31st May
At 2.30 am this morning we left the Rigs Hotel by taxi and were taken to the Azerbaijan port where we needed to be processed to get on the ferry to Turkmenistan. The whole process from whoa to go took 11 hours!!!! as we set sail on the Caspian Sea at 1.20pm today.
The Calypso crew were all delighted that CJ had managed to secure basic cabins for our 20 hour journey.
Turkmenistan is, according to the Lonely Planet, by far the most mysterious and unexplored of Central Asia’s ‘stans’. Turkmenistan is approximately 488,100 sq kms with its capital being Ashgabat and it has a population of around 4.88 million, is famous for its gas reserves, Akhal-teke horses and carpets.
It’s not known precisely when the first modern Turkmen appeared but they are believed to have arrived in modern Turkmenistan in the wake of the Seljuk Turks sometime in the 11th century.
With its enormous gas and oil reserves generating billions of dollars per year for the government of Turkmenistan today has the potential to be a very wealthy country. A new gas pipeline connecting Turkmenistan to China opened in 2009, ensuring access to the world’s fastest growing economy and more economic stability beyond the control of Russia.
The population of Turkmenistan is around 5 million with Uzbeks making up about 5% of this figure and living in the border cities of Konye-Urgench, Dashagus and Turkmenabat, Russians make up 4%, Turkmen ethnic groups 85% and other groups 6%.
Turkmenistan became famous for the truly bizarre dictatorship of Saparmyrat Niyazov, who ruled as leader of the Turkmen until his death in 2006.
Most of the day on the boat was spent reading and eating all the snack food we had previously bought in Baku as there was no cafeteria, television, games room or lounge on board the boat.....only very basic facilities.
1st June
A loud bang on the door this morning at 5.30 am woke us up and looking out or our port hole window we discovered that the ship had berthed at Turkmenbashi Port and we had arrived in Turkmenistan.
The journey, from the time we had left Baku till the time we boarded the truck in Turkmenbashi had taken 36 hours, 16 hours of which was spent at sea and for us travellers heading from the Caucasus Turkmenbashi is the first taste of Turkmenistan that we encountered.
The first settlement in Turkmenbashi, Krasnovodsk, was established in 171 when a unit of Russian troops set ashore in 1717 with the intention of marching on Khiva but the mission failed and the Russians didn’t come back for more than 150 years. In the late 1800’s Krasnovodsk grew in importance with the arrival of the Trans-Caspian railway. Thousands of Japanese POW’s were dumped here after WWII and ordered to construct roads and buildings. Since then the town has become somewhat cosmopolitan with a mix of Russians, Turkmen, Azeris, Turks and a handful of western oil workers.
On leaving Turkmenbashi we headed between the inhospitable Karakum desert and the rugged Afghan frontier along the plains of Eastern Turkmenistan to Balkanabat where we had to register as tourists with the Turkmenistan authorities. It was here that we also collected fresh supplies from the fruit and vegetable market for the next few days.
Our final destination was at a campsite 80 kms from Bereket.....500m off the main road, in the middle of the desert but luckily surrounded by a few green bushes, which managed to conceal some of our activities. Once we had setup camp and had dinner it wasn’t long before we all headed off to bed for a good night’s sleep in the comfort of our tents.
Distance travelled:-229kms
2nd June
Today we left our bush camp bound for Ashgabat (‘the city of love’ in Arabic) built almost entirely off the receipts of Turkmenitsan’s oil and gas reserves. Originally developed by the Russians in the last 17th century, Ashgabat became a prosperous, largely Russian frontier town on the Trans-Caspian railway. However in October 1948 the city vanished in less than one minute, levelled by an earthquake that measured nine on the Richter Scale. More than 110,000 people died, which was 2/3rds of the population. Ashgabat was rebuilt in Soviet style but its modern incarnation is surrounded with lavish marble palaces, gleaming gold domes and vast expanses of manicured parks.
Enroute to Ashgabat we travelled through very flat, arid, featureless landscape then areas of fertile land that have been irrigated by the 1100 km long Karakum Canal with its waters coming from the Amu Darya River. The Amu Darya River flows 2,400 km from its headwaters in the Pamir Mountains through Tajikistan, Turkemenistan and Uzbekistan before reaching the Aral Sea and it supplies more than 90% of the irrigation water in Turkmenistan, much of this through the Karakum Canal.
At Geok Depe, 25kms from Ashgabat we made a short stop to take a photo of the Saparmurat Hajji Mosque, the second largest mosque in Central Asia. A further stop was made shortly afterwards at Gypjak, 10kms from Ashgabat where we visited the Turkmenbashi Ruhy Mosque, the biggest structure of its kind in Central Asia (it van hold 10,000 worshippers). The Ruhy Mosque has four minarets, each 91m tall that soar above the gold domed mosque and hand inscriptions over the main arch. Inside while you sit on the eight sided enormous hand woven carpet (the only eight sided one in the world) you are awestruck by the grandeur and extravagance of its interior. Next to the mosque is the more modest mausoleum containing the tomb of former President Niyazov.
Calypso finally pulled into the car park of the Turkmenistan Hotel in Ashgabat around 5.00 pm.
After booking into the hotel, unpacking and sorting dirty clothes to be washed and taking our first shower for four days we headed out to dinner at a nearby Russian restaurant.......it was 28 degrees at 6.30 pm and almost time for another shower.
Distance travelled:-365kms
3rd June
This morning we were able to sleep in alittle before joining Max (our official agent/guide for Turkmenistan) and the others on a three hour tour of Ashgabat.
The first stop on our tour was at the Ten Years of Independence Park, formed in celebration of the ten years of independence of Turkmenistan. This park is filled with green trees, flower beds, fountains, a large gold statue of President Turkmenbashi (Niyazov) and a large monument of the Akhal-teke (Heavenly) horses.
From the Ten Years of Independence Park we drove through the surreal world of Berzengi, an entirely artificial new world of white marble tower blocks, opulent fountains and parks which were generally empty........a very sterile environment.
Our next stop was at the Monument to the Independence of Turkmenistan, known universally to foreign community as ‘the plunger’ because of its shape. It is a typically ostentatious, tasteless monument that houses the Museum of Turkmen Values however it is a popular spot for wedding groups to take photographs.
Our last stop of the tour before returning to the hotel was at the Turkmenistan Park, 5 kms from the city centre. Not only does this park offer panoramic views of Ashgabat but it is the starting point of the 24 km and 8 km ‘Walk for Health’ path that leads back into Ashgabat. Unfortunately today we were unable to see Ashgabat clearly due to the blanket of haze that surrounded the city.
We returned to our air conditioned hotel room shortly after 1.30 pm where we spent a good part of the afternoon updating the dairy and sorting through photos.
Late afternoon when it was cooler Colin and I walked around some of the nearby streets passing by the large Magtymguly State University, Independence Square, the massive and opulent Palace of Turkmenistan, the Ministries of Fairness and Defence and the Ruhyyet Palace 90% of which we were unable to take any photos of......in doing we could have been arrested!!!!!
Colin and I both decided that Ashgabat was the most bizarre place we had been to thus far..... it is a mixture of Bellagio fountains and Stalinist parade grounds, marble palaces, and hundreds of golden statues yet few people are seen walking the streets or using the parks that are available to them. There are very few shops (as we know them) on the streets but are instead located in markets or buildings that look closed. While there are several banks in the city centre they are not much use to travellers as they don’t have ATM’s or change travellers cheques....currency is changed ( illegally but legal) at market vendors. There are only a few internet cafes in the city but these are not cheap, are state run and monitored. The police presence here is large, a curfew is imposed at 11.00 pm at night but is not as rigidly enforced as it once was, taking photos of government buildings is prohibited and rooms at hotels are often bugged.
Dinner tonight was purchased at the local Russian market and eaten back in the hotel.
4th June
This morning we repacked our packs with the clothes we had had laundered, loaded them onto Calypso then drove 10.5 kms north of Ashgabat to the Tolkuchka Bazaar, once touted as one of Central Asia’s most spectacular sights but since it’s relocation in 2010 I’m not convinced.
The market (mostly indoors) is enormous and sprawls across acres of desert. It si a marble and concrete complex that is Laid out and numbered in sections e.g. A1 to A4, B1 to B4 etc and where stall holders sell anything from vegetables and fruit to fridges and washing machines, clothes and shoes to camels, goats and cows. Above all, Tolkuchka is the place where carpets are sold, predominately red ones.
The Odyssey group all felt that the new market was a very sterile place and that the soul of it had been lost.
Early afternoon we drove out of the market into the Karakum Desert. This desert is a sun scorched expanse of dunes and sparse vegetation and Central Asia’s hottest however it manages to support a handful of settlements including Jerbent, 160 kms north of Ashgabat and where we had a 30 minute break.
At Jerbent there are a ram shackle collection of homes, battered cars, old vehicle chassis buried in the sand, old bread ovens considered too holy in Turkemenistan to be destroyed, yurts and camels. Jerbent is slowly being consumed by the desert as sands continue to blow off the overgrazed dunes.
From Jerbent we made our way to our campsite at Ichoguz , near the Darvaza Gas Crater, one of Turkmenistan’s most unusual sights. There are three craters that are the result of the Soviet-era gas exploration in the 1950’s and are artificial.
We visited both the water and mud craters before setting up camp then after dinner we rode in a ‘Monster Truck’ to the gas crater. This fire crater is of course the most impressive as it looks like a blazing inferno that can be seen from miles away.
Distance travelled:-281kms
4th June
The sun peaked through our tent at 6.45 am this morning so it wasn’t long after that that the intensity of its rays had us up and on the move.
We left our peaceful desert campsite around 8.45 am bound for Konye – Urgench, the poorest part of Turkmenistan but with some unique historical sites.
After a lunch break at 12.30 pm we continued into the town of Konye-Urgench where we stopped at a wedding venue come cafe (some thought it was a brothel) for showers.....it was great to stand under cold running water after experiencing two days of very hot temps in the desert.
This modern town of Konye-Urgench is a rural backwater with empty plazas, wondering livestock and back roads that end in agricultural fields yet centuries ago this was the centre of the Islamic world, not the end of it. Its uniqueness was acknowledged in 2005 when Unesco named it a World Heritage site.
After a lunch stop at 12.30pm we con tinued onto the town of Konye-Urgench where we stopped at a wedding venue come cafe for showers.....it was great to stand under cold running water after two days of very hot temps in the desert.
From here we travelled a short distance to the sacred Nejameddin Kubra Mausoleum, the holiest part of Konye-Urgench. The main highlights of this complex visit were:-
- Gutlug Timur Minaret – built in 1320’s and the only surviving part of Old Urgench’s main mosque. Decorated with bands of brick and few turquoise tiles and stands. It is 59m high and has a noticeable lean.
- Turabeg Khanym Complex – considered to be a mausoleum or a throne room, which was built in the 12th century and touted as being one of Central Asia’s most perfect buildings. It’s geometric patterns are in effect a giant calendar signifying humanity’s insignificance in the march of time. There are 365 sections on the sparkling mosaic underside of the dome representing the days of the year, 24 pointed arches representing the hours of the day, 12 bigger arches representing months of the year and four windows representing the weeks of the month.
- Kyrk Mola (Forty Mullans Hill), a mound of graves and a sacred place where Konyer-Urgench’s held their last stand against Mongols.
Late afternoon we headed 2 kms out of town to our campsite.
Distance travelled:-276kms
6th June
We woke to another sunny, hot, bright morning......too hot to stay in the tent passed 7.00 am.
At 8.30 am we headed out from the campsite and travelled 2 ½ hours to the Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan border. It took 2 ½ hours for the border authorities to process Calypso and its 24 passengers so once the paperwork was completed and we had been stamped into Uzbekistan the truck and passengers made their way to Khiva....XNBA.
Khiva’s name, redolent of slave caravans, barbaric cruelty and terrible journeys across deserts and steppes infested with wild tribesmen struck fear into all but the boldest 19th century hearts. Nowdays its a mere 35 kms southwest of Urgench, past cotton bushes and fruit trees.
Mid afternoon we arrived at the Orient Star Hotel in Khiva, located in Ichan-Kala (inner city of the Old Town). The hotel occupies a building of the former madrassah of Muhammad Amin-Khan, which was built between 1851 & 1855. The building is the largest two storey madrassah (in comparison to other buildings) in Middle Asia. The Orient Star once housed the registry office of the Highest Muslim Court and an important spiritual school. The madrassah facades are decorated with glazed tiles and our room was once a former study cell for students.
It was wonderful to enter our air conditioned room and head to the bathroom for a cool shower.
Late afternoon we all met in the foyer of the hotel to complete visa applications for Kazakhstan in ten days time....... Jim was flying to Bukhara tonight to apply for these while we remained in Khiva.
Our guide for Uzbekistan met us at 7.30 pm and took us to dinner at Kheivk Restaurant where we ate a delicious meal outdoors.
Distance travelled:-172kms
7th June
After a good night’s sleep and a delicious breakfast in the Orient Star Restaurant we were ready to begin the day.
At 10.00 am we met our guide Merza who led us on a walking tour of discovery through the Ichan Kala (inner city of the Old Town). Merza began our walk at Ichon-Qala, the main entrance of the West Gate. Highlights of the tour included:-
- Kunya Ark Palace – Khiva rulers’ own fortress and residence. It was built in the 12th century then expanded by the Khans in the 17th century. The Khans’ harem, mint, stables, arsenal, barracks, mosque and jail were all here. Features of the palace included the 19th century Summer Mosque, open air and beautiful with superb blue and white plant motif tiling and a red, orange and gold roof. The throne room in the palace was where the Khans dispersed judgements.
- Juma Mosque – this mosque has 218 wooden columns supporting its roof. Six or seven of the columns date the original 10th century mosque, though the present building dates from the 18th century.
- Kalta Minor Minaret – an unfinished fat, turquoise tiled minaret begun in 1851 by Mohammed Amin Khan who according to legend wanted to build a minaret so high he could see all the way to Bukhara. Unfortunately the Khan dropped dead in 1855 so it was never finished.
- Toshi Hovil Palace (Stone House) – contains Khiva’s most sumptuous interior decoration including ceramic tiles, carved stone and wood. It has more than 150 rooms off nine courtyards.
- Islam-Hoja Medressa and Minaret – both built in 1910 and Khiva’s newest Islamic monuments. The minaret has bands of turquoise and red tiling and at 57m high it’s Uzbekistans’s tallest. The medressa holds the Museum of Applied Arts and exhibits Khoezm handicrafts through the ages – wood carving, metal work, Uzbek & Turkmen carpets, stone carved with Arabic script and large pots for storing food and water.
- Pahavon Mahmud Mausoleum – Pahavon Mahmud was a poet, philosopher and legendary wrestler who became Khiva’s patron saint. The beautiful Persian style chamber under the turquoise dome at the north end of the mausoleum’s courtyard holds Pahlavon Mahmud’s tomb.
Our tour ended early afternoon so we had the rest of the day free...it was mostly spent in our air conditioned room catching up on washing and packing our bags for our departure tomorrow.
At 7.30 pm most of us met in the hotel foyer and all went out to dinner at a local restaurant with our guide Merza.
8th June – Colin’s Birthday
This morning we woke and headed to the hotel restaurant for breakfast and were greeted with the Calypso crew singing “Happy Birthday” to him.
At 8.00 am we had loaded our bags onto the truck and headed out of Khiva bound for Bukhara, around a 440 km drive that would take us approximately ten hours to complete.
Enroute we passed by cotton plantations that contributed to making Uzbekistan the second exporter of cotton in the world, China being the first. We also travelled through many kilometres of the Kyzylkum (Red Sands) Desert dotted mainly with small sage bushes and very few shade trees.
We arrived in Bukhara early evening and were pleased to collect our bags and head to the Lyabi House Hotel for a long cool shower and to sit in an air conditioned room.
Bukhara sits 250 kms downstream of Samarkand on the Zarafshan River. It is Central Asia’s holiest city and has buildings spanning a thousand years of history and a thoroughly lived in old centre. Most of the centre is full of medrassas, minarets, a massive royal fortress and remnants of a once vast market complex.
Until a century ago Bukhara was watered by a network of canals and some 200 stone pools where people gathered and gossiped, drank and washed and as the water wasn’t changed often changed Bukhara became famous for it’s plaques – the average 19th century Bukharian is said to have died at 32.
The heart of the Old Town of Bukhara is its pool and square called Lyabi Hauz and this is where we had Colin’s birthday dinner. After a delicious meal of beef shashlyk and greek salad we returned to the hotel to have a few drinks on the hotel verandah with the rest of the Odyssey group.
Distance travelled:-440kms
9th June
After a delicious breakfast on the balcony of our hotel we headed off with our guide Merza to discover the Old Town of Bukhara. We started in the Lyabi Hauz, a plaza built around a pool in 1620. On the east side is a statue of Hoja Nasruddin, a semi mythical ‘wise fool’ who appears in Sufi teaching tales around the world. Further east the Nadir Divanbegi Medressa, built as a caravanserai but became a Medressa in 1622. On the west side of the square is Nadir Divanbegi Khannaka and north the Kudeidash Medrassa built in 1569 and was at the time the biggest Islamic school in Central Asia.
The area west and north from Lyabi Hauz was a vast warren of market lanes, arcades and crossroad mini bazaars. Three remaining domed bazaars, heavily renovated in Soviet times, were among dozens of specialised bazaars in the town – Taki Sarrafon (money changers), Taki Telepak Furushon (cap makers), and Taki Zargaron (jewellers) but are now used as tourist shops selling Uzbekistan crafts i.e. carpets, articles of silk embroidery etc.
Other highlights of our tour include:-
- Ulugbek Medressa – built in 1417 it is Central Asias’ oldest medressa and is decorated with thousands of coloured tiles.
- Kalon Minaret – built in 1127 and at the time was probably the tallest building in Central Asia. It stands at 47m tall and its 14 ornamental bands include the first use of glazed blue tiles that were to saturate Central Asia under Timur.
- Kalon Mosque – large enough for 10,000 people and used in Soviet times as a warehouse but was reopened in 1991 as a place of worship.
- Mir-i-Arab Medressa – Uzbekistans’ most striking medressa with its luminous blue domes.
- The Ark – a royal town within a town is Bukharas’ oldest structure and was occupied from the 5th century right until 1920 when it was bombed by the Red Army leaving 80% of the Ark in ruins.
- Zindon (Prison) – now a museum with attractions that include a torture chamber and several dungeons.
- Bolo-Hauz Mosque – the Emirs’ official place of worship which was built in 1718.
Our tour ended around 1.30 pm with lunch at a restaurant where we ate with the locals.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering through areas we had visited in the morning and soaking up the atmosphere of this relaxed place.
Early evening we wondered through some of the narrow winding streets trying to capture some of those lovely evening shots before having dinner at an Italian Restaurant.
10th June
This morning the Odyssey group didn’t have any time restrictions so Colin and I slept in then casually went off to breakfast around 8.30 am. After eating delicious pancakes with homemade strawberry jam we joined Sally and revisited a few of the medrassas that we had had a glimpse of yesterday.....we were on a mission to try and find a nice piece of suzani work and art pieces for which the area is well known for. After trapsing through the bazaars and hunting through many many stalls both Sally and I finally each found a piece of suzani that passed our careful inspection with flying colours. Colin was pleased as he was well and truly over the shopping thing.
Mid afternoon the shops all closed for afternoon siesta so we headed to an internet cafe for an hour until it was time for me to meet Andrea, Jen & Melissa in the reception area of the hotel to head off to the Hammom Kunjak and have an hour or two of massage and pampering leaving Colin to read his book.
In the evening most of us gathered at the hotel and went to dinner at the Lyabi Hauz Restaurant in the square where we could sit, relax and just people watch.
11th June
“We travel not for trafficking alone; by hotter winds our fiery hearts are fanned. For knowing what should not be known. We take the Golden Road to Samarkand.” James Elroy Flecker
At 8.00 am this morning we left Bukhara bound for Samarkand, one of Central Asia’s oldest settlements which are thought to have been founded in the 5th century BC. From the 6th to the 13th century it grew into a city, more populous than it is today, changing hands every couple of centuries – Western Turks, Arabs, Persian, Samanids, Karakhanids, Seljug Turks, Mongolian, Karakitay and Khorezmshah have all ruled here before being obliterated by Chinggis Khan in 1220. In 1370 Timur decided to make Samarkand his capital, which for the next 35 years became Central Asia’s economic and cultural epicentre. His grandson, Ulugbek ruled until 1449 and made it an intellectual centre as well.
In the 16th Century the town went into decline and for several decades in the 18th century, after a series of earthquakes it was essentially uninhabited. The Emir of Bukhara repopulated the town towards the end of the century but it was only truly resuscitated by the Russians in 1868 when it was linked to the Russian Empire by the Trans-Caspian railway 20 years later. Samarkand was declared the capital of the new Uzbek SSR in 1924 but lost the honour to Tashkent six years later.
Samarkand was a key Silk Road City that sat on the cross roads leading to China, India and Persia bringing in trade and artisans.
After an hour of travelling down the Samarkand-Bukhara Royal Road we stopped at Sardoba to visit an 11th century caravansary ruin and the nearby well restored water well that belonged to the caravansary from the same period.
Early afternoon we arrived in Samarkand, booked into our rooms at the City Hotel then wandered out to find some lunch.
After about 20 minutes of walking we came across The Venezia Restaurant which also had free Wi Fi so while eating a delicious plate of pumpkin soup and yummy potato croquettes we cleared and replied to emails then updated our blog......a few hours well spent and enjoyed.
Late afternoon we walked around Navol Park to the Krytyy Rynok (covered market) and the supermarket where we picked up a few grociers.
The evening was spent reading and watching the BBC and CNN news and other current events.
Distance travelled:-276kms
12th June
This morning was a hot one as nineteen of us boarded Calypso and headed to Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, its trademark being the fluted azure dome. This mausoleum is where Timur, his two sons and two grandson and Ulugbek are buried. Surrounding Gur-e-Amir is little AK-Saray Mausoleum with its bright frescoes and majolica tile work on the inside. Between Gur-e-Amir and the main road is Rukhobod Mausoleum dated 1380 and possibly the oldest surviving monument.
From the Gur-e-Amir we travelled a short distance to the Registan, an ensemble of majestic, tilting medresses, majolica, azure mosaics and one of the most amazing single sights within Central Asia. The Registan (translates to ‘sandy place’) was medieval Samarkand’s commercial centre and the plaza was thought to be a wall to wall bazaar. The three effaces here – Ulugbek Medressa, Sher Dor Medressa and Tilla Kari – are among the world’s best preserved medresses.
Ulugbek medressa is the original medressa, which was completed in 1420 and has many lecture halls.
The entrance portal of Sher Dor (Lion) Medressa is decorated with roaring felines that look like tigers but are meant to be lions and it took 17 years to build.
Tilla Kari (gold covered) Medressa was completed in 1660. The highlight is the mosque intricately decorated with gold to symbolise Samarkand’s wealth at the time. The mosque’s ceiling oozes gold leaf is flat but its tapered design makes it look like a dome inside.
Early afternoon we spent an hour at the Siob Bazaar, the colourful main market that sells vegetables, fruit, food spices, sweets, meat etc.
Mid afternoon we returned to the hotel and collapsed into our air conditioned rooms for a rest out of the heat then at 5.00 pm CJ called a meeting of the group to go through some housekeeping and financial matters. It was at this meeting that we were given the bad news that we would not be going to Tibet, Nepal and India as China has stopped issuing tourist visas into Tibet until at least the 25th of July. Apparently it is the 60th anniversary of China’s invasion of Tibet and because of this the Chinese government are concerned that there will be protests so don’t want foreigners in the country to witness the unrest. This means that our trip will no longer go to Tibet, Nepal and India. At present Odysseys proposal for this part of the trip is to go around Tibet through China calling at Xian, Terracotta Warrior country, onto the Giant Pandas at Chengdu then into Laos and carry on with the trip as previously planned. Everyone was completely stunned by the news and you could have heard a pin drop as we all tried to digest what we had been told........people were upset and angry....watch this space.
At 7.30 a group of us walked to the Venezia Restaurant for dinner.
13th June – Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake strikes Christchurch
This morning after a sleep in and a leisurely breakfast Colin and I walked to the Venezia Restaurant to use Wi Fi. We spent 1 ½ hours chatting to the family – Amanda, Janelle & Uncle John followed by Gary & Sue Rosacker then uploaded photos to our Gmail account.
Later in the afternoon we returned to the hotel to drop off our computer then joined Sally and Mel in a taxi ride to Shah-I-Zinda, the stunning avenue of mausoleums is not only an important place of worship but it contains some of the richest tile work in the Muslim world.
The name Shah-I-Zinda, which means ‘Tomb of the Living King’, refers to its original and holiest shrine. Much of the brilliant mosaic, majolica and terracotta work is not the original as it was restored in 2005. The most beautiful tomb is Shai Mulk Oko Mausoleum, resting place of Timur's sister and niece. The exquisite majolica and terracotta work in this particular mausoleum was of such exceptional quality that it merited almost no restoration.
Late afternoon we returned to the hotel, had a shower then joined the rest of the Odyssey group for drinks to celebrate Andrea’s birthday. An hour or so later we took taxis to a restaurant on the outskirts of town where the locals eat and very few foreigners frequent. We had a delicious meal then spent all our energy dancing with the locals for the next two hours......heaps of fun and lots of laughs.
Everyone returned to the hotel hot, sweaty and exhausted.
14th June
Today we had an early start with bags down at the truck by 7.15 am, breakfast over by 8.00 am and on the road by 8.15 am heading to sprawling Tashkent, Central Asia’s hub and capital with a population of over 2.5 million people.
Tashkent’s earliest settlement might have been in the 2nd or 1st century BC and by the time the Arabs took it in AD 751 it was a major caravan crossroad. It was given the name Toshkent (Tashkent, City of Stone in Turkic) in about the 11th century. Little remains of the ancient city after the 1966 earthquake and earlier modernisation work following the 1917 revolution.
The city is now a mixture of new modern office buildings, hotels, parks and crumbling Soviet style apartment blocks.
We arrived in Tashkent around 2.00 pm so after booking into the hotel we headed out for lunch at a nearby restaurant followed by a walk to the local supermarket to suss out what was available for sale on the shelves.
On our return to the hotel Colin went to play cards while I remained in our room to download and name photos and update our diary.
Everyone headed to bed reasonably early after a tiring day in the 35 + degree day heat.
Distance travelled:-276kms
15th June
Another very hot day in Tashkent and there isn’t a great deal to see so we have decided to have a chilled day. While some of our group spent most of the day at the local water park Colin, Sally and I shopped for our cook group at the local Mirabad Market. Itr was such a wonderful place to buy fresh herbs, vegetables and delicious fresh cherries, apricots, loganberries etc and at the same time interact with the very friendly locals. It took two hours to buy all that was required for our three meals at bush camp in a few days time but it was a two hours well spent.
In the afternoon we walked to the Grand Hotel Mir to post our blog and upload photos onto gmail....all in the comfort of a lovely air conditioned lounge with comfortable chairs and attentive staff.
This evening we ate at our hotel...Hotel Rovshan then headed to bed around 9.00 pm as we have an early start tomorrow with a border crossing thrown in around midday.
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