Original subtitles

As a reporter, I've traveled

around the Middle East for many years.

It's an area that has always fascinated me,

but in my work, I've mainly covered its war zones,

its crises and its tragedies.

This journey, which takes me down the Silk Road

in the footsteps of Marco Polo,

gives me the opportunity to explore

the great historical and cultural significance

of this part of the world,

its ancient melting pot of peoples and civilizations

that have contributed so much to our own.

(Middle Eastern music)

Uzbekistan was one of the major hubs

of the Silk Road.

Back in the days of the caravan,

travelers going from Persia to as far as China

began their journey by skirting the Karakorum,

the Black Sand Desert.

After a week of arduous travel, we came to Amu Darya,

or the Oxus River, as it was known to ancient geographers.

After this stop, an immense step,

dotted by oasis cities, spread out eastward.

For many centuries these cities were some

of the most prosperous in the world.

(exotic music)

After crossing the Amu Darya, travelers on the Silk Road

found themselves in Transoxania, an historical region

including present day Uzbekistan.

And soon entered the legendary city of Bukhara,

a metropolis that has inspired generations

of adventurers, and finally rest their caravans

here on Registan Square, where the camels finally

got to kneel down in comfort on the soft sand

and unload their cargo.

There's something in the very word Transoxania,

that rouses the call of adventure.

The name is still charged with the same promise

and exoticism that captivated Alexander the Great

two thousand three hundred years ago.

And enchants explorers and adventurers to this day.

This mausoleum is Bukhara's oldest monument.

It dates from the Samanids Dynasty in the ninth

and tenth centuries.

(exotic music)

This mausoleum was the Samanid family tomb,

and it didn't take long for it to become a

sight of pilgrimage.

Pilgrims would travel here and confide their

troubles within the tomb.

An imam hid on the other side of the grate here

and responded to the pilgrims.

It's kind of like the confessional in a Catholic church.

At the start of the 13th century,

Genghis Kahn pillaged Bukhara.

The mausoleum, however, was spared,

and for a simple reason.

Over time, immense dunes of desert sand had

blown in and completely buried the tomb,

hiding it from the Mongol conqueror.

(sitar music)

Bukhara's gem, the Po-i-Kalyan mosque,

sits in the center of the old town.

The area is normally bustling,

but on a day like today,

at 45 degrees in the shade,

Bukharans would rather stay at home.

Only a few art students are about,

braving the heat to paint their water colors.

(sitar music)

This incredible minaret was built in the early 12th century.

It's so beautiful that Genghis Kahn decided to spare

it when he sacked the city.

It's fifteen meter deep foundation makes it so sturdy

that the tower has withstood centuries of earthquakes.

Despite its many architectural splendors,

Bukhara isn't a museum city.

The oasis is still a prospering town with

two hundred fifty thousand inhabitants.

Most residents are Uzbec, a Turkic ethnic group.

Uzbeks still speak variants of Persian.

They foster a character and a way of life

that's unlike anywhere else.

Semi legendary figure Nasruddin Hoja,

from 13th century Turkey,

is one of the celebrities of the Silk Road.

He's remembered as the Useful Idiot,

the Wise Fool, and the True Sage.

He's a soothing mystic when it suits him,

but above all he's the hero of countless comic,

and sometimes mischievous tales,

from which he earned his fame.

While Bukharans are happy to visit the statue

of Nasruddin, they also come here to enjoy the

cool fountains in the surrounding gardens.

This is where I meet Sanja Bovukalanov,

a history professor and Bukhara enthusiast.

Sanja, we're in a chikana.

What is a chikana?

It's a local Persian word that means salon.

Here it means tea room.

He wanted to introduce us to the tea ceremony.

What is it?

We have a culture of paying tribute.

The tea ceremony is a central part of Uzbec culture

and Uzbec hospitality.

You have to cycle the tea through the pot three times.

The first cycle is for earth, or clay.

Because God created man out of clay.

That's a tenet of Islam.

I guess it's the same in the Bible.

Adam is made from clay.

Okay, so it's symbolic.

The second time symbolizes oil.

Since we use oil to make all the best things we eat,

and serve to guests.

And the third time, is for the tea itself.

So the tea cycles through the pot three times.

In Bukhara, especially we drink green tea from China.

Next, comes the first service.

Whoever pours the tea serves himself first,

to show that it's all right.

And not poisonous?

Exactly.

And not poisonous.

When he drinks, you know you're safe.

And now we drink.

Cheers.

Welcome.

Thank you.

So you're a historian.

You know Bukhara.

Apart from this tea ceremony,

how would define the Bukharan mentality?

Conviviality, which comes through hospitality.

Bukhara is at one of the two great crossroads

of the Silk Road.

It saw a lot of traffic with people passing through

from China, Persia, and India, and Russia.

People here love to meet travelers,

and invite them home regardless of their

ethnicity or religion.

How do Bukharans uphold and preserve

the spirit of the Silk Road?

It's really thanks to tourism.

And the recent influx of westerners.

And over the last five to ten years,

the Chinese and Indians have also started to travel.

So Bukhara is becoming a crossroads

between India, China, and the west again.

It's amazing.

History repeating itself.

Bukhara is not just a trade city.

It's also an intellectual beacon of the East.

This was the homeland of Avicenna,

the Prince of Scholars,

who in the 11th century published an encyclopedia,

that gathered together all the teachings

from ancient Greece and China.

Holy Bukhara, as it was known to Muslims,

was defined by its religious diversity.

Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Nestorians,

and Manicheans all converged on here,

so it has always been a place of knowledge and learning.

Bukhara is still, to this day, a producer of

illuminated manuscripts.

Proof is in these miniaturist studios,

following the great Persian tradition.

(piano music)

Sanja, are these miniatures a Bukhara tradition?

For millennia, they're made to decorate

books and poetry and such.

And each miniature tells a story.

This miniature is called a shekel.

It depicts a hunting scene.

Each one of these miniatures tells a true story

from ancient times.

And the girls to his left are students

or family.

This is my daughter,

this is my daughter,

and the other girl is my student.

The best is to start painting as young as possible.

Painting miniatures isn't just a hobby or a job.

It requires an entire frame of mind.

That's what makes it so attractive to kids

and young people.

My daughter has been successful with her art so far,

because of her passion for it.

I hope that in a few years she'll want to

make it her profession.

Bukhara's miniatures illuminate poems

and recount moral tales of Sufi mysticism,

but they're also an archive of Silk Road tradition.

Take for example, this scene depicting caravans

of musicians and acrobats riding Bactrian camels.

Works like these take meticulous care and patience.

It seems I feel like exploding.

Just finish this day and spring to go play

football or scream out loud.

When you've learned this craft from childhood,

you get a particular pleasure from it.

That's why this art has been such an integral

part of my life.

Sure, sometimes you're short on inspiration,

and the miniature doesn't come out the way you want it.

That's when I get tired of it,

and I feel unsatisfied.

However, I can't imagine my life without this craft.

Without this work.

Leaving the miniaturist's shop,

we head to the textile stores.

This is very interesting.

Now we're in full blown cultural dialogue.

This is a Suzani, the traditional Bukharan embroidery.

It comes from the Persian word suzana,

which means needle, and so embroiderer.

The technique came from the captain of the

Persian empire, Suza, around 600 B.C.

That's where we got the name Susan, and Susanna.

What was Suzanis historically used for?

For weddings.

Ah, for weddings.

As a wedding gift?

Yes.

Before her marriage, each girl had to prepare a dowry,

with her family.

We call that the trousseau.

The bride-to-be would prepare it as a gift

for the married couple.

You had separate ceremonies before,

during, and after the marriage,

and when the first child was born.

You'd have seven large cloths on the wall,

depicting the tree of life, happiness, the sun, etc.

Ah, each stage is a different

motif on the Suzani.

A different motif, the family, and especially

the girl herself, were the ones made it.

I'm in the seventh phase.

I'm expecting my first child.

So I'll get the seventh Suzani when I get home.

Okay, I'll take this one.

Ah, a pretty bag too.

Thank you.

Welcome to our city.

Ah, that's nice.

Wait a minute.

A little gift for you.

Ah, that's nice.

It's handmade.

Did you make it?

Yes, yes.

There are three spices inside,

representing happiness..

The three spices are wormwood seed,

pepper for bad spirits, and black sesson.

And what is it?

A pendant, an amulet?

To protect against the evil eye.

For the baby.

Ah, is it for the baby?

For the baby, and for you too.

Thank you.

It's for your family.

Welcome to our city.

Thank you.

I'll keep it safe.

Have a good trip.

Thanks.

Stepping out from the shade of Malacha's shop,

it's suddenly clear that it's still getting hotter.

This afternoon, it's 47 degrees.

A wedding, nice.

Seems like there are many today.

And this is a telpak.

It's the chapka of the Nomadic Turkmen.

Looks like dreadlocks.

And think that it is super warm,

like a whole sheep wrapped around your head.

Actually, nomads wear it all year round,

even in summer,

because it makes great sun protection.

This one here is made from lamb.

That's the famous Persian lamb,

known here as Karakul.

Karakul was brought here from Russia by nomads

from north of the Caspian Sea.

It's prime for the climate here,

which runs between 30 and 50 degrees Celsius.

It's a bit gory, but the finest and most expensive

pelts are taken from lamb fetuses.

(whistling)

The Nadea de van Begge is an ancient caravansarai

that was converted into a madrassa, or religious school,

during Bukhara's decline when the Silk Road

disintegrated in the 16th century.

The arrival of tourists though, has recently

given the Nadea de van Begge new commercial life.

It's former students chambers now become

souvenir shops.

The famous madrassa is set apart by the fantastic

birds that adorn its entryway.

(sitar music)

One more craft tradition, known all along the Silk Road,

remains to be seen.

The famous blades of Bukhara.

(suspenseful music)

The entire world loves our knives.

Our knives are famous

because they're handmade.

(metal on metal clanking)

Worked on by hand is not the same as what

you get from a factory.

That's why the whole world loves our knives.

(metal clanking)

The highest quality metal is

Damascus steel, which involves hammering multiple

strips of metal into a single blade.

This is Damascus steel.

Pure, genuine Damascus steel.

When you strike it on metal,

it doesn't even damage the blade.

Look, not a mark.

It's not even damaged.

Even after striking metal,

the blade is flawless.

The gun slinging cowboy really fits in with

the soldiers, but anyhow, they're clearly very

proud of their history.

Bukhara went quiet with the decline of the Silk Road,

sinking slowly into oblivion,

until it was turned into a Russian protectorate

in the 19th century,

Followed by outright annexation by the USSR.

This is interesting.

These are postcards from the Emirate of Bukhara,

pre-Soviet annexation.

1912.

1889.

Photos of regular life.

They're really touching.

They seem to be on a silicon paper,

or old mulberry paper.

This is amazing.

He's being executed by flaying, 1893.

That's what happening now in northern Iraq and Syria.

Musicians of the Emmaus Harrin.

Interesting how varied their features are.

One's Chinese, well one's more Chinese,

one's more Turkic.

These are the famous Uzbec robes that used

to be mandatory.

This is a Chapan.

It's somewhere between a caftan,

like Arabs would have worn,

and a Chinese robe.

This one seems quite old.

Normally it goes along with a duppi,

which is the little skullcap that Uzbeks wear.

Probably have some in here.

(traditional music)

One especially ancient remnant remains from

Bukhara's great cultural melting pot.

It lies deep in the old town,

tucked away by a maze of alleys.

It's a synagogue of Bukharin Jews that

traces back to antiquity.

I'm met by the Rabbi's son, Daniel.

Bukhara's Jewish community is another testament

to the religious and cultural tolerance

that has flourished along Silk Road since ancient times.

(slow sitar music)

Rabbi, can you tell us how long Jews have been

in Bukhara, and how many are here today?

We still have 280 Jews in Bukhara.

About 50 families.

They came to Bukhara from Iran in the 4th century.

Since we're on the Silk Road, is this the

eastern most Jewish community you know of?

Or are there other communities even further east,

towards China?

As far as I know, most Jews are in Bukhara.

But you also find Jews in Samarkand, Tashkent,

Fergana, Namangan, and Khorezm.

How do these Jewish communities get by?

What were their professions living on what

would become the Silk Road?

Many Jews dealt in leather making and other goods.

They were artists, many Jews were artists.

What religions were historically

found in Bukhara, and which of these remain today?

There are many religions in Bukhara these days.

You have Judaism, Christianity, and Buddhism.

There is also a German Protestant center.

There are a lot of religious and cultural centers here.

Religious practice is now allowed again

since the fall of the Soviet Union.

How do Bukhara's communities get along?

The Jews are fine here.

We never experienced oppression from other peoples

or ethnicities.

We like to celebrate their holidays,

and they celebrate ours too.

Like other major hubs of the Silk Road,

Bukhara is also a city for rugs.

What's special about this place is that rugs

aren't just sold, they've kept the tradition

of weaving them onsite, in the back rooms of shops.

This is a silk rug, thousands and thousands of

patiently woven knots.

(flute)

The work is both incredibly meticulous, and rapid.

Here we see the Tree of Life,

which is one of the most motifs in Bukhara.

The girls weave 70 knots per square centimeter,

and a rug like this will be about three meters

by one meter.

That's two million, one hundred thousand knots.

It takes two of them over two months,

and as you see, they're going very, very fast.

The workshop is permeated by a sense of discipline.

It's enjoyable, but it's no joke either.

Bukhara remains an important place in the

Eastern imagination,

not just for its exceptional crafts,

but also for its spirituality.

It's time to visit the home of the Naqshbandi

Dervish's mystical movement.

This major Sufi order reaches from India to Morocco.

(footsteps)

I am ten kilometers outside Bukhara,

the mausoleum of the 13th century Sufi leader,

Baha-ud-Din Naqshband.

Sufism is an open branch of Mystical Islam,

which focuses on forging an intimate

relationship with God.

Even though hard line Islam looks negatively

upon Sufism, the Holy Dervish's tomb has become

one of the most popular pilgrimage sights

in central Asia.

Historian Theros Kabinoff was educated at the

Russian school, and studied Sufi mysticism

with the clinical eye of a scientist.

How many Naqshbandi are there in the world?

And how are they different from other movements?

We don't have precise figures, but we know that

Taregot Naqshbandia has followers spread across

a great deal of the Muslim world,

including India, Pakistan, Asia Minor, and Turkey.

In my opinion, we're talking in the hundreds

of thousands of followers.

Another thing is you can't say a Sufi isn't a Muslim,

or that a Muslim can't be a Sufi.

These things are complementary.

A person who chooses the Sufi way is taking a vow

that they will respect for the rest of their life.

You mentioned certain particularities of Sufi Islam.

Could you explain what those are?

In terms of prayer and meditation.

Whether you're talking about the Naqshbandi order

we mentioned, or the Mevlevi order in Turkey,

the ultimate goal is always to achieve a state

of total submission in the presence of the Devine.

So meditation has always been central to this.

It's an important tool.

Meditation helps free oneself from material bonds.

And was there maybe an earlier school of meditation

that influenced Sufism?

Like Buddhism, or Shamanism?

It's very clear that Islam and Sufism were

inspired by the diverse philosophies and ideologies

that existed here before Islam.

This region is very culturally rich,

and its civilization is thousands of years old.

Sufis were influenced by Buddhism and Shamanism,

and by Zoroastrianism, which was very widespread

in the region.

Although we only have art works and

architecture to help us picture the Silk Road

of the past, we have to remember that the centuries

of the caravans transported more than just

material goods.

It also spread philosophies, religions,

and mystical doctrines like Sufism,

showing us that the most essential part of the

Silk Road is in fact invisible to the eye.

(soft piano music)

It's time to leave Bukhara,

and head to the other mythic city of

Transoxania, Samarkand.

(speaking in Bukhari)

(calming piano music)

(chanting)