Quiet day today, a ‘free’ day wherein we have no guide or driver and slept in, explored a little, but the 45C heat was too much for me yet again and I lost energy so quickly.
The air is so dry it removes moisture from inside your mouth in one breath. Instantly on opening to breath through the mouth, it feels like sticky leather. I have tried to breathe through my nose when walking, but the nose is putting up a fight too and ceasing to function as an airway, constricting to reserve moisture. So the mouth opens and the cycle begins again. I have had a little more success breathing through my mouth with my tongue touching my palette. Interesting to have used this warm up air when skiing in cold weather, and doing it here to retain moisture.
We walked to the Registan again today, to scope out where we might go for the Son et Lumiére show this evening. This is not an event I am interested in, but I *am* interested in warmer light on the Registan than noon-day 6500˚K, which is what I am assuming the colour temp is at that time of day. So, so blue and devoid of character. The place closes at 8pm, so we’ll arrive for 7 or so to have that hour to wander and hopefully see some better light on things.
After the Registan, we walked to the Bibi Khannum mosque and that did me in. There is little to see at this location, beyond what can been seen at the Registan in greater scale and grandeur, but the Bibi Khannum complex is quieter, less imposing and with a kind of small forest of some 30 trees in the courtyard is quite lovely to walk through. Most photos below are from the Bibi Khannum.
Tile work unfinished in Antiquity; the markings for future work still visible on the fascia:
The Siob Bazaar (market).
We went back to the Registan last night to see the site at dusk, and somehow stayed until the Son et Lumiére show. But the evening light was nice and the drop in temperature to a wonderful 25C or so was entirely welcome. I’ve mentioned temperature in this series quite a lot and that gives an idea of how much it impacts daily effort and experience.
Here are some photos from returning to the Registan.
