Travel Notes. Once upon a time in Tashkent

The guests stood exemplarily by the monument of Courage, mounted in honor of the inhabitants of Tashkent that survived the heavy earthquake in April of 1966. Then everyone went to the Garden of Poets (near to the Friendship of Nations square) and admired the panorama of the city. Here in the Abul Kasim madrasah everyone purchased little souvenirs. In a few minutes our guests visited Kukeldash madrasah. It is said that in the old days it was much higher, and unfaithful wives muffled in a sack were thrown down from there.

The guide told a lot. The tourists, like model students, wrote down all his words and took pictures. Everything was decorous, the excursion came to an end. During boarding on the bus one of the guests addressed me: "We have two more hours till the reception at the Embassy. Show us not the tourist but "your own" Tashkent". The request bewildered me, I cannot exactly take them on my "home-office-home" route. However, there was no use in avoiding it, and I took them to the Samarkand Darbaza mahallya. It is located nearto Inter Continental Tashkent Hotel. Its name means "Samarkand gates". In the old times, the merchants and guests from Samarkand entered Tashkent through this region of the city. We are standing on a plain little street. I knock at the first gate that came across, and a woman with a child in her hands opens it.

- Assalom Aleykum, - I greet her, - our guests from Germany wish to know the lifestyle of our people better. Can we come in?
The woman makes an inviting gesture with a smile and pronounces the famous word "Marhamat" ("Welcome" - in the context of an invitation). The crowd entered the yard hesitating.

As in all the Uzbek yards, there was a trestle-bed and a flower-garden. However there was also a tandir, near which another woman was bustling. She was making flat cakes. Smiling socially she invited everyone to sit down at the trestle-bed. Two men, young and old, came out to the yard to find out what is going on, and then gave a short command and teapots with aromatic green tea, hot flat cakes and dried fruits appeared on the table. In five minutes, everyone was talking like old friends - I was barely keeping pace in translation.

The young hostess (probably the daughter-in-law) poured tea to the guests and in half an hour a dish with plov appeared on the table. The head of the delegation glanced at his watch for a moment (the reception!) and continued the conversation. When the discussion about World War II began, I understood that if we were not to leave then, we would have sat there till late in the evening. The hosts were distressed when they saw that the guests were already leaving. They loaded everyone with flat cakes and pears, said a warm goodbye and invited to come again.

In the bus, the head of the delegation turned to me and said: "I have traveled a lot but never was on such a trip and encountered such hospitality. Thank you! I was very pleased. At the same time the attitude of your people to guests is incomprehensible. It is special…"
No, this was an ordinary little excursion. A fleeting glance into the soul of the ancient nation…

Do you want a good excursion? Marhamat!