Richard And Jo Demeester's photos

Looking out at the domed roofs of the bazaar, the Kalon Minaret, the Mir-I-Arab Madrasa turquoise dome. In the foreground, the Ulugbeg Madrasa on the right and the Abdulaziz Khan Madrasa on the left create bookends for our vista.

Walking the streets of Bukhara, an elderly man gestured us in to his ramshackle home filled with curios and odd items from many different eras. Nothing formal - it was just his house, He showed us up ladders to his roof for some views over the town.

Historical landmark building in Bukhara.

Our hotel is a 19th century caravansary, with a cute octagonal inner courtyard.

Taken from in the grounds of the Kalon Mosque, Bukhara. The Kalon Minaret, a beautiful 12th century tower, is clearly visible, and to the left is one dome from Mir-i-Arab Madrasa.

Beautiful terracotta brickwork, where even the shadows come to life, bringing depth and interest to the exterior.

The western entrance is the only entrance left to this fortress.

Greatly damaged when the Soviets took Bukhara, the Ark is still undergoing renovations. Built and expanded over many centuries, it became the compound for the palace, until the decision was made to absorb Bukhara in to the USSR.

All that remains of Timur's Ak-Saray Palace. the two sides of the entrance portal. This must have been impressive before it was destroyed - you can see it only gets to where the arch would have begun.

A car we passed on the way south in Uzbekistan. Loading your car in this way is probably not legal in many countries, but it looked surprisingly sturdy, even though there only appeared to be one piece of rope running over the top. Looks like he may have done this before.

Certainly much humbler in size, the nearby Hazrat-Hizr Mosque in Samarkand presents an extremely colourful ceiling.

When built, in the 14th century, it was possibly the largest mosque in the world. Can you see Jo in the foreground? It is not possible to go inside, with the main dome still unrepaired after a 19th century earthquake. Peering through the doors and windows, giant cracks in the walls and ceiling make the structure look very vulnerable. Outside, though, that sense is lost, and the colossal facade is humbling. The historians, though, record that the building was done so quickly, and the engineering was stretching the limits so much, that cracks started appearing even before the works were complete. It's no wonder, then, that some movements in tectonic plates might cause the whole endeavour to appear precarious.

A picture might be worth a thousand words. This one is worth one word. A very important word.

It hardly ever rains around here, so the lack of a roof seems hardly an issue.

OK, it was not just for the two of us, but the array of foods meant we did not start any of our days hungry. On top of these dishes, we were given a small bowl of porridge, a fried egg, and a sausage. No complaints from us.

Shah-i-Zinda is like a little street lined with mausoleums. Here we can see some of the work in detail, including where it has curved to create shape and form as well as texture and colour. Looking past the tiles, the Octagonal Mausoleum can be seen, unusual in that it is open sided.