Undoubtedly my most powerful memory of Bukhara is sitting at the square, gazing at the Kalan minaret. It is so perfectly shaped. The adjoining mosque is another masterpiece. The same can be said of the little Ismail Samani mausoleum, dating from the 9th-10th century, and the four turrets of the Chor Minar.

Bukhara is a great destination: compared to the other Uzbek sites it is more lively than Samarkand and less museum-like than Khiva. It has a lot on offer from different periods and merits a visit of at least 3 days. In the evenings you can relax, eat and drink on one of the terraces around the Lab-i Hauz pond. This area especially has become touristy, as have the bazaars. Although Uzbekistan cannot be considered a major tourist destination, enough of them come here to provide a living for the many restaurants, hotels and souvenir sellers in town.

Part of the WHS is also the 16th-century women's hammam. It was my first visit to a hammam ever and a memorable experience. Imagine sweating away in a 500-year-old monument that has been used by many many women in this period. At first, I was still in my "visiting a monument"-mode, just admiring the heated cells covered all over with large dark gray stones. The image then was completed by the arrival of several very fat naked Uzbek women, scrubbing each other or lying on the cold floors pouring buckets of water on themselves. It is rare that one still can see life as it was centuries ago. And become a part of it, as I was washed from top till toe by a small Uzbek grannie.