Tashkent. wandering.

So it's mid-morning by the time we got here, sufficiently refreshed without the need to imbibe cok juice, a rather impressive hotel, nope not where we are sleeping tonight, just a handy place for those who wanted to exchange some sterling/dollars/euros into the local Tenge.

Hello at the back do you not use Apple pay? I swore down I would never use it, but fuck me its handy, and it holds my nectar card in the wallet.

In April 1966 a catastrophic earthquake occurred with Tashkent at its epicentre, the lives lost were fortunately low but the historic city was destroyed and up to 300,000 people were made homeless. The city was rebuilt. The Hotel Uzbekistan was completed in typical brutalist Soviet style (isn't it gorgeous?) and even today stands as one of the landmarks of the city and best known examples of Soviet architecture in Central Asia.

It is built at a weird obtuse angle, with the facade covered with shade providing interlocking concrete blocks.

Given its size, it is surprising that it it only actually has 200 rooms; renovation is being undertaken to complete the conversion of the rooms to western standards. (e.g. sit down bogs and hot running water).

How much longer! It seems the cashiers are rather anal, any slight mark or crumple on dollar bills are rejected, form filling by hand in triplicate money counted and double checked by an assistant, sheesh. Back in the US back in the US back in the USSR

I just had to follow my instincts and , well a half open door is an invitation to enter? Surely

Damn that looked interesting and warranted investigation; but I got no further, challenged by some guy in a suit, not a clue what he was saying, but I got the impression he wanted me to leave the area. Jobsworth!

So it was back to the lobby to sit and sulk and wait, and wait and Hoofuckingray, it's done let's get going

Courage Monument

On the fringe of a tree filled park, a quiet spot, a small garden with large significance in the history of Tashkent

At 5:24 am on 26th April 1966, an earthquake of 5.2 on the Richter scale occurred: Tashkent was at the epicentre, it destroyed more than 500 acres of the city and surrounding area. leaving 200 dead and up to 300,000 homeless.

In 1976 On the 10 year anniversary the Earthquake Memorial was constructed as a lasting memorial to those that died

The memorial is in the form of a granite cube displaying the time of the first tremor, joined by a zig-zag to a plinth, symbolising the earthquake's destruction on which an Uzbek man protects a woman and child from the ground opening up before them.