Away from the ‘big three’ tourist cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, Uzbekistan has a different side. We headed north from Khiva towards the Kyzyl Kum desert, to explore the ancient khanate of Khorezm. Around 50 kilometres north, surrounded by…
Khiva, a city locked in time
Hitting the road again, ever westward, we moved into the empty stretches of the Kyzyl Kum desert. It’s 450 kilometres from Bukhara to Khiva, along a bumpy road lined with back-breaking potholes – although there’s brand new tarmac under construction…
Bukhara, once the ‘Pillar of Islam’
A flat, featureless but fast road takes you between Samarkand and Bukhara, second of the ‘big three’ tourist cities in Uzbekistan. Here, much more of the old town (some dating back to Samanid dynasty of the 9th and 10th centuries)…
Into Uzbekistan, to Samarkand
We entered Uzbekistan, taking a few hours at the border for a detailed (but not over-the-top like China) search on the Uzbek side. Once free, we made our way through the rolling hills. Cotton is the staple crop here, although…