A Carpet Ride to Khiva: Seven Years on the Silk Road Paperback – October 19, 2010

We will be visiting Uzbekistan and were told to read this book. It is well written and I learned about the history, the culture, the silk worms, the carpet industry, the politics, the traditions, the people and more. Excellent read!

This is the non-fiction story of a British man named Chris Alexander. He traveled to Khiva to write a guidebook and ended up being mesmerised by the area and staying. He become facinated by the ancient Silk Road, and ended up opening a shop to weave intricate carpets that were native to the area. The story is his journey of living as a foreigner in this part of the world - how he fell in love with the people, the struggles he had living there (and what he saw around him - like frequent power outages and constant bribes to get things done), and finally the heartbreak when he had to leave.This story was incredible. First - the book is very well written. Non-fiction for me can go only two ways - extremely interesting, or extremely dull. I hardly ever find just a middle of the road book. This one, thankfully was extremely interesting and I found myself reading late into the night just to finish the book. The stories he shared, and the situations he witnessed will draw you in. I am always impressed with people like Chris - who takes a leap like the one he did in a country that can be tricky for expats. Yes - we moved to Switzerland as expats, but this is Uzbekistan. Totally different ballgame.You will love this book. I learned an incredible amount about a country I knew nothing about. Please take a chance to read this book. You will not be disappointed.

Nicely written account of starting a charity rug business in Khiva, interwoven with insights and tales of life in Uzbekistan in the mid-2000s. Glad I picked it up before a trip to the country.

Having visited Khiva several years ago the book brought back wonderful memories and much more. I found it fascinating to discover the many different aspects of life in Ouzbekistan. The endemic corruption is well known & visible (as in the roadworks, the restoration of the monuments...etc) but just how widespread & its impact on the society ( one example, teachers have to bribe the director to get their salary) is well described as is the people's kindness & friendliness. The author's efforts to help the forgotten (the divorced, the crippled women etc) with a paid activity making carpets with traditional designs using natural dies is marvellously described. His first visit to Afghanistan (which I have also visited) to look for natural dies is another vignette of life in the Middle East.

I enjoyed this book tremendously and planned to give it a five-star rating, until a few jarring words disappointed me. I enjoyed it for the excellent writing and the fascinating subject matter and the comforting sense that the author had done good in the world. The disappointment came when I read the gratuitous swipe at Israel. As an Israeli, I found this offensive. There's certainly justification for criticism of Israel, like any other country, in specific areas. Indeed, I have my own criticisms. But there was absolutely no need for the author to tell his readers that he doesn't like Israel in a book that has absolutely no connection with Israel, written by someone who doesn't share even basic autobiographical information about his own background and motives for doing what he did in Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. Israel is the only country extraneous to the book's subject matter which is even mentioned. I attribute that to a hatred for my country and its people which most likely isn't based on personal experience or in-depth knowledge, and is therefore all the more gratuitous. It's not to the author's credit.

I read "Carpet Ride to Khiva" while living in Uzbekistan. I had also read "Dirty Diplomacy" and "Chasing the Sea" (both before I arrived in Tashkent). I particularly liked "Carpet Ride to Khiva" because it not only showed a bit of day to day life on the street and in people's lives in Uzbekistan, it showed how one man led others to make a difference in an area much in need of empowerment and success. I have a much greaer appreciation and knowledge of the carpet work I see after reading this book. While not as political as "Dirty Diplomacy", it definitely gave some insight as to the weight of the hand of government on the lives of Uzbek citizens. Mr. Alexander took risks to get the materials needed to start and maintain the training for the carpet school and shop. The book reads part adventure, part personal discovery with some revelsing stories into individuals likely still living and working in Khiva.While visiting Khiva, I visited the shop that Mr. Alexander started. I told the staff that I was there because I had read his book. They were delighted. I wound up buying two suzani pillow covers after unsuccessfully trying to dicker down the price. This is one of the few shops whose prices are final. As soon as I said that I felt the price was high the woman who was helping me pulled out a book and told me how many hours were spent stitching it. I quit dickering. The quality in this shop was excellent and I notied that, compared to the majority os suzanis I saw around Uzbekistan, the fabric felt more durable and the stitching closer and more filling.

I had the privilege of interacting briefly with the author as our time living in Uzbekistan overlapped. I'd forgotten he had written this until my wife stumbled across it somehow and wanted to pick up a copy. We've long wanted to write our own book about living in Central Asia. Chris captured much of what we would want to share, with many similar stories as our own, and did so in a way that is engaging, entertaining, and informative. Whether you're a couch traveler looking to experience one of the less known but more fascinating regions of the world, preparing to actually make a real journey yourself, or wanting to relive some old memories (like us), you'll find this a great read. Highly recommended!