Lyab-i-Hauz: After checking into our guesthouse and fueling up at Ayvan (details below), we walked to the lively Lyab-i-Hauz – the center of old Bukhara. Multiple madrasas mark the boundaries of the square which has a small pond, a few cafes, and many shopkeepers. The Nadir Divan Beghi Khanaka, the old center of cultural and religious life in Bukhara, was worth a stop, as we got our first glimpse of relatively unrestored 17th century mosaics. The first night we walked around Lyab-i-Hauz, Doug bravely hopped up on one of the (plastic) camels. We returned the following night to have a beer, soak up some live music, and watch the sunset – it was a lovely place to spend time

Puppet Workshop: While we were initially reticent to go in out of fear of kitchy-ness, we were pleasantly surprised by the puppet workshop. We saw a quick demonstration from a talented young puppeteer who suggested two of their puppets resembled us (he probably does that to everyone). He also taught us how puppets were made – a multi-day process that involves the full family that has operated the shop for many decades

Nadir Divan-Begi Madrasa: As it was the first madrasa we saw that had mosaic tiles (Khiva’s madrasas have painted tiles), we were super impressed. The madrasa’s design was much grander than the sites we saw in Khiva, with two fantastical-looking birds on the top of portal. When we went inside the 17th century madrasa, we were surprised to find shopkeepers strewn about each of the old dormitory rooms (we quickly learned this is a trademark of the Bukhara sites)

Chor Minor: We set out for the Chor Minor as it was getting dark which turned out to be a great time to see it. The most petite of the mosques we saw, Chor Minor is distinguished by its four minarets and small interior. We walked inside and paid a few thousand som to its keeper to walk up to the top. We were the only ones there which was fun as we traversed across the roof to each minaret

Photography Gallery: After a hearty Uzbek breakfast, we started our next day at the Photography Gallery of Uzbekistan. Before entering the gallery, we encountered a painter, Farroukh, with some of the most unique pieces of art that we’d seen in Uzbekistan. We spoke with him and learned that he used the pages of a multi-century old Arabic algebra textbook as the canvas for his works and purchased a print. The photo gallery itself was small but full of interesting photos of everyday Uzbek life from the past 20+ years

Kalyan Minaret, Mosque, and Madrasa: We were amazed by the scale and beauty of the 12th century Kalyan Minaret (where criminals used to be executed by being thrown off the top), 16th century Mosque, and Madrasa – some of the most prominent sites in Bukhara. Jessie was quickly approached by two local middle school girls who were looking to practice their English as part of a school assignment and we spent our 30 minutes here exploring with them. They asked us questions about our lives in the US (they had never met Americans) and we learned about their interests in Bukhara and their dreams, namely traveling to Korea to become K-Pop idols (they LOVED BTS). This area was our favorite in Bukhara

Trading Domes (Toki-Sarrafon, Toki-Telpak Furushon, Toki Zargaron and others): As a major stop on the Silk Road, Bukhara is full of “trading domes” where merchants used to exchange goods. As we mentioned above, goods are still very much being purchased in these domes. We loved walking through, looking up at the impressively built domes, and exploring the different shops that each one had to offer. Though we didn’t buy anything, we chatted with a few shopkeepers and particularly loved meeting the music man who impressively played 5 traditional instruments in quick succession

Abdulaziz-Khan Madrasa: This 17th century madrasa was our favorite in Bukhara. The portal was unique compared to the other madrasas we had seen as it was partially unrestored and had lighter pastel designs in addition to the typical blues and golds. After paying a small entrance fee, we walked inside the madrasa and were amazed by how beautiful, yet unrestored the painted walls and ceilings were. We spent awhile walking around with our necks craned up at the ceiling

Ulugbek’s Madrasa: Our grand tour of Bukhara’s madrasas continued with Ulugbek’s Madrasa – a 15th century madrasa named after the legendary astronomer, you guessed it, Ulugbek. We were optimistic about this madrasa as it was also unrestored and pleasantly surprised when the lady collecting entrance fees offered to give us a tour. She asked where we were from (‘oh Chicago, I have Uzbek friends there!’), shared a few generic details that we had already read (‘the mosque was from the 15th century and named after Ulugbek’), and took us to see one of the original student dormitories. Neat and what a kind lady, we thought to ourselves. Little did we know this woman was no tour guide, but a business savvy shopkeeper that proceeded to lead us into her shop inside one of the old student dorm rooms. Suffice it to say, the tour was over when we made it clear that we didn’t intend to buy any of her tchotchkes

Ark of Bukhara: Originally dating back to the 5th century (though clearly restored), the ark operated as the fortress of Bukhara and contained its royal courts until the Russians took over the city in the 1920s. We enjoyed walking around the bulbous walls, but weren’t as impressed with the museum. Similar to other museums we experienced, the ark’s museum contained a large collection of artifacts across centuries but didn’t necessarily tell the story behind the ark

Bolo-Khaouz Mosque: From the ark, we walked a few hundred meters to the Bolo-Khaouz Mosque and happened upon a group of 100+ men congregated for a funeral. The outside of the mosque was super different from what we had seen in Bukhara and Khiva with intricately painted ceilings and wooden columns supporting it. After the funeral group dispersed, we went inside the mosque (Jessie had to cover her head as there were men praying) and marveled at the domed ceilings lined with Arabic writing and a massive chandelier

Saminid Mausoleum: On our last day in Bukhara, we walked to the outskirts of the modern city to see the Saminid Mausoleum – one of the oldest and most famous sites in Central Asia. Built in the 9th century (legit ancient history), the mausoleum is the resting place of the amir of the Saminid dynasty – a Persian dynasty that controlled Bukhara in the 9th and 10th centuries. We didn’t go inside (we heard it was ‘a pile of bricks’), but we enjoyed walking around the outside of the building and the nearby park

Carnival: Near the Saminid Mausoleum we (Jessie) spotted yet another Uzbek amusement park/carnival and was determined to go in. So we did! It was like an old school carnival (cotton candy, popcorn, corn on the cob, darts games where you win stuffed animals) meets a smaller version of an amusement park (bumper cars, swing rides that are guaranteed to make anyone nauseous). We took the ferris wheel up (we were the only ones) and got a nice view of the Saminid Mausoleum and the old city. Carnival/amusement park interest satisfied

Ayub (Job) Mausoleum: Rumor has it Job (Ayub in Arabic) visited this place and created a well by striking the ground with his staff. Keeping in theme with other Bukhara sites that house (at times tangentially-related) museums, it’s now the Museum of Water Supply History. Even though some of the translations into English were a little hard to digest, we found it interesting and unlike the other museums we had seen

Khbk Rynok (Bukhara local market): We loved roaming around the local market and checking out all of its offerings – fresh produce, tailor-made suits, school classroom posters, tons of electrics – you name it, they had it. We didn’t see any other tourists here and had fun finding hats for our Pamir Highway trip in Tajikistan and flexing our bartering skills. We did pretty well at two stylish (though you can be the judge) hats for $4 USD