stevecl

Sept 29 - Oct 1st Bukhara Next three days were all about seeing the sights of Bukhara. Bukhara has been destroyed and rebuilt several times, the first by Chinggis Khan in 1222, and the last by the Soviet Red Army in 1920. But there remains a bunch of spectacular buildings comprising Mosques, Minarets, Madrassahs, Mausoleums, Trading Domes, Palaces, and the inevitable bazaars and retail outlets. Notable buildings include the Nodir Devan-Began madrassah , the Kaylon Mosque and minaret, the Lybai-Haus, the Ark (palace ) and the Bolo Khan mosque. Each trading dome specialised in one specific commodity, one was jewellery, another money changing, and a third was hats. We plotted our progress on our maps, and by the end of two days we had 'done the lot'. Trying to photograph each of them in the best ... read more

Sept 24 -26 Turkmenistan Early morning start from Nukus to the old cementry near the Turkmenistan border, the Mizdakhan cemetery. Inhabited from the 4th BC until 14th AD, Mizdakhan continued to be a sacred place with tombs being placed here until the 20thC. Was an interesting collection of tombs dating back to 10thC , and some pretty spooky mausoleums to explore, some underground and still containing their ancient sarcophagus's. We made the border crossing with no issues, other than the barking guard dogs, and the 1km walk in no-mans land between the two guard posts. Got our Turkmenistan visa on arrival - country no. 73 - so that was a relief after reading about all the potential dramas that can occur on this border. Our customs 'interrogation' was limited to "do you have guns? , and ... read more

Sept 19-21 Khiva Sept 19th. Over 1000kms of train ride from Tashkent to Urgench through mostly barren empty desert, few camels, bit of dry tussock, but mostly just nothing. Eventually arrived in Urgench, where we negotiated a short taxi ride to Khiva for 20,000 Soms discovering the weird nature of the Uzbek currency - at about 3,000 Soms to the dollar. Changing a $100 note into Soms results in a huge 'brick' of notes as the dominant note is just 1,000 Soms (about 30c). So everyone is walking around with huge lumps of cash - much too large to fit in a wallet ! Paying for anything is a real exercise in lengthy counting ! Ancient Khiva had a reputation for barbaric cruelty, slave caravans, and terrible journeys across inhospitable deserts. The historic heart of Khiva ... read more

Sept 14 and 15. had a great train ride in a 2 bunk sleeper compartment on Kazakh Railways on train #33 leaving Almaty 2 at 2133 and arriving on the dot at Tulkibas station at 0927. Was meet by our guide for the 2 days and a Russian made Lada Niva 4WD jeep, so roared off to our home stay. The Asku - Zhabagvly Nature Reserve is one of the largest Nature Reserves in Khazakhstan at 13000 sq kms, and 'allegedly' is the home to a vast number of birds, and animals including bears, ibex, marmots, fixes, wolves, goats, boars, etc. It is crushingly dry and this excludes weeds that simply can't hack the conditions. Lots of plants,biodiversity is immense 1,400 flowering plants.....some surprising...the clear ancestor of our beloved Rhubarb for example. A few remaining flowers...many ... read more

Sept 7th - left Tamga and headed around the southern shores of Lake Issyk Kol. We passed Kadji Sai - the town that until recently was unnamed due to the presence of a Uranium mine and extraction facilities. Long since closed, there are still radiation issues and the mine is banned from visiting. Finally we reached the small village of Bokonbayevo where we had arranged to see the Eagle Hunter show. Turned out to be a private show just for us, and the 'eagle man' turned up with 3 birds in the boot of his car - two huge Golden Eagles, and a smaller Falcon. Plus one worried looking white bunny rabbit ?! After a bit of a show and holding of the giant birds, they released the terrified bunny at the bottom of the valley, ... read more