Suburban surprises await bikers in Vancouver's scenic countryside

Observation tower at Grant Narrows Provincial Park

I love Vancouver's city vibe, but on a recent visit to British Columbia, my husband and I decided to bypass the urban adventures for a weekend in the Canadian countryside. 

We didn't have to go far. Thirty miles east of Vancouver in the North Fraser River Valley are the suburbs of Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge, at first glance a mish-mash of housing developments and strip malls, but for those in the know, a hidden corner of tranquility in metro Vancouver.

Nestled between the Pitt, Alouette and Fraser Rivers in the foothills of the Golden Ears mountains, are dairy farms, nurseries, cranberry and blueberry fields set on a giant floodplain protected by  dikes - long stretches of raised earthen mounds- surrounded by farmland. 

Built by Dutch settlers in the 1950s as a method of flood control, the dikes form an interconnected system of walking and bicycling trails. Making an overnight stay worthwhile are well-kept provincial and regional parks with river and canyon trails leading to waterfalls and wildlife habitats.

Airbnb in Maple Ridge

We used Airbnb to score a garden suite with a kitchen and private bath attached to a century-old Maple Ridge home once used by a Vancouver family as a summer retreat. it was a bargain at $65 a night, mainly because the U.S. dollar goes far in Canada, but also because it wasn't in downtown Vancouver.

With the better parts of two days to explore, it made sense to bookend a long bike ride around the dikes with hikes in nearby regional parks along with pit stops at a historic pub, a local cheesemaker and Peruvian and Taiwanese bistros. 

Grant Narrows Provincial Park 

The hike: This is a dog-friendly wilderness area and wildlife habitat on the banks of the Pitt River, with views of snow-capped  Golden Ears peaks and a dike system surrounded by wetland bog and marsh areas.

With a few hours of afternoon light left before sunset, we opted for a four-mile walk around the trail called the Katzie Marsh Loop, a hike that took us first along the Pitt River dike trail, a flat, wide trail of packed gravel, flanked on one side by the Pitt River, and the other by a marsh filled with watershields, rooted plants that float on the surface similar to water lilies, but smaller. Climbing a wooden observation tower, we looked for some of the 200-plus species of birds sighted in the park, and saw herons, ducks, geese and osprey.

A right turn led us to the Swan dike trail, a grassy path with water on both sides, and onto the Nature trail, a narrow, wooded path dotted with cattails, pond weeds and blackberry bushes. We were told that someone had spotted a bear here earlier, but we saw only a few lone kayakers. 

Pit stop:  Grab a stool on the front porch or a high-back upholstered chair near the wood stove at the Billy Miner Alehouse Café on the Fraser River, and step back to a time when train heists were common along the railroad tracks running past the front door.   
 Once a bank and shelter for war vets, the pub is named for gentleman bandit Billy Miner, a Robin Hood figure who targeted companies such as the Canadian Pacific Railway. 
Today, it's commuters riding the express trains from Vancouver who stop here after work. We paired pints of Three Bears Breakfast Stout brewed by Trading Post Brewing in Langley, B.C. with a wood-fired pizza piled with pulled pork, roasted sweet potatoes, mango chutney and pineapple.

Ridge Meadows Circle

The ride: With about 40 miles of interconnected trails, the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows dike system offers bikers many choices for rides along flat, mostly hard-packed gravel paths. 
Let's go Biking, a website dedicated to easy rides around metro Vancouver, outlines a variety of rides of varying lengths with access points, directions and sights marked on printable maps.  With most of the day to explore, we followed the Ridge Meadows Circle route for a 20-mile ride along all three rivers, mostly on dikes and and a few roads with dedicated bike lanes.  

Biking along the dikes in Pitt Meadows

Starting at Osprey Village, a planned community in Pitt Meadows across from a shoreline park, we peddled first along the   banks of the Fraser, then along a narrow path in the forested Pitt River Greenway. The trail widened again as left the woods, and road past a small airport, a cedar mill, blueberry farms, and cranberry bogs along the Fraser and Pitt Rivers. If I had time to do only part of this trail, it would be the last leg along the south side of the Alouette, the most peaceful of the three rivers, with views of Golden Ears in the late afternoon light. 

Pit stops:  Begin or end a dikes ride at Peruvian-owned Stomping Grounds cafe or Jia Plus, a Taiwanese cafe in Osprey Village. 

Stomping Grounds cafe

Stomping Grounds offers brunch on weekends. Other times, stop in for a breakfast sandwich, or a panini for a picnic lunch. Owner Anahi English's speciality is budin de pan, a Peruvian bread pudding made with raisins, cream, cranberries and eggs and drizzled with caramel.

Jia Plus offers cold Taiwanese milk teas, smoothies and non-dairy drinks plus a small menu of hot dishes such as wonton soup and ginger pork in a cozy cafe decorated with local art.

Kanaka Creek Regional Park

The hikes: Easy walks through a costal rainforest, waterfalls and sandstone cliffs await visitors to this wilderness park flanking the Kanaka Creek, just five miles from downtown Maple Ridge. 

With just a few hours left the morning we were headed back to Seattle, we decided to save larger Golden Ears Provincial Park for another time, and explore two short trails in this scenic regional park.

Interpretive signs along a 1.8 riverfront nature trail explain  how logs were once moved off rail cars and onto booms (rafts) for transport down the Fraser to local sawmills.  A wooden foot bridge crosses Kanaka Creek where the trail leads to picnic areas with peaceful water views.

Foot bridge across Kanaka Creek

An upper canyon trail in the Cliff Falls area follows sandstone canyons with wooden foot bridges crossing the creek with views of waterfalls. Wide paths and wooden steps in steeper areas make this a family-friendly trail popular with dog-walkers and mothers packing babies in front pouches.    

Homemade cheese and more at Cheesecrafters 

Pit stop: Stop by Golden Ears Cheescrafters to watch cheeses, curds and butter being made using milk from the dairy next door run by two Maple Ridge sisters.
"Everything you see in this case was made right here," a woman behind the counter told me, offering samples of smoked Gouda and Jersey blue. 

We came before our hike for coffee and a breakfast flatbread - eggs, cheese, tomatoes, bacon with a drizzle of balsamic - then returned later for cheese and a raspberry-apple pie.

If you go:

Where: Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge lie 30 miles east of Vancouver in the North Fraser Valley. From Vancouver, head east on Highway 1 (the Trans Canada Highway) to Highway 7, which becomes the Lougheed Highway. From Seattle, plan on about 2.5 hours of driving, not including border wait times, for the 130-mile trip via Interstate 5, BC-15 North and Golden Ears Way.

Tourism information: See the Maple Ride & Pitt Meadows Community and Business Resource website. Also Destination British Columbia 

Trail maps: Let's Go Biking has suggested routes along the dike trails, along with maps and trail descriptions.  See also http://www.alltrails.com 

See Metro Vancouver's website for Parks information

Lodging:

Chain hotels along the Lougheed Highway (Highway 7). Airbnb offers the best option for bed and breakfast- style accommodations in private homes.

Golden Ears Provincial Park has three campgrounds. 

This story was published in the Seattle Times on June 17, 2018

Pure Bliss: Norwegian's newest ship begins Seattle/Alaska sailing season

The Norwegian Bliss docks in Victoria B.C.

The first ever cruise line to homeport in Seattle 18 years ago is now sailing the biggest ship to call in the Northwest. The popular week-long Seattle/ Alaska round trips, with port calls in British Columbia, has transformed the city into the largest cruise port on the West Coast. Norwegian Cruise Lines christened the Norwegian Bliss last week with travel writers,  travel agents and clients aboard for a three-day preview cruise between Seattle and Victoria, B.C.

Seattle's Pier 66: The Bliss' summer homeport

The Port of Seattle expects more than one million cruise passengers to pass through the city this year on 218 vessels, pumping more than $500 million into the local economy. Like many in Seattle, I have mixed feelings about this. While I don't like seeing my favorite downtown restaurants and the Pike Place Market crowded to capacity every weekend, I do appreciate that many businesses couldn't sustain the winter months without tourism. And who wouldn't want to visit this beautiful city? Just look at the view above of Pier 66, the Bell Street Cruise Terminal on the Seattle waterfront. This is where the Bliss will homeport this summer, bringing in more than 4,000 passengers and 1,800 crew members per week from now through September when it repositions for the Caribbean.   

Free-fall waterslides

So...what's it like to be on a mega-ship with 20 decks, 2,043 staterooms and more than 4,000 passengers? I can't tell you because there were only around 1,500 people and few children on our preview sailing, not counting many more on board just for the day of the christening on May 30. Once the day-trippers left, we easily found seating around the pools, in the observation lounge, and along the "waterfront," a open-air deck lined with comfortable couches and restaurants with outdoor tables. 

The "waterfront" deck

Bars, restaurants, nightclubs and a go-kart track on the top deck felt more crowded, even with fewer people on board, indicating passengers on regular sailings will be wise to reserve ahead for restaurants and popular activities. 

My husband and I tried to experience as much as we could in three nights. Here's an overview of some of our favorite finds:

Observation Lounge

Favorite public space: The huge wrap-around Observation Lounge on Deck 15 near the front of the ship. With floor-to-ceiling windows, comfortable chairs, tables and couches, a full-service bar and a  tasty and healthy complimentary breakfast buffet, the lounge was designed to maximize views of Alaska's mountain scenery. I loved this space for a quiet morning coffee and the New York Times downloaded onto my iPad. Kudos to Norwegian for limiting the noise level by banning music, lectures etc. and reserving such a large space for reading and relaxing. The downside is that the room's capacity is just 487, and even at half-full, it could feel like a much different experience. 

Observation Lounge bar

Favorite bars: I treasured my afternoon lattes from the Observation Lounge bar, and liked the Northwest touches in the Maltings Whiskey bar, with cocktails on tap designed by Seattle mixologist and chef Kathy Casey. I'm not a bourbon drinker, but I could have overindulged on her blackberry bourbon smash.

Kathy Casey

Other favorites were the District Brewhouse with 24 beers on tap including a Red Hook IPA and a Seattle Dry Cider, and the Sugarcane Mojito bar, mostly because of the bartender, below, Clarense Bennet from Honduras. Another advantage of being on an uncrowded ship was the relaxed crew. We met and talked with people from Philippines as many other parts of the world. Crew members work 7-day shifts for the most part while onboard, and were anxious to learn about inexpensive places to shop in Seattle near Pier 66 for whenever they can disembark for a few hours. 

Clarense Bennet

Favorite dining spots: Norwegian is known for its casual, "free-style" dining, meaning no formal dress code or assigned dining. Included in the cost of the cruise are meals in the Garden Cafe, a large buffet with tables positioned along the windows and outside; three main dining rooms and the Local Bar and Grill, open 24/7. There's a fee for dining in other restaurants, including a steak house, Italian restaurant, Japanese restaurant and Texas smokehouse (always filled on our cruise), which might make purchasing a dining package worthwhile. I'll leave the details on that to the experts. Here's a link to a good overview on EatSleepCruise.com. We tried two of the fee restaurants, La Cucina and Cagney's Steakhouse, both with outdoor seating. Both were good, but noisy. I preferred the Manhattan main dining room (nice views of the sunset and mountains from the aft deck), both for ambience and food. We also found the Garden Cafe buffet relaxing for a light meal with lots of fresh and healthy choices. 

A lighted staircase and chandelier change colors

Favorite staterooms: The best values seem to be the balcony suites with couches and spacious bathrooms. Priciest is the Haven, a luxury "ship within a ship," within a ship on Decks 17, 18 and 19? Here there are penthouses, private family villas and connecting suites; a private restaurant; observation lounge; bar; pool; sauna; spa; and concierge desk. Oceanview and inside rooms cost less, of course, but considering that upgrades sometimes include a few free amenities (more dining options, free Wi-Fi, drinks etc.), passengers should look at all the options before booking. I was impressed by the studios designed and priced for solo travelers. There are 82 compact rooms furnished with full-sized beds and separate sinks and showers. 

Favorite activities: Entertainment in an 800-seat theater includes an excellent performance of the Broadway hit Jersey Boys about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. 

Two heated pools, several hot tubs, an inner tube slide and a high-speed double loop waterside provide plenty of water fun for adults and kids, but I predict the longest lines will be at the two-level race track on the top deck. Up to 10 drivers (no age limit but minimum and maximum height limits) race around the track in electric cars ($7 a ride). Kids shorter than four feet can go with a parent in a two-seater. Also on the top deck is an open-air laser tag course.

Costs: Don't be fooled by ads touting seemingly cheap prices for cruises aboard the Bliss.  Inside rooms on its Alaska Highlights cruise start at $1,049 per person for the last seven-day sailing in September, but go as high as $1,500 in July and August. Balcony rooms range from $1,600 in September to $2,300 in July. Staterooms in the Haven go from  $3,500 in September to $7,500 in late June. Add to these prices a daily service fee of $14.50 per person, extra charges for alcoholic drinks, laser tag, go-karts, fee restaurants and drinks plus an 18 percent gratuity on all bar purchase and services in the spa and salon. 

If you really want a bargain on the Bliss, consider the six-night Pacific Coastal Cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles Sept. 30-Oct. 5, as the ship repositions for the winter. Prices range from $599 for an inside room to $2,399 in the Haven.

The transformation of oil-rich Baku: Azerbaijan's gateway to the Caucasus

Baku's Flame Towers are visible from many parts of the city. 

Anthony Bourdain traveled the world for his television show “Parts Unknown,” so it’s a shame he never made it to Baku, the oil-rich capital of Azerbaijan, boarded by Iran, Russia and Armenia in the South Caucuses.

From land-locked Uzbekistan, we flew across the Caspian Sea to experience one of the ex-Soviet Union’s most prosperous cities situated along the old Silk Road trade route linking China to Europe. Baku’s old city, hidden behind iron gates and medieval walls, evokes a colorful past. Representing a modern society of creative young designers are one-of-a-kind new office towers, museums, fountains and parks. 

Fountains Square

The government banned Bourdain from coming here because he spent time and filmed a TV show in the break-away state of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed territory Azerbaijan claims as its own, but has been controlled by Armenia since 1988 (a situation similar to the Russian take-over of Crimea in the Ukraine). After the Soviet Union collapsed, war broke out. Thousands of Azeris and Armenians were killed and displaced. 

Despite a cease-fire, the countries are still technically at war, and the Azerbaijan government prohibits anyone who visits Nagono-Karabakh from entering the country. It’s the first question the government asks on its visa application. Lie and they find out, you’ll be denied entry, even if your visa was approved.

Although we have never been to Nagorno-Karabakh, we were in Armenia during a previous trip to the region. We would have liked to visit Baku then, but couldn’t because the land borders between the two countries are sealed. Getting here this time was easier because we flew from Central Asia. 

The Old City

After prospering as a Silk Road stopover for traders carrying carpets and silk to the west, Baku’s fortunes rose again during an oil boom in the late 1800s. Wealthy merchants from Europe, Russia and the Middle East created a multi-cultural society where Muslims, Christians and Jews mixed an even inter-married. The country enjoyed just two precious years of independence between 1918 and 1920 after the fall of the Russian empire and before the rise of the Soviet Union. During that time, Azerbaijan established a parliament, and became the first majority-Muslim nation to grant women equal political rights with men. 

Preserved behind fortress walls is the old city, while just outside the walls are European-styled buildings from the 19th and 20th centuries and futuristic skyscrapers from the 21st. Arriving in the rain, we took refuge in a cafe while we figured out how to navigate the cobbled streets of the old town with rolling suitcases. Had streets not been blocked off in preparation for the Formula 1 Grand Prix later in the week (No, we didn’t know about it when we booked), it might have been easier to find the Seven Rooms Boutique Hotel in a century-old building a few minutes walk from the the Caspian Sea. Grand Prix planners constructed temporary concrete barriers and fencing to prevent racers from crashing into onlookers lining the route. The barriers blocked entrances to many businesses including a string of designer shops on the waterfront and the Four Seasons Hotel. 

Dinner at Dolma

Baku is surprisingly affordable for being an oil-rich city that attracts international business. Public transport was a bargain. Our hotel with all the mod-cons and a heated bathroom floor in a rennovated historlcial building was $100 a night. A half-hour ride on the new airport Express Bus to town was $1.60. A subway ride cost 15 cents. Dinner for two - olives, bread fresh from the clay oven, soup, salad, a platter of grilled vegetables, roasted chicken and wine -averaged around $17. Many restaurants and cafes are underground, entered down a flight of steps from the street. Our favorite was Dolma on Fountains Square, a lively pedestrian area just outside the walls. Diners relax underground in cozy nooks, eating from platters of grilled vegetables, chicken or lamb warmed over hot coals.

Icherisheher subway station 

Some call Baku the Dubai of the Caucasus, but I think it’s a far more interesting city, given its history and combination of Soviet-style, European and modern architecture. We took an excellent two-hour free walking tour with a volunteer from Baku Explorer. The majority of  people are Muslim, but most practice a version our guide called “Islam Lite.” Almost no one wears a head scarf, and cafes and restaurants serve alcohol. 

Above is the Icherisheher station in the old city. Underground, the station preserves the original Soviet architectural style, similar to what we saw in Tashkent in Uzbekistan, although customers use reloadable plastic cards instead of plastic tokens to pay for fares. Above ground, the design in more in sync with modern times.

Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center

The carpet museum 

Museums showcase Azerbaijan’s history as a center for literature, art and textiles. There’s a national museum of literature, named for it’s most famous poet, Nizami Ganjavi; a Museum of Miniature Books filled with 3,000 titles displayed in glass cases; and my favorites, the Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, shaped like a rolled-up carpet; and the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center, an art museum and exhibition center, known for its flowing, white curves, and excellent permanent exhibit on the history of art, music and crafts in Azerbaijan.

The "cocoon" area inside Baku's airport

Sleeping pods for quiet time 

Forward-thinking design also influenced amenities at Baku’s Heydar Aleyev airport. The airport commissioned an Istanbul-based studio to design wood-clad “cocoons” throughout the upper level of the international terminal. The 16 little huts house cafes, a champagne and caviar bar, a kid’s play area, spa and a bookstore. There also are several sleeping pods with pull-down lids for privacy. The designers compared the airport to “a huge playground” for a human-centered approach to hospitality design. Wouldn’t it be nice if U.S. airport designers thought the same way? 

Tea by the Caspian Sea

Anthony Bourdain got around, but it's a shame he never had the chance to visit a museum in a rolled up carpet, enjoy coffee in a cocoon, or sip tea by the Caspian Sea. 

On the road to Samarkand: Camels, yurts and a village homestay

Morning camel ride

The Uzbek cities of Tashkent, Bukhara, Khiva and Samarkand are famous for their ancient Islamic architecture. Most of the rest of the country is desert and mountains. We took two days out to explore a bit of rural Uzbekistan on a tour with a company called Responsible Travel, aimed at promoting eco tourism in rural areas. The company arranged a driver for two days, lunch in a family home, an overnight stay in a yurt camp, a camel ride through the sand dunes and a second night in a family guesthouse in a mountain village.

Yurt with wood stove

Nomads used collapsible yurts covered with camel hair, blankets and carpets to keep warm, cool and dry as they moved around the desert.  Our yurts were covered in camel hair, but also strong canvas, and furnished with real beds. Not exactly glamming, but better than camping, given some wet and windy weather. 
Like most yurt camps in Uzbekistan, the Golden Safari yurt camp is a commercial operating in the Kyzyl Kim desert, 165 miles from Bukhara. Twenty yurts were arranged in a circle, each designed to sleep four to six. We were lucky in that groups sometime book the whole camp, bringing in 100 or more for corporate events. The camp had 17 guests the night before we arrived, but the next night it was just us and three women from Singapore, so we all had a yurt to ourselves. What neither we nor the yurt owners counted on was the cold, wet weather. They had just removed the wood-burning heaters for the season, so we had to wait until they could reinstall them along with vent pipes to let the smoke out.

Sunrise in the desert

Village musician and his kids

This lovely man from a nearby village provided entertainment after dinner around a bon fire while we debated if we really wanted to climb to the shower room at the top of the hill. We skipped the showers, and crawled into bed under two layers of comforters. Tom kept the fire going most of the night, Needless to say, we were happy when sunrise came and the weather changed. It turned out to be a beautiful day for a ride through the dunes on some very fury camels which the owners raise for milk and wool. 

Our next stop was Sentyab village set in a valley carved out by a river in the Nuratau mountains. Caravans traveling between Bukhara and Tashkent once passed through here, but once newer, direct routes were established, the villages became isolated. Our driver, Sher, deftly navigated rocky, dirt roads, dodging cows, waiting for sheep to cross, and sometimes going no faster than 15-20 miles per hour. The villagers are Tajik, even though they live in Uzbekistan. Their ancestors took refuge here when Alexander the Great’s army marched through Tajikistan. Most are subsistence farmers, meaning they grow most of what they eat, and earn money by selling the sheep and cows they raise. There are few cars. Most people get around by walking, riding a donkey or hitching a ride on the back of a motorbike.

Village men in the morning

Our homestay

Our hosts were one of three families in the village who operate guesthouses for travelers as part of an ecotourism program started in 2007. “Rakhima’s” house, named for the woman who runs it, was a compound of several stone buildings built above a river that flows through the village. We were expecting more of a one-on-one experience, but that was not to be. A German tour group showed up shortly after we arrived. We were surprised to find out the family had enough rooms to sleep 20 people! I think most of the Germans doubled up, but we had our own room with a a double bed and an electric light. There was a flush toilet and shower next door, and a sink outside the room. 

We ate our meals at this little stone table. Dinner was an array of Uzbek salads made with various mixtures of mushrooms, carrots, cabbage, tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, cheese etc., followed by a dish of tiny dumplings filled with meat. Breakfast was the most interesting meal. We awoke to find our table set with a dozen little dishes including a fried egg, sausage link, bread, homemade preserves, several kinds of cookies, peanuts, walnuts, apricot seeds, candied peanuts, cheese and miniature chocolate bars. 

Homestay breakfast

No business geared towards travelers could survive in Uzbekistan without tour groups. There are not enough independent travelers to keep a yurt camp, homestay or a nice restaurant in business. So while both of these experiences felt more commercial than I had hoped, I  realized that without the tour groups, they probably wouldn’t exist.

Walking paths with stone walls

Well-maintained walking paths marked by stone walls wend through pastures and forest land. We spent the afternoon taking walks, and meeting people. As usual, we ran into lots of kids anxious to practice their English and have their pictures taken. School children either  wear uniforms or dress up, skirts and leggings for the girls, suits for the boys. They walk to school, either by themselves or with friends, with no concerns about any danger. The forest and pastures are their playgrounds; sticks and water buckets their toys. 

After-school play

These two cute little tykes instinctively put their arms around each other when I asked to take their picture. It’s a pose most everyone seems to strikes. Moving on to Samarkand, the most visited tourist destination in Central Asia, we didn’t find the people all that much different than those whom we met in the village. Friendliness just seems to come naturally to Uzbeks. Samarkand is filled with amazing Islamic mosques and monuments. We spent two and a half days exploring, but meeting and talking with people here, as it was everywhere, was the highlight of our visit.

Samarkand's Registan or public square

Gur Emir Mausoleum

Uzbek tourists in Samarkand

Next stop: Baku in Azerbaijan 

Bukhara: Old and new treasures along an ancient Asian trade route

Sunday afternoon in Bukhara: An Uzbek band plays on the steps of a blue-tiled mosque where Sufi dervishes once slept. In the park next door, a young boy walks on a tightrope strung between two trees, while his father performs a strongman act, picking up iron cannon balls in his teeth. When I ask these Uzbek women if I can take their picture in their colorful outfits, they insist on taking mine. Bukhara has many treasures, but none as precious as its people.
Once a major stop on the Silk Road trade route between China and Europe, Bukhara draws bus loads of tourists from around the world who come to see its wealth of well-preserved mosques, madrassas (Islamic schools), covered bazaars and caravanserais (hotels), dating from the 9th to the 17th centuries. But for some reason, apart from the souvenir sellers, Bukhara feels more like a place where local Uzbeks come to enjoy themselves, rather than a town built for tourists. 

Minzifa Hotel courtyard

We arrived after a three-hour ride on one of the new highs-speed trains linking Bukhara with the capital of Tashkent. In a country where many hotels still serve Nescafé, it was a surprise to find the train offering lattes - not in paper cups but in tall glasses - for $2! Bukhara, like all of Uzbekistan, is a great value. Our hotel, the Minzifa Boutique Hotel ($60 with breakfast), is a beautiful inn with spacious rooms, decorated with wood carvings, traditional artwork and textiles; new bathrooms; and excellent Wi-Fi. We generally enjoy eating the local food, but when we were ready for a break from pilaf and kabobs, we found Bella Italia, an Italian restaurant with an Uzbek twist. The waiter showed us to a table on the terrace under a tent-like canopy. The bill for two salads, two chicken entrees, vegetables, wine, bread and a steaming pot of cardamom tea came to $15. 

The town is filled with hundreds of restored mosques, covered markets, former and present-day madrassas and other libraries, many of which now house craft workshops, shops and museums. Minarets of all sizes sprout everywhere along with monuments topped with turquoise - tiled domes. The tallest is the Kalyan Minaret or Great Minaret, a tapering, mud-brick tower built in12th century. It was called the "Tower of Death," because criminals were led up its 105 steps, then tied in a sack and thrown off the top. Legend has it that Genghis Kahn saw the minaret from miles away as he road towards Bukhara, and was so impressed, he spared it while destroying  almost everything else.

Kalon Mosque

Kalon Minaret, the "Tower of Death"

Chor Minor (Four Minarets), gatehouse to a madrassah built in 1807

Uzbek women of all ages are always put-together. Head coverings are optional, but most older women wear them turban-style, usually in bright colors that match or contrast with long or mid-calf skirts and pants printed in traditional designs. Younger women wear updated versions of the same outfit, with our without a head scarf. If they do decide to cover their hair, there are lots of creative options.

Head scarves for sale in the market

The clothing has a practical side. Desert surrounds Bukhara. Few streets are paved. Cars and construction crews working on road and hotel construction constantly kick up dust. Head coverings help. 

Uzbeks have long been known for their embroidery (suzani), weaving (ikat), woodcarving and metal-smithing, crafts which the Soviets suppressed, and Bukhara artisans revived after independence.  

Ikat cotton scares for sale

Most women wear traditional designs printed onto cotton or synthetic materials instead of more expensive silk. I’ve seen ikat weavings in Southeast Asia, but the weavings from Uzbekistan blend many different colors, using a resist dye process.Vertical threads are bound and dyed by hand before being woven with horizontal threads. The scarves above were likely machine-made. They sell for around $4.

Blacksmith master Sayfullo Ikramov, above, runs a small shop in one of the covered markets. He makes all sorts of knives and scissors shaped Iike birds, female and male. He  keeps a wood fire burning in his shop to heat up his steel. 

House museum

We had an extra day to build into our trip due to an onward flight to Baku that leaves only on Mondays and Thursdays. We decided to spend it here, giving us more time to poke around the backstreets with no particular destination in mind. This man motioned to us while we were walking through his neighborhood. We followed a sign that said “House Museum,” apparently his house, a ramshackle but authentic old house built in the 1800s. He greeted us with a sprig of mint from his garden, then showed us around, pointing out traditional carved wooden ceilings and arched wall niches similar to the ones in our hotel displaying little pots and figurines. 

Lyabi Hauz complex

Having extra time meant we could become regulars at a cafe on the main square, the Lyabi Hauz complex, overlooking a reservoir fed by an ancient canal system. The Soviets drained, restored and refilled the pool in the 1960s, getting rid of stagnant water that was a breeding ground for diseases. The square is where everyone goes in the afternoon and evening to drink tea, have an ice cream, and let their kids play on inflatable bouncy toys or drive little electric cars.

New friends

Our favorite activity is to find a table in the shade, order ice tea, and people-watch. Before long, we’re swarmed by students trying to practice their English. They usually start by saying “Hello,” and then asking our names and ages and where we are from. Most people come here to get their picture taken next to a wooden camel, but these kids begged to get a picture of us posing with them. 
They took turns getting in the photos, then left and returned a few minutes later with prints. Everyone wanted us to sign their pictures. Suddenly, we were celebrities in Bukhara.

Autographing our photos