We spent most of our time in  this  country.    There was just  so much  to see.

We had been here about 10 years ago ..... so had several  repeats.       

 But there was so much more additional territory covered  this time .... we hardly noticed any repetition.

There's no way  we could include all of the sights for you .  ( well ... there  is .... but you'd starve to death by the time you finished viewing it all ).

So  please understand ... if  our selection of shots is not as complete as it could be.

Notice that  each of the arched  sections has a  different design  than any of the others.

Metro  Station ......  a smaller version of the one in Moscow.     VERY  clean.

Unique  Water Wheel.   Fun to watch !!

The columns are intricately  carved...

and the pavilion, houses lists of the dead..

We were very taken with the face

on this statue.

This is a part of the old section of the city that survived the quake.

Yes ... I know this looks depressing ...

but each of those doors opens onto a delightful courtyard

We thought the old equivalent of  "window bars" quite unique.

This building looks so proper  from the front .... but then as we continued around to the back of it ....... we came upon  "The  Boys ".

This bunch of school boys were walking along  .....  kept gazing at the fountains .....  and it just got to be way too much for them

so they just stripped down ... and jumped in. 

 It was  HYSTERICAL  !!     Oh ... to be a child  and be that uninhibited again.

By now ..... you'll  probably agree with our assessment  -  that no matter how poor or wealthy an area is .......  fountains & monuments are very important.

This is the Opera  House. ........ and right across the street from our hotel.

So about 8 of us decided to attend one evening.   We were treated to  "Eugene Onegin" .... seats  right down front .... for the equivalent of  $2.00 per person.

Front  Ceramic Detail

Tamerlane's  Jade  Cover Stone

Ivory  inlay Door.

As usual ...  the vendors all wanted us to indulge in  "taste-tests" ... and shake hands.

Refusing  to "taste"  is considered very bad form ...... ( but let's face it)  in this part of the world ... there's only so much tasting you can do ..

and not deal with the consequences later.

However .... these were fairly safe ......... and beside that  they're  pretty.

As an artist ..... the tile designs  and gardens  in the many Mosques and Madrassahs we visited on this trip ... had me in a constant state of  

( for want of a better term )  "hanging-jaw  syndrome "

One of the Madrassahs  ( school  ) .... in this complex.

A closer look at one of the buildings in the opening photo.

 Interior of  one of the Registan Square  Madrassahs 

Detail of the arch decoration.

Ceiling Dome  design.

This is typical of the landscape & homes in this area.    Lots of open space and livestock !!!

Roy developed quite a fan club while we were here.

The first time I got a glimpse  of this type of set-up ... I had to blink several times.