- 9 hours ago
Great Central Asian Railway Journeys - Season 1 Episode 4 - Samarkand to Bukhara
Category
🎥
Short filmTranscript
00:01I'm embarking on a thrilling new railway adventure in Central Asia.
00:06Exploring the ancient Silk Road.
00:08This really is for me a dream come true.
00:11At a crossroads of civilizations.
00:13Amazing aromas.
00:15Where East met West.
00:17It is extraordinarily beautiful.
00:21I'll explore ancient cities.
00:24What splendor.
00:26Encounter breathtaking Islamic art.
00:29Brutalist Soviet architecture.
00:32And the doors begin to open.
00:35And magnificent railways.
00:37A legendary city deserves a great railway station.
00:41On my journey I'll see how since independence.
00:44Uzbekistan is shaping a modern identity.
00:48What a pleasure to meet you.
01:11I've been exploring Samarkand in Uzbekistan.
01:15One of the most ancient cities of Central Asia.
01:18I've visited its stunning madrasas.
01:21And the awe-inspiring tomb of Timur or Tamerlane.
01:25The 14th century emperor still revered here.
01:32This morning I've left Samarkand for the agricultural district of Jomboy.
01:38And accepted a lift to my next destination.
01:42My rail adventure across Uzbekistan continues zestily.
01:48In the fertile heart of Central Asia.
01:51Whose bounteous harvests of fruit used to nourish the Soviet Union.
01:57I'll look back in time to pre-Soviet times.
02:00When Russia occupied the region and built the Trans-Caspian Railway.
02:06And I'll learn how in the 19th century Russia and Britain vied for dominance in Central Asia.
02:12In what was known as the Great Game.
02:15I've been down some rocky roads in my time.
02:18I didn't know they'd lead to Central Asia.
02:26I began in the capital, Tashkent.
02:28Before taking the high-speed train to Samarkand.
02:31After enjoying fertile valleys, I'll move on to Bukhara.
02:35Whose medieval Islamic centre is superbly conserved.
02:39Before ending my trek in Navoy, one of the country's youngest cities.
02:5540 kilometres north-east of Samarkand, in the fertile plains of the Jomboy region.
03:01Stretch thousands of hectares of orchards.
03:05Agriculture employs nearly a quarter of Uzbekistan's workforce.
03:10With apple production at its core.
03:131.3 million tonnes, according to recent statistics.
03:19Agromir, a family-run business, is one of the largest growers.
03:24I'm with the son of the chief executive.
03:27Project manager Jahangir Jalalov.
03:33Jahangir, it's clear that you produce beautiful apples here.
03:37But what is the secret? Why is this such a good growing area?
03:41Well, first of all, we have a great climate to grow sweet and delicious apples.
03:50We get a lot of sun, so that helps to get the nice sweet taste.
03:56And the soil?
03:57Yeah, the soil is quite fertile. Certainly good to grow apples.
04:02And what about water, though? Do you have much water here?
04:04No. Water is a scarce resource, so we try to be as efficient as possible, and we implement drip irrigation
04:12to use the water as efficiently as we can.
04:15During the time of the Soviet Union, was there a policy of boosting fruit production in Central Asia?
04:21No. Back then, the main focus was on growing cotton.
04:27With the cotton, you had this great problem of over-irrigation, and that led to a massive reduction in the
04:35level of the Aral Sea.
04:36Are things getting better?
04:37Yeah, with the rotating from cotton to fruit, now we're able to use water much more efficiently.
04:44And at the end of the day, we get a produce that we can export at a higher price compared
04:49to cotton.
04:52So, do you want to talk me through the virtues of your apple?
04:55Yeah. The apple you're having right now is a variety called Pink Lady.
05:01It's harvested right about now, up to the end of November.
05:05I don't often have the opportunity to eat an apple direct from the tree.
05:09It's absolutely marvellous, isn't it, to have it that fresh, that juicy and that sweet?
05:13Yeah.
05:18Wild apples are believed to have originated in the mountains of modern-day Kazakhstan.
05:24Before being domesticated some thousands of years ago, they spread westward along the Silk Road to Europe.
05:31Here they're using modern agricultural techniques to maximise production.
05:39We plant a lot of dwarf trees.
05:41They don't grow as high, so they grow up to 3.5 full metres.
05:45And they're planted quite close to each other,
05:50so that way we have about 3,500 trees per hectare,
05:55whereas conventional orchards have 600 to 800,
05:58so that helps us be more productive,
06:01hence saving a lot of water and using the soil most efficiently.
06:06It's a perishable product, so logistics, storage, chilling, these things must be important.
06:12Yes, that is a key component of our business.
06:16And we have a large logistical complex right on the farm here
06:22where we store about 20,000 tonnes of apples.
06:2420,000 tonnes?
06:26Yeah.
06:3020,000 tonnes of apples were valued at almost US$10 million in 2023,
06:38with Kazakhstan and Russia being the largest importers.
06:42Apples are also a staple fruit in Uzbek households.
06:47Such a contrast, we've only come a short distance,
06:49but from that rural idyll of the orchard,
06:53here we are in this immense factory.
06:57Absolutely huge, isn't it?
06:58What goes on here?
06:59Yeah, so this is a sorting and packaging line.
07:03So, if I put one on here...
07:05Yep.
07:05For example...
07:07Yeah, the belt will take it right up to the line.
07:10It goes through initial washing
07:12and then through the sensors and calibration
07:15where it separates apples according to shape, size and colour.
07:20This is computerised?
07:22Yes.
07:22This is fully automated
07:23where you have these little scanners
07:26that will sort the apples for you
07:29and it sorts out about 200 tonnes per day.
07:34This begins to look a little bit like a supermarket checkout,
07:37but what goes on here?
07:39This is packaging now.
07:40Yeah, the apples that were pre-sorted through the line
07:43go here for packaging
07:45and they go down the belt to the market.
07:57It's great to have escaped the city,
07:59to feel remoteness in the Earth's largest continent.
08:05And it's getting a bit chilly.
08:06Today, the climate here is continental.
08:10So, extremes of temperature.
08:13Uzbekistan is landlocked
08:15and the countries that surround it are landlocked too.
08:20So, I'm very distant from the sea,
08:24very far from home
08:26and enjoying it.
08:36The nearest coastline is the Caspian Sea,
08:39around 1,500 kilometres west of Samarkand.
08:43I return to the beautiful station,
08:46a domestic and international hub
08:48to catch a westbound train.
08:50Around 6.5 million people
08:53visited Uzbekistan in 2023
08:55and tourism is growing.
08:58Hello.
08:59Hello.
09:00May I join you a moment?
09:02Please.
09:02Where are you from?
09:04Italy.
09:04Italy.
09:05Italy.
09:06You've been visiting Samarkand.
09:07Yes.
09:08Did you enjoy it?
09:09Yes, it was wonderful, beautiful.
09:12Really?
09:12Yes.
09:13Why did you come to Uzbekistan?
09:15What made you think of visiting Uzbekistan?
09:19Because in Italy, there is a singer, Roberto Vecchioni.
09:25Hmm.
09:25He sing a song.
09:30Yeah.
09:30The name of this song is Samarkand.
09:33Oh, yes.
09:34Uh-huh.
09:34So, that's why you're here,
09:35because of the song.
09:37Have a wonderful trip.
09:40So nice to talk to you.
09:41Bye-bye now.
09:42Bye.
09:42Bye-bye.
09:43Bye-bye.
09:51I leave Samarkand for Bukhara,
09:54using an historic railway line which shadows the ancient Silk Road.
10:02At the end of the 19th century,
10:04the Russian Empire covered one-sixth of the land mass of the world.
10:09It was the third largest empire in human history,
10:12after the British and the Mongol.
10:15And even after Russia had sold Alaska to the United States,
10:19the empire was difficult to govern.
10:21And so Russia built railways,
10:23partly to link the empire together,
10:25and partly to be able to move troops quickly to trouble spots.
10:29The Trans-Caspian Railway from the Caspian Sea to Tashkent
10:35was one of its most spectacular projects.
10:44Welcome to the French Empire of Bukharaa,
10:48which was built in
10:48and looked at Georgebelskaja.
10:49Thank you for collection.
10:58manner of black children and fairness rever Marvelelles
11:18dramatically
11:19We're passing through
11:21step
11:22this scrubby
11:24Wasteland you can imagine that it stretches for hundreds and
11:27Possibly thousands of kilometers across Central Asia and I can imagine in days gone by
11:34The caravans moving along the Silk Road and then in the 19th century the Russian railway builders
11:42trying to cope with this
11:45fairly hostile landscape
11:48To learn about the construction of the Trans Caspian Railway
11:52I've arranged a rendezvous on board with railway enthusiast Dmitry Kostushkin
11:59Hello Dmitry. Hello Michael. It's great to see you
12:04Nice to see you Clara. So um, we're now traveling I think on part of the route of the Trans
12:09Caspian Railway
12:11Was it difficult to build the railway?
12:13Actually, it was complicated because of nature especially in the dune sand
12:18Shifting sand? Shifting sand, you're right. Did the Russians realize quite early on that they would need railways
12:24To connect their expanding empire? Yes. Actually, it was important for military reasons. Yeah
12:30Just as for logistic for example from Arendburg to Tashkent or to the Caspian sea
12:38It was like 2,000 kilometers. Yeah
12:41When the railway reached cities like Samarkand, what was the reaction of the local people?
12:47From the beginning it was
12:49Uh such a surprise and shock situation of course you can imagine people who
12:55Used camels horses and donkeys at the same time such a iron horse or iron elephant even
13:02So it was and also it was the problem with invasion by infidels
13:07Where they seem to be as russians. They were not muslims
13:10That was the main problem
13:13So a fair amount of hostility and then once the railway was built did people come to accept it?
13:19Not from the beginning but as soon as they realized the profitability of the railway lines
13:24Because can imagine that in the past it took for example three months to come from Tashkent to Arendburg
13:30And with the railway line it took only three days
13:33So just like a smooth way to sell their goods and receive also the foreign goods
13:43After a 270 kilometer journey across steppe and desert we arrive at Bukhara
13:51The station was built 12 kilometers outside the city's ancient and holy center as the railway was viewed with suspicion
14:00Shortly after the station's inauguration in 1888 a striking building of regal aspect sprang up next to it
14:09Dimitri a rather large and imposing palace a little bit dilapidated who was responsible for
14:17Commissioning this palace actually. This was a project
14:21by the emir of Bukhara
14:23So Abbalahat Han
14:26The style what would you call it? It's imperial I suppose
14:30Then we've got moorish arches and it feels a bit italian as well
14:34Exactly it's a mixture of
14:37European and oriental styles
14:40The seventh emir of Bukhara's last dynasty ruled over a state established in
14:461785 which covered most of modern-day uzbekistan and parts of its neighbors
14:53When the railway and palace were built the emirate had been defeated and had become a protectorate of the russian
15:00empire
15:01Why was the palace constructed here near the railway station rather than in the city the idea was for
15:08the emir of Bukhara to have palace here to
15:13Accept and and to welcome any foreign or russian
15:19Diplomatics also traders also
15:22to invite the
15:24Russian Tsar nicholas the second
15:27So very important people could come from the railway station directly
15:31To the palace exactly almost like a vip waiting room for the that's right
15:37Yes, did the tsar ever come here it never happened
15:41No, and honestly speaking the emir of Bukhara also did not stay not a single night in this palace because
15:48it was not so
15:49Fashionable for him in soviet times
15:52How was this building used in soviet times it was used like the club of the railway man
15:57Ha ha ha because we're right by the railway station exactly exactly it's
16:03five minutes to walk to the railway station of Bukhara
16:07Very interesting dimitri what a pleasure it's been to meet you that's my pleasure i'm going to go and take
16:12a little look inside
16:13Take a look. Bye-bye. Enjoy
16:29Wow
16:32Faded grandeur
16:35Imperial pomp
16:37With a little dust on it
16:51What a magnificent room
16:53It feels as though the emir may just have left
17:17What a superb townscape
17:21I'm lucky to visit in autumn and this low light presents one of the most beautiful city silhouettes that i've
17:28ever seen
17:34The holy center of Bukhara is impressively well preserved and is a popular tourist destination
17:41It has the feel of a living museum with its maze of narrow streets and exquisitely decorated mosques and madrasas
18:00In the ninth century it became an important center of islamic scholarship
18:06I was the capital of the samanita dynasty
18:09It was the capital of the samanita dynasty
18:35In one of the city's madrasses, the Bukhara State Philharmonie
18:39is performing a traditional Uzbek dance, distinctive of this region.
18:53I'm told that these costumes of the women are particular to Bukhara
18:59and their movements too.
19:02There's a stately grace to them, an elegance.
19:14What I find impressive is that these young women dancers
19:20are so committed to their tradition,
19:23so enthusiastic about maintaining it.
19:30I feel immensely privileged to be able to witness this dance
19:34in this marvellous setting.
19:35It's so colourful.
19:36I am in love with the colours of Uzbekistan.
19:47Thank you, Sam.
19:49That was fantastic.
20:11The centre of Bukhara is dominated by the Ark,
20:15a huge citadel dating to the 4th century BC,
20:19which served as the political and military heart of the region.
20:23The Ark, the wonderful fortress of Bukhara.
20:29I've never seen towers like them.
20:32It's as though they'd sagged.
20:34It's so beautiful.
20:37Throughout its history, the Ark was a symbol of royal power,
20:41home to the Khans and emirs of Bukhara.
20:45It became the grim stage for a bloody drama
20:49in the struggle between two great empires competing for dominance
20:54in Central Asia.
20:56Throughout much of the 19th century,
21:00Britain feared that Russia intended to attack India.
21:05And Russia became very suspicious of Britain
21:08when it fought two wars to control Afghanistan.
21:13The immense rivalry between the two imperial powers
21:18was played out across the chessboard of Central Asian states.
21:22And the British ruling class,
21:26trained on the playing fields of their public schools,
21:30referred to it as the great game.
21:33But for an unlucky few, it proved deadly.
21:52In the heart of the Ark, I meet local academic, Jamshed Safarov.
21:59Jamshed.
22:00Michael.
22:01What a pleasure to see you.
22:02And in such surroundings.
22:04This is a magnificent hall.
22:06What used to happen here?
22:08Yes, indeed.
22:08It's the heart of Ark of Bukhara.
22:11It is called the coronation or throne hall,
22:14where rulers would sit on their thrones,
22:17holding the meetings with the administration
22:19and during the festivities.
22:21Bukhara was a holy city.
22:24Yes, of course.
22:25We should emphasize that from the ancient times,
22:28Bukhara was always perceived
22:30and it was the center of religion.
22:34People would say that if the whole earth
22:37receives the rays from sun down,
22:41Bukhara radiates the light towards the sky.
22:45In the middle of the 19th century,
22:47what sort of a place was Bukhara?
22:51Bukhara was the capital of the vast Bukhara emirate.
22:55One of the three monarchies,
22:56Uzbek monarchies,
22:57who ruled the territory of Central Asia.
23:00Bukhara was in the middle,
23:02squeezed between Hiva and Kakan Khan.
23:05But Bukhara, at that time,
23:07was the most powerful power broker in the region.
23:10Did Britain make direct contact with the emir?
23:13There were always attempts,
23:15but in my opinion they were a little bit late
23:18because there were already quite established contacts
23:21between Bukhara and Russia.
23:22The emirate was in danger of becoming a Russian pawn
23:27in this game of global chess.
23:30And Afghanistan was the only buffer
23:32between the Russian Empire and British-ruled India.
23:36Britain dispatched an emissary to secure an alliance.
23:40But the fifth emir of Bukhara was ruthless and unpredictable.
23:46Britain was trying to deliver the message of assurance
23:50that the interest of Britain is limited with Afghanistan itself,
23:54not further north.
23:56One of the stories related to these attempts
23:59was of course the tragic story of Colonel Charles Stoddart,
24:03very proud young officer from the army
24:07who arrived in Bukhara with a lack of knowledge or arrogance.
24:11He rode on horse without any gift to emir,
24:16which was totally unacceptable against any tradition.
24:20Emir was offended,
24:22and he was immediately arrested and put in prison
24:26just behind of this fortress in Zindan.
24:29And later on some stories tell that he was kept
24:32in the so-called bug pit,
24:34the deep hole in the ground
24:37where presumably the prisoners were kept in the total darkness
24:42and the scorpions, insects and rats were thrown on their heads.
24:48With Colonel Stoddart imprisoned,
24:51a diplomatic rescue mission was mounted
24:53by another British officer, Captain Arthur Connolly.
24:57He had first coined the phrase, the great game.
25:00He was much more knowledgeable about the traditions
25:03and the languages, but he also failed.
25:07So he was also arrested and kept at the same prison.
25:11And after one year, they both were executed
25:14just in front of fortress in Registan Square.
25:17They were beheaded.
25:19Extraordinary.
25:20Did the emir of Bukhara not fear retaliation by the British?
25:24Of course, by that time, emir knew that Britain
25:28is losing the war in Afghanistan.
25:31So that's where the level of challenge or fear was quite low.
25:37Yes.
25:37I would say.
25:38So as British prestige rose and fell,
25:41so the emir could calculate his response.
25:44Yes.
25:45But also, another, I think, more important factor in this
25:50was the internal feudal strife within Bukhara.
25:54Emir could not show his weakness.
25:58Yeah.
25:58He should be always a strong man.
26:00Yeah.
26:01And of course, the execution of Stoddart
26:04and his colleague Arthur Connolly
26:06was one of the attempts to present this power.
26:11Jamsi, when do you think the great game comes to an end?
26:13I would say, by the late 19th century,
26:17when Central Asia basically become part of the Russian Empire,
26:22and Britain failed twice to conquer and pacify Afghanistan.
26:27But that time, both Britain and Russia
26:31were understanding that they are approaching
26:33for some greater war.
26:34The World War I was approaching.
26:36They come to the understanding to conclude this competition
26:41on influence and power in Central Asia.
27:08The glory days of Tamerlane's great realm
27:11are long ago.
27:12The Russian Empire has come and gone.
27:16Even the Soviet Union has collapsed.
27:19History mocks empires because,
27:21no matter how solid they appear,
27:24however violent they may be,
27:26they are not forever.
27:28What endure are the passions of the people
27:31for their families,
27:33their connection to the land that brings them food.
27:36As I journey along the ancient Silk Road,
27:39I am learning to distinguish
27:41between the transitory and the everlasting.
27:52Next time...
27:55Oh, what a beautiful yurt!
28:03Michael, you see?
28:05You're basically going to boil it in a sort of sock.
28:08Yeah.
28:09Okay.
28:15You do me a great honor.
28:16A great honor.
28:17Thank you so much.
28:19all around for your friends.
28:19Ah, thank you so much.
28:22Thank you all.
28:23All the things that you do
Comments