In brief: We tried four touristy activities in Turkmenistan as cultural filler. Some were enjoyable, but we found mundane things just as revealing. Outside of the white monuments of the white city of Ashgabat (read…
At three locales in Turkmenistan - Nisa, Konye-Urgench, Merv - past empires can be imagined once again from the limited remains not crushed into dust. Traveling in the five Stans countries, we often explored the…
The ostentatious capital of Turkmenistan is an eerie place, most of which is colored white and devoid of people.Though Turkmenistan is largely desert, it shares the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea with Kazakhstan and…
The beauty of Khiva comes from generations of leaders, like the last Khan, who built monuments for Allah - and for themselves.When he wrote poetry, a lot of love poetry, he called himself Feruz. When…
The legacy of stories, sovereigns, styles, and sects helped to distinguish Bukhara from the other famous Silk Road cities in Uzbekistan.Satiated by the richness of old Samarkand (see article), we wondered how the equally renowned…
After destruction by the Mongols, it took strong leaders like Timur and his heirs to build a city of stunning architecture, great learning, and durability.A dazzling showcase. The essence of the Silk Road. A UNESCO…
We end our Tajik stay at the remnants of its early cultures. For them, fire was a link to the heavens. To us, it still seemed to warm the hearts of the people.In our post…
In their passion for grand monuments, the current leaders of Tajikistan aim to make the capital heir to the empires of the past. Once part of the emirate that ruled from Bukhara in current Uzbekistan,…
You could endure a 10-hour tour and perilous roads to see the Seven Lakes...or just enjoy the beauty through our slideshow.In Part 1, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Beautiful, we highlighted the beauty…
Waterfalls, avalanches, mirror lakes, and extraordinary mountain landscape more than justified enduring Tajikistan's perilous dirt roads.Mountains. 93% of Tajikistan’s terrain is mountainous, with peaks of the Fann Range ascending to 5500 meters above sea level…