Blog June 24th

Last night it rained! An unexpected

and very welcome blessing!

Temperatures dropped  from 37 to 24 degrees celsius! Robert and I made a long walk this morning along the canal and through the parks. Nature here is far ahead of more temperate climates. Trees, flowers and fruits behave as if it is August in Holland. I would too with such temperatures! Cichorei and Honey tree flowering, Chestnut and Oak already carrying heavy nuts, though still green; ripe apricots falling from the trees

lining the streets.

And some beautiful, incredibly big flowers.  

Yesterday was the celebration of Frouke and Johns 25^th wedding anniversary in the Netherlands. I was a witness at the time and through much of their married life. What a shame that we couldn’t share this event!

Instead, Robert and I went out for dinner at ‘our’ restaurant near to the waterfalls.

Lovely view and cool near the waterside.

And very expensive! What, when you drink

gin tonics and eat shrimps (all imported!

We toasted to our good friends, and to

our own wellbeing, in particular to the

prospect of going home in three weeks time.

Already we are looking forward to seeing and being with our children and their partners, my parents, and so many good friends. Meanwhile organizing the packing

up and saying goodbyes here while getting

as much of my book-writing done as possible.  

We'll keep in touch!

Excursion into Ferghana Valley

The reason to go was the invitation for the

wedding party of Zyo, a colleague of Robert. We were expected at 14:00 at Manangan, not knowing what to expect. So, together with Yasur, a former colleague with car, and a good driver as well, we set out on Friday 7:30 for what in fact was a three day holiday and excursion into this part of the country.

Fergana Valley is almost as large as the Netherlands, measuring 200 kms in length en 150kms width.  But to get there is a 5 hours drive, crossing the mountain range via a high pass, a few tunnels and a proper border control etc. On the map to the right, Tashkent would be at the location of the last n of mountain (4 lines up).

The wedding was a surprise. We happened to be invited for only the first part of a three day event, which we hadn't understood. Friday afternoon was for the bridegrooms’ friends and relatives. The VIPs ( = we and a German guy who had flown in the day before and came late) were led into a room at a table full of fruit and food; the Uzbekistan friends in another room, having the same good treatment on the floor, which is the custom here. And different foods being served the whole afternoon!

Zyo, his father and the VIP guests -->

As yAs you
 can imagine, I was an exception, as all the women were (naturally !?) in the kitchen, to do all the work. When we left and I wanted to say goodbye to  Zyo’s mum, feeling that at least I should honor  her for being his mum and the hostess and the lady in charge, it became a special event and I wasn’t allowed  to leave before I got a special present, a few meters of the locally made silk enough for a dress!

We left for our hotel. Which unfortunately was next to the garden/ bar where the start of the UEFA cup was being broadcasted on a large screen.  We experienced all the goals and the excitement about them,  especially  the Russia- Czech match! We thought we could go to sleep after the second match but a third one was on, bad luck.  

The next morning was another part of the wedding ceremony: at 05:00 plov (pilav) was being served for the men (about a thousand!). Robert and Yasur went there.

At 07:30 we left for Margilan, another 2,5 hours drive right through the fertile loess valley, which looks like the latest Dutch polders, flat, with a lot of canals (here for irrigation rather than drainage) and Poplars, Mulberry trees (cut back like our willowtrees, to feed the silkworm), wheat and cotton and vegetables. 

In Margilan we visted a modest silk factory and were shown the whole process from cooking the cocoons into silk threads, to colouring, weaving, knitting carpets (1 cm a day, by two girls from 8am -5 pm).

Afterwards, we were quite unexpectedly invited by family of Yasur, to the one-week-after-the wedding-party. It is custom that exactly a week after a wedding, the extended family comes to greet the new bride, who will bow three times for each guest. So we were there, being very warmly welcomed, with more food, more plov! And a very beautiful bride!

From there we went to Rishtan, another hours’ drive though mainly agricultural land, to a ceramics making family. Indeed they were there, and showed us how they make mainly teacups. The sun is so hot that they don’t need an oven to dry the cups! The 8 women doing the painting in a cosy and shady place.

We slept in Kokand, another old Silk Road city, where the mosks, the palace of the Khan and his 40 concubines, and many Madrassa’s have been demolished in 1919 by the soviets. We went to a very nice B&B, of a family famous for its woodwork. The lady in charge made us very welcome, prepared a lovely meal and we relaxed in her yard within the compound.

Next morning, Sunday, we visited the restored Jumi mosk, with pillars of red hardwood form India, the restored Kahns palace and a beautiful mausoleum, all very worthwhile.



















Around 10:30 we set out for our return trip to Tashkent, arriving warm and dusty at round 15:00.  

Beautiful sights on the way!

Working on my book

I am working daily now on my book " The Whole Earth" (in Dutch it is called: Heel de Aarde!)
It is about the opportunities we have to feed the whole world, by restoring agro-ecosystems into coherent, resilient systems. This is only possible by restoring natural cycles on various scales, at farm level, regional, riversystems, worldwide.
I found a very good website with examples, which I  recommend to people interested in this stuff: http://www.managingwholes.com/.  

A hot and hazardous week

A hot and hazardous week

Last week, life seemed to be under severe pressure, everywhere. While it is hot outside, daily temperatures above 30 degrees, roses flower and wilt within a week’s  time, red cherries on the trees in the street, summerflowers everywhere

….many things were turned upside down:

 

1. A Worldbank representative was here for a supervision mission of Roberts project. Hectic!   An error in the original contract (no money budgeted for the topographical survey, an essential part of the project) made for aggressive discussions, diplomatic maneuverings, finding and discussing alternatives, Robert not sleeping very well, and – in the end- an undecided conclusion on May 31^st.

The consultancy company (Roberts employer) now has to find additional money in the contract (the suggestion is to reduce international input) and take some additional financial risks and come up with a solution on June 7^th at the latest. Presently they are not willing to agree with this solution. If they don’t, the government here might decide to terminate the contract, (one month notice) and we would find ourselves home again by half July.  Que sera? But then again, the soup is never eaten as hot as it is served 

2. Our daughter Meike decided to quit her study psychology in the Netherlands. After all the efforts she had put in, it wasn’t what she wanted or had hoped for. What a disappointment for her it was! And a difficult decision to take. She is now reorienting herself and we hope she will be a happier and more satisfied person in the future.

Meanwhile life here just continues and we went to an amazingly good concert in the Roman Catholic Polish Church (picture left)  

3.  Of our good friends a couple is going through difficult times since about 2 years, which turned into a definite divorce announcement by May 30st. It is painful and sad, and we are in thought and emails very often with them.

 So our weekend now is suddenly very quiet and relaxed.

Picture right and left are of the Government park around the statue of the weeping mother (only open to the public on Sundays) and Government buildings strewn in it

So, we had some recent Uzbek friends for dinner on Saturday evening.

And this Sunday morning we took a long walk through the parks , enjoying the summer smell of roses, mowed grass and the wish-wush sound of fountains – which are turned on everywhere, for the better enjoyment of life of ‘the population’ .

To our surprise we recognised some beloved real tropical trees here,  next to West European species.