A day that begins with a visit to the Mausoleum of Sufi Saint and spiritual teacher Bakhouddin Naqshbandi (“The heart – with the God, hands at work”), continues on to the Summer Palace (where dancing boys and harem girls washed in donkey’s milk once frolicked for the pleasure of the last Emir), on to the beautifully stark Chor-Bakr Necropolis (a labyrinth of charismatic bird men, tiled tombs, and strange creatures straight out of an anime fever dream), a tandoor meat feast chased with fresh pomegranate juice, and and winds up with an over the top Hollywood blockbuster at the Boxoro Kinoteatri, a Soviet-era cinema where there’s only five people in the theater but there’s plenty of activity once the film starts including extended cell phone calls, musical chairs, and ongoing conversation which may or may be about the convoluted plot of The Last Duel.
