I'm back to hunkering down in a capital city for a few days with some couchsurfers and some friend I met in Bishkek, as well as enjoying some of the comforts that come with said cities (mainly food variety, bars and decent internet). Usually, when I'm in cities like this, I spend most of my time wandering aimlessly to see what I can see and get a feel for the place. Here in Tashkent, I thought I'd walk over to the "Seattle Peace Park" in Bobor Park.
Apparently, Seattle and Tashkent have been sister cities for quite a while. Back in '88, a bunch of kids from both countries created tiles to celebrate that connection and to call for peace between the Soviet Union and the US. Then, a bunch of Seattleites came out here to Tashkent to help build this park. Here are some of the photos:
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| Hooray! |
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| The park. The tiles were all at foot level, some hidden on the inside of the treebeds |
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| the mosaic globe (Soviets are big on mosaics) |
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This sculpture was done by the same guy who did the "Waiting for the Interurban" sculpture in Fremont
Research credit: Anna Kramer |
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| closeup of the tiled wall |
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| Some tiles were hidden in a drainage gully |
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| "Hi Mom" - maybe his mom was Soviet? |
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| I can't tell if the one on the left is some version of "rock, paper, scissors" or not |
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| The personalized ones were my favorite |
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Especially the VERY personalized ones.
Someone please call this number and see if they remember making this tile... |
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| wise words, little one |
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| Some tiles were worse for the wear. |
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| Who's "Sunbeam"? |
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| Like a headbutt? |
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| Woo Space Needle! |
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| A decidedly less optimistic tile... |
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| one of the more eloquent tiles |
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| reppin' CBP! |
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| ...so, is "horses" code for "peace"? |
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| Thunderbird, thunderbird, thunderbird hooooo! |
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| Stacey says it straight up |
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| There were a couple for Led Zeppelin and the Doors tucked in there somewhere... |
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We do need more of that "Understanding Fish."
I hear it's delicious with a bit of dill and lemon. |
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| God loves you, even if you are a godless commie... |
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| God REALLY loves you |
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| Woodinville, perhaps? |
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| This little teddy lost his parachute |
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| Peace Bear! |
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| This is one of my favorites. It translates to "Dog of Peace!" |
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| "Peace is good, War is not." |
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| 4 eva |
Oh yeah, and I got a haircut:
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| Before: Scruffy McTerrorist, potentially... |
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| After: all clean! complete with Uzbek hairstyle (on French-Irish hair) and blinding sunlight |
Holy Haircut Batman! I literally was like: "Who's that guy traveling with Shawn?" Seriously.
ReplyDeleteThe Reverse Lookup shows the number on the tile (206-283-6659) as belonging to Ashley Magnuson, 2217 Warren Ave N (Queen Anne), Seattle 98109. I didn't call her. I'm too shy. ;~) --Tom A
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