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Uzbekistan | Nurata
From the Caravanserai of Qarakhanid Khan Shams-al-Mulk Nasr I wandered northward and soon crossed the Zarafshan River. This is of course the river which feeds the Bukhara Oasis; without this river the...
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Mongolia | Turkey | Istanbul | Sultanahmet
I awoke at my regular time and after the usual orisons settled into the southeast nook of my Studiolum for morning tea. Just the day before I had received a shipment of this Spring’s harvest ofImperial...
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Mongolia | Töv Aimag | Erdene Uul | Burkhan Khaldun | Summer Solstice
The Summer Solstice, marking the longest day of the year, occurred here at 7:09 a.m. on Wednesday, June 21. For many years I have gone to the Summit of Bogd Khan Uul, one of the Four Sacred Mountains...
View ArticleMongolia | Zaisan Tolgoi | Blue Moon
Last night, August 31, the Full Moon occurred at exactly 10:58 pm. It was also a Blue Moon. As noted below, I went into Occultation on September 2, the date of the previous Full Moon. I always go into...
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Uzbekistan | Bukhara | Trade Dome #1
After returning from My Sojourn to Nurata I continued my peregrinations of Bukhara. I pretty much had the city to myself. From March 1 to March 12 I was the only guest in the Guesthouse Where I Was...
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Uzbekistan | Bukhara | Nogai Caravanserai | Gaukushan Madrassa | Khodja Mosque
Just south of the Tok-i-Saffaron, along the Shah Rud Canal, is the Nogai Caravanserai, built in the 1720s during the reign of the Shaybinids. This modest-sized caravanserai has a pleasant stone paved,...
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Uzbekistan | Bukhara | Trade Dome #2
Backtracking a bit along the Shah Rud Canal from the Khodja Mosque and Gaukushan Madrassa Complex and then turning left and proceeding 510 feet along a row of old caravanserais I soon come to Trade...
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Uzbekistan | Bukhara | Abdullah Khan Tim | Carpets
I left the northern entrance to Tok-i-Tilpak Furushon and proceeded along Shah Restan Street 430 feet to the entrance of the Abdullah Khan Tim on the right. While a trading bazaars with several...
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Uzbekistan | Bukhara | Googoosha
Check out this Video of Uzbek Pop Star Googoosha and acrobat-performance artistDaniel Ilabaca cavorting around Bukhara. When I first saw this video I could not help but wonder how she and her film crew...
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Mongolia | Arkhangai | Zaya Pandita | Clear Mirror
Just finished the final pre-press work on yet another book: this one the famous Clear Mirror by the Khalkh Zaya Pandita (1642–1715). Once again G. Nyam-Ochir was the instigator of this project. The...
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Uzbekistan | Bukhara | Trade Dome #3 | Dish Girls
From the Abdullah Khan Tim I proceeded 286 feet north to the entrance of the Tok-i-Zagaron (Jewelers’ Bazaar), or Trade Dome #3. Most sources say that this trade dome was built in the 1570s, at the...
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Mongolia | Autobiography of Taranatha
Another book we recently published: the Autobiography of Taranatha. As you probably know, Taranatha was the 16th incarnation of Javzandamba and the previous incarnation ofZanabazar, The First Bogd...
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Uzbekistan | Bukhara | Abdulaziz Madrassa
Abdulaziz Khan (r. 1645–1681), belonged to the Janid, or Ashtarkanid, dynasty which traced its line back to Tuqay Timur, the thirteenth son of Jochi, Chingis Khan’s oldest son. Abdulaziz was said to be...
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Chingis Khan Rides West | March from Bukhara to Sarmarkand
By the beginning of March Chingis Khan was ready to march on Samarkand. The two Jewels of Mawarannahr, Bukhara and Samarkand, were linked by the so-called Royal Road, an ancient thoroughfare following...
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Mongolia | Gov-Altai Aimag | Gobi Bears | Mazaalai
According to Recent Findings there are now only twenty-two Gobi Bears—or Mazaalai as they are called in Mongolian—left in the world. This is down from a reported thirty-three a few years ago. This must...
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Uzbekistan | Bukhara | Lyab-i-Haus
Arguably the social center of modern Bukhara is the Lyab-i-Haus Complex, named after the haus, or reservoir in its middle. In summer the reservoir is lined with tables served by nearby restaurants and...
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Uzbekistan | Bukhara | The Poet Rudagi
When I woke up unexpectedly at three a.m. last night it suddenly dawned on me that I have not said nearly enough about the Samanids, who ruled Bukhara from c.875 to 999 a.d.Bukhara, under Samanid rule,...
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Mongolia | Russia | Buryatia | Mayan–Shambhala Endgame
In a post back in September about the Blue Moon I wrote: “Fasten your seat belts, people! It is going to be a Wild Ride to the Winter Solstice on December 21, when all Hell is expected to break loose ....
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Mongolia | Chingis Khan’s Tomb | Burkhan Khaldun
Once again the search for the tomb of Chingis Khan is heating up. It is now the subject of a Cover Story in Newsweek Magazine. As the story points out, this has been going on for decades now. I must...
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