Uzbekistan | Chingis Khan Rides West | Otrar to Bukhara

While the Siege of Otrār was in progress Chingis Khan and his youngest son Tolui led the main Mongol army southwest to Bukhara. With them were Turkish auxiliaries who by then had sided with Chingis. “These fearless Turks,” according to the Persian historian Juvaini, “knew not clean from unclean [i.e., were not Muslims], and considered the bowl of war to be a basin of rich soup, and a held a mouthful of sword to be a beaker of wine.” No mention is made in any of the sources about crossing the Syr Darya, usually a intimidating operation, which leads the Russian Orientalist Barthold to opine that the river was frozen over by the time the Mongol army reached it and that they crossed over on the ice. This could have occurred no earlier than late November or early December. The first major town the Mongols encountered south of the Syr Darya was Zarnuq. “When the king of planets raised his banner on the eastern horizon [at sunrise, to the more prosaic-minded],” Chingis and his army appeared before the city walls, according to Juvaini. The inhabitants retired into the Citadel, closed the gates, and at first were determined to resist the Mongol attack. A man named Danishmand (danishman means “consultant”), either a commander of one of the Turkish auxiliary units or a Khorezmian trader who had attached himself Chingis’s army, was sent into the city to talk some sense into the local panjandrums. After they threatened him with bodily harm, he shouted at them:

 I am . . . a Moslem and a son of a Moslem. Seeking God’s pleasure I am come on an embassy to you, at the inflexible command of Chingiz-Khan, to draw you out of the whirlpool of of destruction and the trough of blood . . . If you are incited to resist in any way, in an hour’s time your citadel will be level ground and the plain a sea of blood. But if you listen to advice and exhortation with the ear of intelligence and consideration and become submissive and obedient to his command, your lives and property will remain in the stronghold of security.

After this verbal onslaught the local dignitaries thought it wise to surrender . . . Continued.

Uzbekistan | Chingis Khan Rides West | Otrar to Bukhara

While the Siege of Otrār was in progress Chingis Khan and his youngest son Tolui led the main Mongol army southwest to Bukhara. With them were Turkish auxiliaries who by then had sided with Chingis. “These fearless Turks,” according to the Persian historian Juvaini, “knew not clean from unclean [i.e., were not Muslims], and considered the bowl of war to be a basin of rich soup, and a held a mouthful of sword to be a beaker of wine.” No mention is made in any of the sources about crossing the Syr Darya, usually a intimidating operation, which leads the Russian Orientalist Barthold to opine that the river was frozen over by the time the Mongol army reached it and that they crossed over on the ice. This could have occurred no earlier than late November or early December. The first major town the Mongols encountered south of the Syr Darya was Zarnuq. “When the king of planets raised his banner on the eastern horizon [at sunrise, to the more prosaic-minded],” Chingis and his army appeared before the city walls, according to Juvaini. The inhabitants retired into the Citadel, closed the gates, and at first were determined to resist the Mongol attack. A man named Danishmand (danishman means “consultant”), either a commander of one of the Turkish auxiliary units or a Khorezmian trader who had attached himself Chingis’s army, was sent into the city to talk some sense into the local panjandrums. After they threatened him with bodily harm, he shouted at them:

 I am . . . a Moslem and a son of a Moslem. Seeking God’s pleasure I am come on an embassy to you, at the inflexible command of Chingiz-Khan, to draw you out of the whirlpool of of destruction and the trough of blood . . . If you are incited to resist in any way, in an hour’s time your citadel will be level ground and the plain a sea of blood. But if you listen to advice and exhortation with the ear of intelligence and consideration and become submissive and obedient to his command, your lives and property will remain in the stronghold of security.

After this verbal onslaught the local dignitaries thought it wise to surrender . . . Continued.

Mongolia | Zaisan Tolgoi | Sixth Nine Nine | Zuraasan Zam Garnai

The sixth of the so-called Nine Nines—nine periods of nine days each, each period marked by some description of winter weather—began yesterday, February 4th. This is Zuraasan Zam Garnai, the Time When the Trail of the Road Appears. This description would seem to indicate a slight warming from the previous Nine-Nines, a time when well-traveled trails become free from ice and snow. We did have a slight warm spell, but now temperatures have dropped again, and it’s calling for Minus 35º F tonight, and minus 40º tomorrow night (for those of you asking for temperatures in Celsius, I have but two words: Bite Me!). Tsagaan Sar is of course next week, and forty below 0 F temperatures are not at all uncommon during this holiday. The next Nine-Nine starts on February 13, and by then we can pretty expect the back of winter to be broken. 

Mongolia | Zaisan Tolgoi | Sixth Nine Nine | Zuraasan Zam Garnai

The sixth of the so-called Nine Nines—nine periods of nine days each, each period marked by some description of winter weather—began yesterday, February 4th. This is Zuraasan Zam Garnai, the Time When the Trail of the Road Appears. This description would seem to indicate a slight warming from the previous Nine-Nines, a time when well-traveled trails become free from ice and snow. We did have a slight warm spell, but now temperatures have dropped again, and it’s calling for Minus 35º F tonight, and minus 40º tomorrow night (for those of you asking for temperatures in Celsius, I have but two words: Bite Me!). Tsagaan Sar is of course next week, and forty below 0 F temperatures are not at all uncommon during this holiday. The next Nine-Nine starts on February 13, and by then we can pretty expect the back of winter to be broken. 

Uzbekistan | Bukhara | Bolo Haus Mosque

Bolo-Hauz (Children’s Reservoir?) Mosque was reportedly built in 1712 by the Ashtarkhanid ruler Abul Fayud Khan (1711-47) for his mother, Bibi Khanum. Later it was apparently frequented by the emirs of Bukhara who lived in the nearby Ark.

Bolo Haus Mosque (click on photos for enlargements)

Bolo Haus Mosque

This short minaret was added to the complex in 1917 by Shirin Muradov, a famous Bukhara craftsmen.

 Bolo Haus Mosque

The entryway, or iwan, is a fairly recent construction, added to the mosque's eastern facade 1914-17 by the last Mangit ruler Sayyid Alim Khan (1910-20)

Detail of entrance to Bolo Haus Mosque

The porch in front of the Bolo Haus Mosque. The twenty columns are made from poplar, walnut, and elm wood. 

Porch of Bolo Haus Mosque

Detail of wooden columns of Bolo Haus Mosqueue

Detail of wooden columns of Bolo Haus Mosque

Detail of wooden columns of Bolo Haus Mosque

Uzbekistan | Bukhara | Bolo Haus Mosque

Bolo-Hauz (Children’s Reservoir?) Mosque was reportedly built in 1712 by the Ashtarkhanid ruler Abul Fayud Khan (1711-47) for his mother, Bibi Khanum. Later it was apparently frequented by the emirs of Bukhara who lived in the nearby Ark.

Bolo Haus Mosque (click on photos for enlargements)

Bolo Haus Mosque

This short minaret was added to the complex in 1917 by Shirin Muradov, a famous Bukhara craftsmen.

 Bolo Haus Mosque

The entryway, or iwan, is a fairly recent construction, added to the mosque's eastern facade 1914-17 by the last Mangit ruler Sayyid Alim Khan (1910-20)

Detail of entrance to Bolo Haus Mosque

The porch in front of the Bolo Haus Mosque. The twenty columns are made from poplar, walnut, and elm wood. 

Porch of Bolo Haus Mosque

Detail of wooden columns of Bolo Haus Mosqueue

Detail of wooden columns of Bolo Haus Mosque

Detail of wooden columns of Bolo Haus Mosque

Uzbekistan | Bukhara Oasis | Khwajagan | Naqshbandi’s Mother

A third of a mile north-northeast of the Tomb Complex of Naqshbandi, the seventh of the Seven Khwajagan Of The Bukhara Oasis, is the tomb complex of his mother. It is a favorite pilgrimage site for women. 

For more see Seven Saints of Bukhara: The Khwajagan, or Masters of Wisdom.

 (click on photo for enlargement)

Uzbekistan | Bukhara Oasis | Khwajagan | Naqshbandi’s Mother

A third of a mile north-northeast of the Tomb Complex of Naqshbandi, the seventh of the Seven Khwajagan Of The Bukhara Oasis, is the tomb complex of his mother. It is a favorite pilgrimage site for women. 

For more see Seven Saints of Bukhara: The Khwajagan, or Masters of Wisdom.

 (click on photo for enlargement)

Uzbekistan | Bukhara Oasis | Khwajagan | #7 Naqshbandi

Muhammad Bahauddin Shah Naqshbandi (1318–1389) was the seventh of the Seven Khwajagan of the Bukhara Oasis. He is the eponym of the Naqshbandi Order that exists down to the present day. His mausoleum complex, seven miles east-northeast of Bukhara, is one of the most popular pilgrimages sites in Uzbekistan and is visited by Naqshbandis, other pilgrims, and tourists from all over the world. 

For more see Seven Saints of Bukhara: The Khwajagan, or Masters of Wisdom.

 (click on photo for enlargement)

Uzbekistan | Bukhara Oasis | Khwajagan | #7 Naqshbandi

Muhammad Bahauddin Shah Naqshbandi (1318–1389) was the seventh of the Seven Khwajagan of the Bukhara Oasis. He is the eponym of the Naqshbandi Order that exists down to the present day. His mausoleum complex, seven miles east-northeast of Bukhara, is one of the most popular pilgrimages sites in Uzbekistan and is visited by Naqshbandis, other pilgrims, and tourists from all over the world. 

For more see Seven Saints of Bukhara: The Khwajagan, or Masters of Wisdom.

 (click on photo for enlargement)

Mongolia | Zaisan Tolgoi | Fifth of the Nine-Nines | Tavisan Budaa Khöldökhgui

The Fifth of the Nine-Nines—nine periods of nine days each, each period marked by some description of winter weather—begins today, January 26. This is Tavisan Budaa Khöldökhgui, the time when “Cooked Rice Cannot Be Frozen.” I must admit I really don’t understand the definition of this period. It seems to me that cooked rice would be frozen at any temperature below freezing, and we can certainly expect colder temperatures than that during the last week of January and beginning of February. Anyhow, the Fourth of the Nine-Nines was supposed to be coldest of the Nine-Nines, but it turned out to be fairly moderate—yesterday the temperature got up to 6º F. in the afternoon. This morning, the first day of the 5th Nine-Nine, it was a mere 20 below 0º F at 7:00.

As all you Devotees of Sin (the God, not the act) know, the Full Moon occurs tomorrow at 12:39 p.m. This is the Wolf Moon, the winter moon when wolves experience the most hunger. Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian New Year, begins in seventeen days, on February 11. In case you are wondering, the Tsagaan Sar Countdown Clock on my blog counts down to the New Moon, which actually occurs at 3:20 p.m. on February 10. The Tsagaan Sar celebration starts the next day. As you probably know, this will be the Year of the Female Water Snake.  

When you are out for your pre-dawn constitutional this coming week might want to check out the waning moon gliding by Saturn around February 2nd and 3rd.

Graphic Courtesy of Sky and Telescope

Mongolia | Zaisan Tolgoi | Fifth of the Nine-Nines | Tavisan Budaa Khöldökhgui

The Fifth of the Nine-Nines—nine periods of nine days each, each period marked by some description of winter weather—begins today, January 26. This is Tavisan Budaa Khöldökhgui, the time when “Cooked Rice Cannot Be Frozen.” I must admit I really don’t understand the definition of this period. It seems to me that cooked rice would be frozen at any temperature below freezing, and we can certainly expect colder temperatures than that during the last week of January and beginning of February. Anyhow, the Fourth of the Nine-Nines was supposed to be coldest of the Nine-Nines, but it turned out to be fairly moderate—yesterday the temperature got up to 6º F. in the afternoon. This morning, the first day of the 5th Nine-Nine, it was a mere 20 below 0º F at 7:00.

As all you Devotees of Sin (the God, not the act) know, the Full Moon occurs tomorrow at 12:39 p.m. This is the Wolf Moon, the winter moon when wolves experience the most hunger. Tsagaan Sar, the Mongolian New Year, begins in seventeen days, on February 11. In case you are wondering, the Tsagaan Sar Countdown Clock on my blog counts down to the New Moon, which actually occurs at 3:20 p.m. on February 10. The Tsagaan Sar celebration starts the next day. As you probably know, this will be the Year of the Female Water Snake.  

When you are out for your pre-dawn constitutional this coming week might want to check out the waning moon gliding by Saturn around February 2nd and 3rd.

Graphic Courtesy of Sky and Telescope

Uzbekistan | Bukhara Oasis | Khwajagan | #6 Kulal

Sayyid Amir Kulal (d.1370) was the sixth of the Seven Khwajagan of the Bukhara Oasis.

Sayyid Amir Kulal’s mausoleum complex is located eight miles east of Bukhara.

Entrance to the mausoleum complex of Sayyid Amir Kulal . . . For more see Seven Saints of Bukhara: The Khwajagan, or Masters of Wisdom.

 (click on photo for enlargement)

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Uzbekistan | Bukhara Oasis | Khwajagan | #6 Kulal

Sayyid Amir Kulal (d.1370) was the sixth of the Seven Khwajagan of the Bukhara Oasis.

Sayyid Amir Kulal’s mausoleum complex is located eight miles east of Bukhara.

Entrance to the mausoleum complex of Sayyid Amir Kulal . . . For more see Seven Saints of Bukhara: The Khwajagan, or Masters of Wisdom.

 (click on photo for enlargement)

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