I woke up feeling like I had connected to home for a little bit once more, just like the time with Gulmeera and her children, it felt like we had some of the warmth that you only get from those who truly care about you.
There were plans being made to cook some more that night, and Omar and I contributed to the fund then head out. We decided to start the day by heading outside of town to the Mazaar of Khwaja Naqshbandi who started the Naqshbandi Sufi order which is credited with keeping Islam alive, albeit underground there during the Soviet era amongst other things. This again was a living tomb, unlike so many reappropriated buildings. It was stunning and unlike the tombs of kings and others who served themselves, it was well cared for and you could see new and beautiful additions by local artists who still followed the Naqshbandi Sufi Order.
We went to a bazaar across the street for a bit, before hopping on a bus with the most fun bus driver I have ever met. He had Omar and I sit up front with him, and again, though we had no common language, we enjoyed a funny conversation, and he played all kinds of Indian movie music for us. He had this great chef hat and shades on, and the way he approached his job was very laid back, and enjoying himself, while still getting things done. He'd honk and wave at all the other bus and taxi drivers he knew as he passed them, and kept an eye out for beautiful women while making sure we all got to where we were going. It was a really fun ride, and a good reminder of how people can choose to enjoy the life they live.
From there we went to the Ark which was a large fort with museums and such within. I'll let the photos speak for some of the interesting things we saw in there. From there we walked through the bazaars again, having decided to make our purchases now. We picked up some gifts for people then visited the store of a cute, but extremely tough little sales girl I had purchased some gifts from the day before. Yesterday I had offered a price and then started walking when she said no. She ran about a hundred meters up to me shouting "Mr! Mr!" and offered a lower price. By then we were at a cd shop. She kept running back and forth asking her parents and then giving me another price until I bought the gifts.
This time, Omar went in to buy some gum. He bargained with her, because as we had found prices for everything varied to an alarming degree and there was a justified feeling that people were trying to get as much as they could out of anyone in most shops, even on things like soda. So Omar countered the girl's quoted price with a more reasonable one. She stood tough. He wouldn't budge either, knowing her price was too high. She had all the expressions of shock and dismay at Omar's price as any seasoned sales person 5 times her age. It was cute and frightening at the same time.
Finally she says Mr and quotes a price. Omar just looked at her. She ripped open the gum and took out two pieces then offered the rest to Omar at the lower price. I laughed so hard wondering what this little thing was! Omar got his money back and we walked on through the amazing bazaar.We walked all over and I happened upon and amazing puppet shop. The puppets had so much intricate detail and were of such high quality. It was amazing. They were pricier than I could afford at $300 and up, but they were handcrafted works of art and it was really great to even just look at them. After that we head back and joined the gang back at Mubinjans. Sergei, our translater from the previous night had left the city, but Mubinjan managed to communicate and keep us entertained with stories nonetheless as we enjoyed another warm meal with a family of strangers.