Speaker A
Even as a child, I dreamed of becoming a train driver because my father was one. He drove old Soviet machines. The working conditions were really tough back then. Today, everything is much better and more [Music] comfortable. The railroad is still a lifeline for Uzbekistan and its 33 million inhabitants. It takes about 20 hours to go from Tashkent across the country to the east to the former shores of the [Music] Aral Sea. The road network is poor in Uzbekistan, and flying is expensive. Because of this, most people just take the train. Uzbekistan is located in the heart of Central Asia between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan. Our journey takes us from the capital Tashkent towards sand along the Hisar Mountains and further to Bukhara and across the desert to the almost dried-up Aral Sea. Water is the greatest treasure of this dry country. [Music] In the 1970s, several dams were built on the slopes of the Tianan Mountains, which still fulfill Tashkent's water needs today. But there's not just water in these mountains. Hidden deep within them is a secret that the Soviet Union guarded for decades. In the 1940s, uranium was discovered. CED here for the miners, a top-secret city was built out of the ground. Today, it looks like a ghost [Music] town. One of the last inhabitants of Yanaba is Marat Enyv, who was one of the first people born here 67 years ago. Every morning, he makes his rounds. First stop, the daycare. I was only one month old when my parents brought me to this daycare in 1954. Now nobody has left. When the Soviet Union collapsed and the mine was closed, there was no more work, and almost everyone left. Things are lonely in Yad. The former music school, like the whole city, was built by Volga [Music] Germans. It feels like a faded European memory in the middle of [Music] Asia. When I was a child, I took piano lessons here. After three years, the teacher told my parents that I shouldn't come anymore because I had no chance of becoming a musician. I was incredibly happy with this statement. Five years ago, Meret got married for the second time to his childhood sweetheart Lissa. What are we having today? Soup. Will it taste good? Of course, you know it will. I can't remember. There's new life in Yad again. The Olympic boxing team is training here in the pleasant mountain air. Lissa and Marat have befriended young Soba and perhaps adopted her a bit. I started boxing in 2017, and I've been on the national team since 2019. Half of the month, I'm at home, and the other two weeks I train here. [Music] And the training is hard for the Olympic team. While boxers in other countries prepare for the competition in high-tech gyms, the coach in Uzbekistan has more rustic methods in mind. [Music] Originally, we only trained men here, but for six years, we've been preparing girls for competitions as [Music] well. And the regimen is strict: get up at 5:00, then an endurance run, after breakfast training in the hall, followed by stone lifting at the river. I want to succeed. I hope to take part in the Olympic Games someday and win a gold [Music] medal. The training in Yad is exhausting, so it's nice to have a surrogate family like the one Saiba [Music] has. Greetings, my big girl. Now eat a nice bowl of soup. I am very homesick, but my will to achieve something in boxing is simply greater. It's so nice to have you because we miss our own children. Marat's sons, like so many others, have long since left. [Music] Yad. The Silk Road Express has left the mountain behind and is now moving through increasingly sparse [Music] vegetation. The construction of the railroad began here more than 100 years ago. In Soviet times, the railway network was the highest priority, and there still is a lot of construction going on. Thousands of years ago, caravans traveled along the banks of the Zarafshan River to the east and west. It's the lifeline of probably the most legendary city in Central Asia, Samarkand, the center of the city, Registan [Music] Square, today a popular spot for photos and in the 15th century the site of the most prestigious university in the Islamic world. Uzbekistan is considered a police state and recently even has special police for tourists. Twins Fatima and Zra were actually English teachers before they joined the police. Their beat: the Registan. To wear a uniform was a dream from our childhood, and uh, how uh, opening new department, the tourist police department, we were the first who started to work here, so uh, I thought uh it's me, and I took my sisters with [Music] me. Patrolling isn't that easy for the two of them because the tourists want one thing above all: a photo with the twins in uniform. The people, uh, especially teenagers, wanted to take a picture, and mostly girls, they wanted to be like policemen like us. This place was a hub for mathematics [Music] and astronomy in the 15th [Music] century. Shahi Zinda is a magical place. For 600 years, the necropolis has been hanging on the hills over [Music] Samarkand. Abdduani calls the faithful to [Music] prayer. The large tomb lies within the twins' precinct because we work in this, uh, place, historic place, and when we have a nice, uh, relationship, I may say relationship, then, uh, work will be easy. Uh, if some troubles happen with the tourist, we may work [Music] together. During Soviet times, the 11 morels were left to decay, but recently they've undergone extensive [Music] restoration. In the past, life as a devout Muslim was very difficult. There were only a few mosques in which one could pray. There was hardly any possibility to train as a muin. Today, there are 2,000 mosques in Uzbekistan, and new ones are still being built. Every Muslim can once again freely and openly practice their beliefs. Abd is also responsible for the care of the tombs, the most important place in the complex, the tomb of Abas, who is said to have brought Islam to Samarkand. For me, it is always a deep feeling of gratitude that I am given the honor of serving here. This is a holy place because Abas, who lies here, was the prophet's cousin. It's evening in summer. The police twins Fatima and Zukra have been invited to their grandmother's house for a small family [Music] celebration. I am so proud of my two granddaughters. When I was young, it was unthinkable for a woman to wear a uniform. The twins each have one daughter, are divorced, and live independently. Our parents gave us a really nice life because they hadn't such life in their own life, and now we try to be, to show our best for our children. [Music] [Music] To the east of Samarkand, mountains rise abruptly from the landscape. Here once stood the magnificent palace of Timur, who conquered all of Central Asia in the 14th century. The Hisar Mountains are the westernmost foothills of the Himalayas. Here, over millions of years, the deepest caves in the world were formed. Speleologists Vladimir Dolki and Pavl Bear are on their way to uncover a great secret. Back there, I can see it. We want to go to the Toran cave to investigate. Legend has it that Timur hid there with his entire army. We want to find out if this was actually possible, but the route is long and difficult. [Music] After 18 hours on bumpy roads in an all-terrain vehicle, they can continue only by foot. The trip was very long, and we're tired. We won't make it.
