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The next visit was to the Tchachma Ayoub Mausoleum which according to historical beliefs and an inscription at its entrance was built during the reign of Amir Timur. It stood just across another one said to have been left by sacramental people, once "Chatchama Ayoub" relates to honoured track places.
Its unique feature was a dome in the shape of a conical marquee which is known to be quite common in the architecture of the Khorezm dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. It stood as an elongated prism wreathed by various domes with different shapes, and in particular a double one with a cylindrical drum directly above a water spring, which according to a legend has healing power.
On its place, as the legend goes, there was once a desert. One day its inhabitants tired of having suffered because of the absence of water are said to have prayed to God, upon which Saint Job (Ayoub) appeared in front of them having struck the ground from which a spring of crystal clear water broke through.
It now houses the Water Museum and temporary carpet exhibitions.
We then walked a little further on so as to visit the Sanamids Mausoleum, the world-wide known 9th-10th century masterpiece of architecture for the perfection of its geometrical forms, being also considered one of the most ancient buildings made from burnt bricks in Central Asia.
It definitely was an impressive brick cube monument with an hemispherical dome. Its façades were perfectly identical, having dome-like pillars in every corner. The symbolism of the cube is said to be steadiness and therefore earth related, whilst the dome is associated to the sky. The combination of both is therefore said to represent the unity of the Universe.
The outer and inner façades lined with alternating horizontal columns of bricks and vertical insects strongly resembled a fancy motif of network. One couldn't ignore the magnificent effect of those particularly under the light which seemed to change the overall appearance of the mausoleum as one thoroughly looked at it. It almost seemed illogical yet magic.
According to the legend the founder of the Samanids dinasty, Ismail Samanid had this mausoleum built for his father, which later became the family burial vault of all the Samanids. It is said that Ismail himself, who died in 907 and his grand-son Nasr II ibn Ahmad, who died in 943 are both buried there.
As we made our way towards the Hotel, once the road access to the areas was blocked, we walked by the Poikalian complex we had visited earlier in the morning, but which then because of the light hadn't allowed us to take photos of the ensemble.
We got ready for the evening out at another private house, which we always looked forward to in excitement. The courtyard we would be having our evening meal was profusely decorated with typical objects. The starters lying on the tables looked quite appealing, as we sat in two groups. Being a small group also allowed us to get to know every person we were travelling with and eventually get closer to some. Although I got along well with everyone in the group, by then Danielle, a former Theatre actress and her husband Gerard, a journalist were the ones I more often spoke to and whom I sat at the table with together with the young friends Nathalie and David.
As the meal was getting to its end a group of young girls walked in performing some typical Uzbek dances and later calling in for some of the guests to join in.
Gerard and Danielle sitting with me at the dinner table.
David with the young dancers (left). Pascal, David and Nathalie among the group of dancers (right).
It was quite an interesting day and although I felt I was still strongly attached to Khiva I was beginning to get a "feeling" for Bukhara. I went to bed really looking forward to what the following day would bring.
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