Navruz in Khiva

While I was wandering around the Ark (see previous post), it became evident that I had stumbled upon a rehearsal for a huge Navruz ceremony. Navruz has been celebrated in this part of the world for millenia. It is essentially a great big welcome to Spring. Uzbeks celebrate Navruz with song, dance, food, and games. No-one seemed to mind my presence, so I walked around taking pictures of the rehearsal. At one point, I was surrounded by a bevy of giggly school girls.

The Choreographer!




That evening, the hotel receptionist told us that the foreigners in Khiva (there were about 15 in total) were invited to the big ceremony the next day. On my way to the Ark the next day, I noticed that the police were checking passports (all Uzbeks are required to have passports, and documentation checks are common). As a foreigner, I was waved through the checkpoints. At the gate of the Ark, I was met by a representative of the tourism office. She led me to the seats that had been reserved for the foreigners. The ceremony was absolutely lovely. I'm sure that every child in the district participated. There was dancing, baton-twirling, singing, and puppetry. The event lasted two hours, from 11 to 1. Although we were honoured to be there, as the sun was beating down on us, we started to feel like prisoners of cultural sensitivity. There was NO WAY we could have slipped out without being monstrously rude. At the end of the ceremony, I was interviewed on Uzbek TV!