Adventure, Travel, Photography, Culture
We spent the afternoon in Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. I didn’t realize it until I got to the Taj, that it is part of a huge complex of grounds and buildings. Photographs have a difficult time conveying the sheer scope of the place. What sets it apart from other sacred Islamic sites I’ve…
Travel to Uzbekistan and you will be hard pressed to experience a land and people with as deep a history so close to the surface. The people of Uzbekistan are friendly and beautiful. During our Silk Road trek, we crossed Uzbek desert and steppe overland because we wanted to see it all. From the viewpoint…
I met this lovely young lady while visiting the remarkable Samanid Mausoleum in Bukhara. When she saw me jotting down notes and taking photographs she approached me in that wonderful way children often do. She spoke excellent english and asked question after question from an intelligent curious mind. A while later she took me around…
We once again have access to youtube. This video from Bukhara shows a typical Silk Road Caravanserai. Thank you to Archaeologist Bekhruz Kurbanov for sharing his expertise.
We arrived in Kyrgyzstan yesterday and it was a remarkable change from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Gone is the sweltering heat of the black and red sand deserts. Gone too are the soaring domes and spires of lapis and turquoise. Mountains surround the city of Bishkek and the streets are full of cars and commerce. Statues of…
We visited the historic Samarkand Paper mill as part of our Silk Road expedition. It lies on the outskirts of modern Samarkand, beyond the opulent Registan Square of Timur. It can be found among the long stretches of old mounded earth, all that remains of the storied mud brick Samarkand leveled by Ghengis Khan. The…
While traveling through Central Asia on our Silk Road expedition, I noticed there were many shops and buildings dedicated to Puppet Theater. Archaeologist, Bekhruz Kurbanov explains.
Gentle Reader, We have arrived in Samarkand at last! Our journey overland from Bukhara covered 460 kilometers over roads that were rough but not nearly so much or so dusty as those in East Africa. Christy and myself began the day early and I enjoyed a breakfast of black coffee and a small omelette. On…
Portraits of Bukhara, girl and woman by Curious Lizard Portraits of Bukhara, Well of Job by Curious Lizard Portraits of Bukhara, young mother with children by Curious Lizard Soviet Era Amusement by Curious Lizard Christy at work in Bukhara by Curious Lizard
After three remarkable days in Turkmenistan we have arrived in Uzbekistan. Our Internet conection is inconsistent here while in most areas of Turkmenistan there was little or none at all. We had flown to Ashgabat Turkmenistan from Istanbul and spent the day there visiting the ancient Parthian Capital Nisa, National Museum and Sunday market. The…