Khiva There is a phrase Timur shared somewhere along the way that I keep returning to: the roots are sour but the fruits are sweet. I do not remember exactly what prompted it, but it felt like a description of Khiva most of all. Khiva is a walled ancient city, Ichon-Qala, and walking inside it feels like stepping directly into another century. The mud-brick walls glow warm in the late afternoon light. The tiled minarets and carved wooden columns of the mosques and palaces are