Khiva - The Desert City

Khiva—we finally got it; it’s a state run museum town set up during Soviet times. They’ve sanitized the heart out of this city.

While it’s one of the best preserved cities of Central Asia, you need imagination to get any sense of its’ mystique, bustle and squalor of Khiva in its heyday. It was once known for slave caravans, barbaric cruelty and wild tribesmen.


A half-day city tour. Khiva became more interesting with a guide. She explained the horrible torture methods used. Everyone was killed on Friday, the Holy Day, in the square in front of the mosque.
Lots more mosques and madressas and John bought a local Uzbek hat in the market.
Our guide arranged for us to have dinner in a local home. It’s a strange custom- you can pay to have dinner in a private home or pay to ride in someone’s’ personal car vs. a taxi…
The town improved with time especially once we went back to John’s Cool Bar, literally the only cool place in town with cold beers and a cold room.
Dinner was great—plov and soup and salad and nuts…a traditional Uzbek meal.
Before bed, we sat outside by John’s Cool Bar with the local guys, drinking Bavarias. We finally got the bar man to take a tip and he reciprocated with one of their hand carved cutting boards.
Back at the hotel, we talked to one of the staff…she works in the hotel from 7am to 11pm, 7 days a week…just to have enough to eat…