Category Central Asia
Monday Morning Blues – Ceiling in Kok Gumbaz Mosque, Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan
Shakhrisabz was the birthplace of Timur on April 9, 1346, to the family of a minor local chief, and during the early years of the Timurid dynasty, enjoyed its considerable patronage. Timur regarded Shakhrisabz as his home town. It is 90km south of Samarkand, a scenic drive through mountains to get to.
Monday Morning Blues – Minaret of Islam-Kodjha in Khiva, Uzbekistan
Memories of my 2018 trip to Central Asia helped to sustain me through the barren Covid years. Khiva was one of the last places we visited and fabulous it was too.
Monday Morning Blues – Strange Fruit, Azerbaijan
During my 2019 visit to Azerbaijan, I took a train to Seki and whilst there took a local bus to an area known as Albania (nothing at all to do with Balkan Albania). Noted for its striking hilltop situation and tranquil villages, I walked to the church in Kish and spent a good hour doing […]
Tuesday Train Journey – Ashgabat to Mary in Turkmenistan
Today and every Tuesday I will be posting about an overseas train journey that I have made in the past. am reflecting on a trip that I made in 2018 from Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat to the eastern city of Mary. Having spotted a train travelling through the desert northwards from Ashgabat to Dashoguz close to […]
My Iconic Travel Moments – 2011 to 2019 (#2) – Samarkand in Uzbekistan
Number 2 – Samarkand, Uzbekistan My 2018 trip to Uzbekistan with travel buddy Hamish was absolutely superb. You may already have read about the Turkmenistan leg of the trip (Darvaza Gas Crater was iconic travel moment number 4). Uzbekistan just about edged it for me, and even then it was a pretty close call between […]
My Iconic Travel Moments – 2011 to 2019 (#4) – Turkmenistan
Number 4 – The Gate to Hell in Turkmenistan Turkmenistan was a truly amazing country to visit. From its surreal capital of Ashgabat to Ancient Merv and the city of Mary. One site however stands out as a truly memorable experience from my 2018 visit – the Darvaza Gas Crater in the remote Karakum Desert. […]
Turkmenistan Train Trip
I am reflecting on a trip that I made in 2018 from Turkmenistan’s capital Ashgabat to the eastern city of Mary. Ashgabat to Mary by Train Having spotted a train travelling through the desert northwards from Ashgabat to Dashoguz close to the Uzbek & Kazakh borders, our excitement to be embarking on our only train […]
Tashkent – The 3rd Reserve
Tashkent If you visit the Central Asian jewel of Uzbekistan, the likelihood is that Tashkent will be either your entry or exit point. The Uzbek capital is unsurprisingly somewhat in the shadow of the fabulous Silk Road cities of Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand and if like me it happens to be the 4th major spot […]
Ashgabat, Risen From The Rubble
The Ashgabat Earthquake In 1948 the capital of Turkmenistan was razed to the ground by a devastating earthquake. The two shocks lasted less than a minute in total, but are said to have measured 9.6 on the Richter Scale and claimed 110,000 lives, about 60% of the then population. This would make it the most […]
