Central Asia 2024 – Blog

And they’re off!!! Our group are on their way to Dubai for a quick stop before carrying onto Bishkek…..

A stopover in Dubai, where group members found an amazing range of ways to enjoy their day stopover, including some great bargain taxi tours! Of course no stop in Dubai is complete without a meander through the Gold & Spice Souks.

First day in Bishkek and we had a fascinating visit to a local market, then home in time to wander in the park beside our lovely hotel, where magnificent horses roamed (?)   A splendidly formal welcome dinner rounded off the day.

Wednesday morning was a magically clear day for a trip to the mountains. A superb lunch at a very upmarket restaurant, where (women!) group members lined up for the loo along with a bride in a huge white crinoline confection (how did she manage)?  

In the afternoon our guide gave us an excellent introduction to Kyrgyz culture at the historical museum, followed by a walk through some of Bishkek’s beautiful parks and public spaces.  A great day was rounded off with dinner in a modern yurt, serenaded by a Kyrgyz group and finishing with delicious ice cream served in a yurt basket!

Today we had a stop at an historic look-out tower before a lunch stop at a welcoming family home, where we were fascinated with a demonstration of felting skills, as well as a lovely home cooked spread.   In the afternoon we had the chance to watch the skills of teams of horsemen battling to get a 25 – 30kg goat carcass into a goal at the end of a 120m playing area.   Their skill was amazing.   A bus ride on the very impressive trans Asian highway built by the Chinese brought us to our layside resort for the night.

An ancient area with some unusual features.

It was a long day from Lake Issuk Kul to Almaty.  We saw so many fascinating statues in the grounds of the restaurant where we stopped for lunch and then what a treat to arrive at the luxurious hotel in the evening.

Sunday in Almaty was Apple Fest – a city celebration.   We had another fascinating bird show in the morning, then headed to the Apple Fest in a big city park.   The highlight was watching a group of magnificently dressed and very sophisticated older women, who we discovered were designers practicing for a fashion show they were to do at the festival.   We even got to see a wooden Russian church which is the largest wooden building in the world! 

 A long trip to the spectacular Charyn Canyon, where we enjoyed more perfect weather for a walk down and through the canyon!

Today, saw us flying into Tashkent in Uzbekistan when we visited a very talented ceramic artist who shared both his family history and his deep love of his craft.

The group had an amazingly full insight into Tashkent in a single day!!! From major civic monuments to sad reminders of lost sons to uplifting art.

Some group members started the day with a trip on the metro, a look at the green areas in Tashkent, a wonderful visit to the Applied Arts Museum and finally the Railway Museum. The Railway Museum had an impressive line up of engines from 150 years of history, but what appealed to the group was a nostalgic gathering in a railway carriage

In the afternoon we moved on to the open spaces of Tajikistan and our hotel in Khujand, with views from the window to a castle and mosque directly over the road 

The castle viewed from our hotel proved to be a reconstruction of an historic citadel, housing a museum where out guide gave us a comprehensive walk through the whole history of Tajikistan from Stone age to current independence. After our history lesson we went to the mosque where men were gathering for Friday prayers, and mosque where men were gathering for Friday prayers,

In the afternoon we visited the independence monument, where a small museum covered the culture of the seven valley regions of Tajikistan and included a large relief map, where we had a geography lesson to add to the morning’s history. The prominent site of the Independence Monument had previously been occupied by a huge statue of Lenin, now shifted out to the suburbs and rather languishing in an unkempt park area

We headed for the hills for the weekend, well, in fact for the spectacular mountains.   Most of the journey on a wonderfully surfaced highway, but the last 24kms brought us down to earth (bump by bump). We decided that it would be a great international gesture to give some of the governments pothole mending money to Tajikistan.

En route we stopped at an historic citadel, which had been a trading point over the centuries on the Silk Road, then on a market town we admired the skills of the knife makers and black smiths.

Then it was up and up as we drove into the Tajik mountains, sweep through the huge steep gorges which brought us to the lovely peaceful lake of Iskanderkul and a welcome lakeside meal.

We woke to a magically clear morning in the mountains, with spectacular lake reflections for our breakfast view.

Then it was back through the mountains and south to the capital Dushanbe. On the way we had lunch in picturesque Tajik restaurant.

We then we were on our way to Dunshanbe and the hustle and bright lights of a large city. First stop was the National Museum, with its very wide ranging exhibitions, from the President’s state gifts collection to a replica 13m. Buddha statue.

Monday.   Very appropriate, as Dushanbe means “Monday City”

Our day in Dushanbe was bookended by the city’s magnificent buildings.   The day was forecast to be over 30 deg, so walking first thing seemed the right ide. We started off with marvelling at the modern structures and stunning public buildings set in park-like grounds.

To creates some marked contrast we travelled outside the city to the historic Hissar Fortress, a citadel well placed on a high point on the Silk Road, then back to the city.

Back in Dunshanbe we had a visit a delightful small musical instruments museum, where the music was so infectious that our excellent local guide Rashmat just couldn’t resist.

Then a special unscheduled evening treat, back to see those impressive buildings from our morning walk by night.

Today we headed overland to Penjikent, a small town near the land border between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. On the edge of the town is a huge archaeological site of the an important Sogdian Trade Settlement.

What an overwhelming sensory day in Samarkand.   I didn’t know where to start with images.

We have a very quick and easy border crossing to start the day and have met up with our replacement tour manager, a very interesting man, who will add a lot to the group knowledge and experience.

• We started our Samarkand experience at the famous Registan Square, and what better place for a group photo?
• We were intrigued there with the antics of a photoshoot in the square, with the photographer chasing the model all around the square.   After an extended visit a long leisurely lunch was most welcome, plus a recovery break at the hotel, before
• Heading on to the home and studio of Valentina Romanenko, a talented artist in clothing creations, whose creations reflect aspects of life and history in Uzbekistan, particularly the emerging freedom of women.   Of course a bit of shopping followed
• Another home visit for a splendid evening meal, and a very interesting talk with the granddaughter of the household
• Before returning to the Registan Square for an evening view

More glories of the past through Samarkand’s wonderfully preserved and restored monuments.

• The Bibi Khanum mosque, built by Tamerlane, was dedicated to his favourite wife.   He brought architects and engineers from throughout Central Asia and beyond (1st image)
• Then a row of tombs and mausoleums Shah-i-Zinda, place of a living king was also beautifully decorated (2 images)
• It was a day for getting up close and friendly with locals, before a highly entertaining and informative presentation at a silk carpet factory and training school (sorry, stupidly I have no images of that)

The journey from Samarkand to Bukhara took us through interesting countryside, where we learned about a wide range of crops, as well as mining and manufacturing.

We stopped at a ceramics factory, where traditional designs and glazes made an interesting contrast to our earlier visit to an artist ceramicist. We were delighted on arrival with our outstanding accommodation – a recently renovated historic courtyard house, right in the historic area

A walking tour of the old city took us all morning, and still there are places we want to return to.

A quirky much stroked bronze statue represents a Robin Hood character  much loved by The Uzbeks to this day

Nearby we were passed by a noisy political march, organised, we were told, by the President, seeking an extension to his term.

In addition to a wealth of mosques, madrassas, and other historic buildings, we added to our knowledge of daily life with an explanation of how a baby cradle worked, and a presentation by a 7th generation knife maker.

A bonus stop off at a puppet makers studio delighted the group.

Camels, electric childrens cars, bicycles, golf carts and scooters provided for every taste in transport outside the historic fort.

An international evening treat close to our hotel was a Korean choir singing in Italian. What more could you want in Central Asia?

This morning we visited the Palace of the Moon and Stars or the Summer Palace of the last Emir of Bukhara. The palace is a fission of Eastern and European styles which rooms showing the enormous wealth of the Emir.

The rest of the day was at a leisure and there is so much to do in Bukhara we didn’t have to think long about what to do.

Our long bus trip to Khiva was made interesting by viewing an interesting documentary on Savitsky and his museum (Nukus). WE also heard from our guide Jamshid about the country’s rich history and culture.

We were stopped at one stop to wait for a train which was to share our single lane bridge. It was a great anticlimax when the train turned out to be a small engine (known as a Ubentu).

On arrival in Khiva we enjoyed a great leg stretch with a walk around this small desert town.

What a amazing hotel!

A delightful guide took us for an extended tour of Khiva today. Like something out of Aladdin’s tale this town is a rich array of mosques, madrassahs, minarets and museums. Almost overwhelming.

Interspersed with the glimpses we found locals making the most of the perfect day.

Around hidden corners we came across some moments.

Our group’s “gentlemen of a respected age” providing a lesson on how to behave.

At the end of the day we had this amazing sunset from the hotel roof.

An unique experience today as we travelled north to Nukus.

Nukus’ highlight was a visit to the Savitsky Museum, where an excellent documentary introducing us to the this collection of 1000,000 Russian and Uzbek avant garde works of art. Igor Savistsky had collected 80,000 of them himself.

A brand new hotel waited us in Nukus. There we found a feast of local food accompanied by a presentation by a famous family group of musicians. Their lively efforts had the group up on their feet.

Another border crossing today as we travelled onward to the remote and unusual country of Turkmenistan. First we needed to cross over from Uzbekistan to Turkmenistan through the land border (including no-man-land) and then move on our way to the airport. Sometime this crossing can be long and difficult however for our charmed group is was straightforward – whew!

We moved onto the nearby city of Dashoquz with plenty of time for sightseeing, a leisurely lunch , a visit to a very impressive local museum, and a bazaar where local women showed us the vivid neck embroidery decoration. First important stop was lunch in a beautifully shady garden, Where better to enjoy a local beer?

We then headed out to a very extensive archeological excavation area, where we learned about the Partheon period of this part of Central Asia.

A coffee shop, where we had time for a relaxing stop before our flight to Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Once in Ashgabat our drive took us by the Kipchak Mosque. We had been told it was closed for renovation but we were delighted to find that it had reopened last week. A most impressive complex it was commissioned by the first President of Turkmenistan.

A gentle start after our late night arrival took us past a number of impressive monuments. One that appeals the most was globe with a bicycle. The inevitable stop at Lenin statue, this time it had not been removed to a remote location.

The visit to the breeder of the famous Akhal-Teke horses was amazing. These horses are so important to the Turkmen people. A number of our group rode the horses and one of our senior gentlemen of a respected age (our favourite new terminology) showed his riding mettle in spurning the leading rein.

Just before lunch we have a presentation of a wedding service- with a chance to appoint our own bride and groom.

Next stop was the magnificent Ertugrul Ghazi Mosque, a copy of Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, given to the country by Turkey. It proved to be a great place to meet the locals, including school children in the universal Turkman green uniform.

After a relaxing late afternoon, we made an early start to dinner to stop off at a shopping centre as we had been intrigued to see what was inside the magnificent mirror glazed building. WE followed this by a visit to the Russian Bazaar, which is not actually Russian at all 0 jus the location of a former Russian area of the city. Favourite purchase – caviar.

Our farewell dinner was something else!