If you ever decide to go to Bukhara, you must stay at the Amulet Hotel, which is located in the center of the old town, in an old Madrassah that has been converted into a bed and breakfast. We became particularly close with a younger boy who helped to run the hotel his family owned. He bought us mint tea and sweets whenever we came back to the hotel after a long day, played backgammon with us, and even came to the train station to help us buy our tickets. When we left, he carried our bags and hailed us a taxi, and even negotiated the price. And while his sympathetic character was not particularly unusual (as most Uzbek people, we found, are incredibly gentle and generous with their kindness), we were able to connect to him even more because he made a great effort to speak Tatar. It turns out his grandmother was from Bashkortostan and he summoned up all the words he could remember so he could communicate with us most easily. Amazing soul. Had to hold back tears when he hugged us goodbye.
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