Farewell Tour of Uzbekistan

 I am SO far behind with this blog.

The Sisters' Tour of Uzbekistan

Monday June 13: Tashkent to Nukus

Our morning was a complete schmozzle. I had booked a transfer to the airport, flights Tashkent/Nukus, a transfer from the airport to the hotel in Nukus, and two nights in a hotel in Nukus. For some reason, we were told that we would be picked up at 4AM for our flight. So we were up at 3AM, and ready to go by 4. At 4:15 I called the driver, who told me he would be there in 15 minutes. At 4:45 I called again. He yelled at me and hung up. At 5AM we dragged our suitcases down to the street near my little alleyway. I called again. He yelled at me and hung up again. At this point we dragged our bags to the main road and grabbed a cab. I turned my phone off. 

When we landed in Nukus, we dragged our bags to the exit and were met by our next driver. When poor Cathy sat in the back seat, she discovered that it was soaking wet. I had been to Nukus before, so when we blew by the street where the hotel was, I muttered the name of the hotel to the driver. He responded that there were two Jipek Joli Hotels. Okay. But then we just did a big loop of the city and were heading back towards the hotel. Then he suddenly turned down another road, one that was being torn up. At this point, I just begged him to take us to the hotel. He took us to the hotel I was expecting. Unfortunately, they weren't expecting us. After a lot of worried, whispered conversations, we were shown to a room with two beds and a cot. 

I immediately contacted the tour company and told them we HAD to have another driver for the next day's long trip to Moynaq. If this guy couldn't find our hotel in this tiny city, I really didn't want to be out in the middle of nowhere in Karakalpakstan. The original driver must have been a friend of the hotel receptionist, because he hung around in the lobby, and the receptionist repeatedly told us how sorry he was and were we sure we wanted a different driver. It was very bizarre and awkward. We later discovered that he had actually brought us to the wrong hotel, which is why they didn't seem prepared for us!

Once we settled down, we walked a few blocks to the incredible, amazing Savitsky Museum. I have talked about this place in a previous post, but the very existence of this place is a miracle. And a testament to one man's passion and tireless efforts to preserve Art that would otherwise have been lost. There has been a scary development since I first arrived in Uzbekistan. Marinika Babanazarova, the woman who devoted her life to this museum has been forced from her position of director. I can only imagine that that is because someone with more power than her has different ideas about what should happen to the works of Art housed in this little museum in the back of beyond. 

After a late lunch, we decided to walk to the market and buy some supplies for our big adventure the next day. 

Tuesday June 14: Nukus to Moynaq and back

We were pulled over for a passport check. 

Today was a day of adventure and exploring. After breakfast, we piled into a car driven by Hussein, and we were off! We drove and drove and drove. I sat in the front with Hussein and he taught me Uzbek words for every animal and tree we passed. 

We had to pull over when I spotted a herd of horses in the middle of this gorgeous field. 

And then this little guy decided to hang out with me.

When we arrived in Moynaq, our day just kept getting better and better. Dar, Cathy & I walked down into what was once the bed of the Aral Sea. 

A map that shows the enormity of the environmental disaster that happened to the Aral Sea.

After we walked around the sea bed, we climbed back up to look at the monument, and the information provided. I had of course noticed a sweet little dog wandering around, and a very poor man seemed to have attached himself to us and our driver. 

The old man was the 'caretaker' of the site, and the dog his companion. My sisters and I had packed a lunch of bread, peanut butter, plums, and cashews. We sat on the small ledge of a yurt and shared the lunch with Hussein, the caretaker, and his dog. It was one of the loveliest moments of our day, maybe even our entire trip. 

Where we sat to eat our lunch.

After lunch, we piled back into the car and began the drive back to Nukus. 

 

On the way, we stopped for tea and a toilet break. 

Just before Nukus, we made a detour to Mizdakhan, an ancient necropolis/contemporary cemetery. 

Before completing our day, we had one more adventure - camels! No, we didn't ride them. We saw them wandering by the side of the road. Of course I had to leap out of the car and go photograph them, with my anxious sisters watching, no doubt expecting me to be bitten or stomped. 

Wednesday June 15: Nukus to Khiva via Topraq Qala and Ayaz Qala

We left the hotel at 8AM.  Before leaving Nukus, Hussein and I made a run through the market for bread, plums, and water. 

Topraq Qala (clay fort) is thought to have been a royal city constructed between the 1st and 2nd centuries. It was excavated in the 1930's, but it is now unprotected from people and the elements (not that there are many people wandering around in the part of Uzbekistan). 

On the way to Ayaz Qala, we saw a herd of goats. So....

I pretty much fell in love with this guy. 

My travel companions wondered when I would give up on the goats.

Ayaz Qala contains three forts built between the 1st and 8th centuries. 

Uzbekistan - The Farewell Tour

The Sisters Visit Uzbekistan

June 10 was the last day for me at Tashkent International School. A pretty weepy day. It started out with a crashing headache, and ended with cokes and fries with some of my colleagues. 

June 11 was a happy day, the day my sisters were coming to Uzbekistan.  I had arranged with Vladimir, super taxi-driver, to pick me up at my house, and take me to the airport to wait for my sisters. I stood impatiently at the fence, watching passenger after passenger arrive. And finally, it was my turn to yell, and run towards the building. The sisters had arrived! 

I took Cathy and Dar to a local restaurant, where we ran into some of (former) colleagues, and had a lovely, leisurely lunch. We then got into a taxi and attempted to find Drew & Alicia's new house. The taxi ride was long and scary and tortuous. At one point Dar said, "I'm trying to think of something that might be more frightening than this ride. I think if I was on a wagon being pulled behind a motorcycle on the highway it might be scarier. Maybe." The driver had no idea where he was going, and he was determined to get there VERY quickly.  After a lovely swim in Drew & Alicia's pool, we made our sedate way back to my house, where I forced Darlene to watch an educational movie about the Savitsky Museum in Nukus. Cathy fell asleep. 

Sunday June 12  I woke the girls up bright and early and we grabbed a taxi to Chorzu Market. It's a huge market, where you can buy fabric, fruit, cribs, shoes, pretty much anything but wigs. Seriously, I've looked. Cathy & I bought hats, and Cathy bought buttons. 

And Darlene bought fabric. 

After marketing, we met the amazing Durin (another colleague whom I will miss) for lunch at Bon Cafe, one of the restaurant I frequented so much in Tashkent. Cathy & Dar had a well-deserved nap. I woke them up in the early evening for their next Tashkent adventure, a visit to Holy Assumption Cathedral, one of few Russian Orthodox Churches in Tashkent.  

The Cathedral began as a little church in 1879. Over the years, the parishioners contributed to its expansion. During the early Soviet years, the church was used as a storehouse for arms and munitions. In 1945 it was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church, and has been a place of worship since then. 

We had special permission to climb the bell tower. 

Our guide for the trip to the bell tower was an aspiring priest, who had the responsibility of ringing the bells. Which he did, while we were there. It was loud. 

On The Road Again

BLACKLISTED

On June 9, I was offered a job in Venezuela. On June 10, against the advice of MANY people, I signed a letter of intent and sent it back to Maracaibo. I was so excited at the prospect of speaking Spanish and the opportunity to be back in South America again, that I ignored my misgivings and those of the people around me. I don`t ever want to be the kind of person who allows fear to determine her decisions. 

After a few weeks of travelling through Western Uzbekistan, I returned to Canada and more and more horrible news from Venezuela. When I emailed the school in Venezuela to find out when I could expect my actual contract, I was told that I would be given a contract upon arrival. I emailed both the director of the school and my Search associate with my concerns. They both told me not to worry. I did worry. 

I talked about the situation endlessly with friends and family. I read Spanish news sites. Finally, I decided that I didn`t want to send all of my belongings to Venezuela, nor did I want to bring my cats, in case I had to make a hasty exit. More than that, I didn`t want to live in an expat bubble, while the people in my host country are being shot in line-ups to buy food. 

Before the school had the chance to do any more work on my behalf, or spend the money on a plane ticket, I emailed the director to tell him  I had changed my mind. I heard nothing back from him. A week later, I tried to go on the Search website and discovered I had been ousted. I contacted my associate and after two days, he responded telling me simply that I was out. I contacted the vice-president and was told that I had acted `dishonorably,`and that Search Associates would no longer represent me. End of story for them. 

I have had two interviews with other schools since then. One school even started to check my references, and never bothered to contact me again. I have, understandably, had a few rough days this summer. I have been rejected A LOT. Now I don`t even know if there is some kind of black mark against my name somewhere in cyberspace. I will have to register with other sites, and start the process of bothering people for references again. Yes, I am frustrated.