Khiva, Uzbekistan

Opevano mesto Khiva, o katerem smo pred odhodom poslušali le v superlativih, je bila naša zadnja postaja pred odhodom v Kazahstan. Če je mesto v svojih zlatih letih navduševalo obiskovalce s svojo zelo “zanimivo in pestro” trgovino s sužnji, pa v zadnjih letih navdušuje turiste predvsem s svojo arhitekturo. Pred stoletji si lahko kupil dobrega sužnja ali dva, sedaj mogoče kakšen lep krožnik, tradicionalno lutko ali podobno. 🙂 Poleg Samarkanda in Bukhare je Khiva mesto, ki ponuja največ arheoloških zakladov iz časa svilene poti. No, nas je Khiva pričakala v dežju in mrazu in nekaj sonca smo dobili le popoldan pred našim odhodom naprej. Stari del mesta, ki se skriva za mogočnim obzidjem in je bil že pred leti spremenjen v muzej na prostem, je bil ob našem prihodu prazen kot mesto duhov. Brez žive duše, brez energije, ki jo lahko ponavadi opazuješ v nekem lokalnem okolju. Praktično vse zgradbe v starem delu mesta so spremenjene v restavracije, hotelčke in ostalo turistično infrastrukturo. In ker smo potovali v nizki sezoni, je bilo v mestu zaradi zaprtih trgovin problem kupiti že ustekleničeno vodo. Stari del mesta je tako zaživel le na vikend dan, ko so tisith nekaj stojnic oblegali vsaj domači turisti. Kljub arhitekturnim biserom, ki jih Khiva ponuja, pa smo na koncu z nestrpnostjo čakali, da zapustimo sterilno mesto in se odpravimo naprej. Mislim da je Khiva le še eno izmed neštetih mest, mestec, vasic, ki zaradi globalnega masovnega turizma izgublja šarm in energijo, ki ga je verjetno imela le nekaj let nazaj.

* * *

Famous city of Khiva was our last stop before leaving for Kazakhstan. In its golden years the city impressed visitors with its very interesting and varied slave trade and in recent years tourist flock to the city because of its amazing traditional architecture. Besides Samarkand and Bukhara, Khiva is the city that offers the most archeological treasures from the time of the Silk Road. When we arrived to Khiva it was cold and rainy and we got some sun just hours before our departure. The old part of the city, hidden behind the mighty walls was turned into an open museum years ago. When we got there it was empty as a ghost town. Without a living soul. Without the energy you can usually observe in some local environment. Practically all buildings in the old part of the city have been transformed into restaurants, hotels and other tourist infrastructure. And because we traveled in the low season, everything was closed. Despite the architectural gems that Khiva offers, we ended up waiting impatiently to leave this sterile city and head on. I think Khiva is just another one of the countless cities, towns, villages that are losing the charm, the energy that it probably had a few years ago, due to global mass tourism.