. What's that guy in the sweater vest have around his neck? No smartphones back in the 1950s?

Cartoon animals are holiday mascots in Russia. Want an '80s hip hop bunny or a mouse in a stockade pose?

Ahh, now we are going way back to Tsar time, the classic, tea spewing samovar. What could possibly be dribbling from this version? Maybe the fox in Barbara Bush's pearl necklace knows.

More candy packages, celebrating a time long left behind by most of the rest of the world. Did they nick these images from old Saturday Evening Post magazines?

Anna Karenina as sexy holiday hostess? мяу, котенок.* She's wishing everyone a Happy New Year. 

*Meow, kitten.

Back to some toys. A couple of dolls, perhaps a little subversion by the packer: hands almost holding. What's with the hair? It goes on for days. In the other box, a cute family, dad dressed like Mork, mom taking the ugly Christmas sweater theme down to her hem line and kid playing a gnome.

A classic mashup: iconic Matryoshka doll containers with famous Russian chocolate freaky baby "Alyonka" logos on them. So scary! So tempting! 

*

And Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to you, brat i sestra.*

*Brother and sister, what vendors shout at James and Sarah in the markets.

Getting Blue At The Tash Khauli Palace In Khiva

The Tash Khauli Palace is a nice break from the parade of minarets, madrasas, mosques and mausoleums that are common in the Itchan Kala, the old section of Khiva. It's definitely a palace, a maze full of reception areas, rooms, courtyards, and amazing tile work.

A Khan has to live somewhere. Tash Khauli was built in the 1830s and its first host was Allahuli-khan.

You gotta have space for your harem. Plenty of room in this courtyard, each wife getting a separate area on the left.

Crazy blue tile work, both inside, detailing a bookcase full of display nooks and outside, acting as wallpaper in one of the areas for one of the wives. Ba-bling!

Another area of the palace was reserved for receiving envoys, important guests. No yurt, no problem, there's one on site. Yes, it snows in Khiva.

A peek inside the yurt. Door and window detail, looking like Wedgewood gone wild.

The khan slept well. 

Protecting The Itchan Kala In Khiva

The central, original, old section of Khiva is called the Itchan Kala and it's protected by an impressive wall with gates. Think classic fortress design, architecture.

Imposing.

The south gate, more imposing architecture. Outside the walls, improving the promenade. Not much more protection needed these days, save for tripping on uneven pavement.

Another view of the wall and turrets.

Within the walls, using any available space, corner. Various tombs tucked against the inner side of the wall.

A cloudy, moody sunset turns the walls blue.

Khiva In The Morning

Being in the old part of Khiva, within the walls of the Itchan Kala, means an eerie wake up with no cars, few people, and only silent buildings around you.

The perimeter wall shields any hint of a modern world.

Nothing stirring, except the rising sun.

If you take a walk at dawn, you may have sections of the city to yourself.

Forget the street side merchants, they're not opening for a few hours.

Use the Kalta Minor minaret for guidance, should you get lost in the surrounding streets.

Old Khiva

Khiva is one of the big three Silk Road cities in Uzbekistan and its unique feature is that it's still a walled, ancient, intact town. Walk through a gate and jolt yourself back about 500 years. It's all mud brown madrasas, minarets, maybe a mausoleum, throw in a mosque. The old city, Itchan Kala, is one big museum with landmark buildings at every turn.

The West Gate. Why not, as good an entrance as any other hole in the mighty wall.

Probably Khiva's most famous site, the unfinished, stumpy Kalta Minor minaret. Mohammed Amin Khan commissioned the work in 1851. He died on a Persian battlefield and so did his dream. Or maybe it was a lack of funds. Both!

The mysterious Juma mosque, a sea of wood columns and impressive joinery.

Something new, passing as old, a camel. Ride it if you've got it. At sunrise, the whitewashed Amir Tura madrasa.

At sunset, the mighty minaret, Islam Khoja, gets the pink treatment.