Ferghana

After a tiring day yesterday we enjoyed a bit of a sleep in and the were able to have a late breakfast and leave the hotel at 9am. We drove to Marghilan where we first visited a silk factory to see the production of silk in the traditional way at the Yodgorlik silk  factory. While it was a Sunday and a day of no work they had several women there to show us the process. From boiling the silk cocoons and extracting the silk to washing and dying it with natural colors and then weaving it…the process was fantastic.

After some purchases we walked to the local bazaar and enjoyed buying some food to later have for lunch. Bread that had been baked in the ovens we saw in the street and fruit of all sorts. Apricots and cherries are in season so the cherries and dried apricots were a treat.

Relaxing afternoon. Vulcan received a wash and did some sorting once more in the car.

Once again a wonderful experience with locals. We planned to refuel our cars on the way back from the silk factory and as we had done different things at the market, this was not as a group. After 3 visits to service stations finding they had no petrol, we drove into a fourth. I got out of the car and pointed to the full cap so they understood what I was seeking. With only hand signals one of the men offered to guide us to get petrol. This became about a 5 km drive. What a delightful young man who had his son in the car with him. On arrival at the service station I gave the young boy a koala and when we had finished filling the car offered some money to the man (to pay for his petrol) and he refused it. How lovely people are and what a warm feeling it left with us of the people of Uzbekistan.