Who needs Viator when you have Yandex? The Bukhara "Countryside" Tour

I mentioned in my last post that I found myself with possibly too much time in Bukhara. This rarely happens so I wasn't sure what to do with this predicament. I looked into day trips and found that there was a countryside tour available for $99.  Then a couple of things happened. First, I remembered my deep-seated hatred for Viator. They screwed up my plans in Mauritius, causing me to miss out on swimming with wild dolphins and this is a grudge I plan to carry for this lifetime and the next. Second, hatred aside,  I will use them to build an itinerary so I looked into doing this on my own. That is when I realized that the word "countryside" in the tour description was doing an insane amount of heavy lifting. From my very central hostel to the first stop was a thirteen minute drive. Even calling this a Suburb tour would have been a stretch.

Add to all of this the magic that is Yandex and this was simply a no-brainer. Yandex is the Uzbek version of Uber, only much much cheaper. That thirteen minute ride was around $2. 

The first stop was the Sitorai Mokhi Khosa, better known as the Palace of the Moon-Like Stars. If upon hearing that, you can only think of Khal Drogo and Khaleesi, then you are my kind of people. You are also not far off. Much like my man, Drogo, the original inhabitant was also a romantic. The palace was originally built for the Emir of Bukhara. When his beloved wife passed away, he named it after her and her moon-like beauty. 

The story of how they chose the location for this summer residence is equal parts disgusting and ingenious. The architects placed freshly killed lambs all over the city and then monitored their decomposition. The longer they took to decompose, the cooler and fresher the area. This spot must have hit the dead lamb sweet spot. 

I personally didn't notice any difference in the climate between the palace and downtown Bukhara but that could be because the two are approximately four miles apart. I will say that once you enter, there is a nice courtyard where I sat to watch the free roaming peacocks. I thought I might have caused a cultural faux pas of some kind when I took a photo of one. Immediately, a caretaker came running over, yelling in Uzbek. What did I do? Were these holy peacocks or something? Nope. He just wanted to take me to another part of the courtyard to show me that there were loads more peacocks. I don't believe any of them were holy either.

Sections of the palace were destroyed and rebuilt over the years. The current version was constructed between 1912-1918 and is now a museum.

The design is described as being a blend of Russian and Central Asian styles but the colorful ornamentation reminded me a bit of the palaces found in India.

In addition to the palace, there are a couple of other buildings within the complex, repurposed into either shops or exhibition spaces. 

Once housing for the Emir's harem, now a cute cafe. Progress?

Moving on to the next "countryside" stop, it was a 15 minute drive to the Bahouddin Naqshband Memorial Complex. 

Naqshband was the founder of one of the most important orders of Sufism, Naqshbandia. He championed modesty and hard work. Along with being a spiritual advisor to Amir Temur, he spent seven years caring for animals and another seven doing road work. Today, his mausoleum is seen as the Central Asian "Mecca" and is a major pilgrimage site for Muslims of all denominations. 

The complex has a very different feel than the city of Bukhara. It still has the commercial elements, to be sure, but is overwhelmingly peaceful and serene.

The necropolis also holds his mother, spiritual teacher and several emirs along with their families.

Had I been following the Viator excursion to a tee, I would have continued from here to the Chor Bakr Memorial complex but by this point, I felt I was good with holy Muslim burial sites. By doing this route on my own, I was able to bail and head back to Bukhara to find a nice sunset spot. All to say, I did as much of the $99 tour as I wanted for a grand total of $6 and was at a cafe, having a beer, right on schedule. So, in summary, fuck Viator.