Faces of Uzbekistan

Some portraits from Uzbekistan. My only comment here, something I would like to discuss at greater length in a future post, is that two of the biggest, most important cities of Uzbekistan, Bukhara and Samarkand, are actually culturally and ethnically Tajik, and so a lot of the people pictured below are probably Tajik-ethnic Uzbek nationals.

Uzbek men in Uzbek hats

Young boy in Uzbek hat. This kid was running a shaved ice stand, little boy serving other little boys.

An aksakal, or white-beard, and his wife, Bukhara

A Bukharan artisan and vendor

Beautiful gold teeth–a common Central Asian ornamentation

Also central to Central Asia–bread

Some non-Tajik minorities:

A couple Russian girls. Russians have been “left behind” in Central Asian countries in varying numbers, although many are choosing to emigrate to Russia.

An ethnic Korean woman selling what I believe Uzbeks would call salads, but to me look like Korean banchan. Most of the Central Asian countries have an ethnic Korean population, from a WWII-era migration from the Soviet Far East (near Korea) to Central Asia forced by Stalin.

A “gypsy,” belonging to a community in Samarkand that is believed to be the descendants of slaves that Tamerlane brought back from India. Note the tribal tattoos.