Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Map of Central Asia
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| Cities to be visited - Uzbekistan: Tashkent, Urgench/Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand, Termez; Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek, Osh, Djalal-Abad, Naryn, Karakol. |
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Into the Heart of Asia
In a few days I will set off for another adventure. This time to the Heart of Asia. I will start my travels in the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Few cities on Earth can compare in beauty of setting and architecture, and also conjure up images of empire and rich culture, as the city of Istanbul.
My visit to Istanbul this time will be brief, a lot more brief than my first visit nearly a decade ago during one of the coldest winters the city had ever seen and I had ever felt.
The compass needle of this journey points directly toward the center of Asia, it's heart. I will spend nearly one month exploring the silk road cities and ruined temples, palaces, mosques, and forts of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The journey begins with a flight into Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a sameday connection to the oasis town of Urgench/Khiva near the Turkemistan border where I spend the night in a centuries old former madressa or Koranic school converted for travelers.
Traveling along the famed silk road, I step into the past by visiting the holy city of Bukhara and Timur's city of Samarkand said to be a jewel within the heart of Asia. These present day cities were once watering holes, resting places, and places of worship for the weary merchants traveling the silk road - which for centuries carried much more than just silk from one end of Asia to the other, but technology, religion, politics, and more. I will then venture south to the city of Termez, Uzbekistan - a frontier town on the border with Afghanistan - where there are more ruined Buddhist and Zoroastrian temples to explore and local villagers to greet.
I will continue my trip into the mountainous, lake-ridden, former Soviet state of Kyrgyzstan where I will be swept away upon arrival to the Radison Guesthouse (no connection to the chain and not at all similar). I will meet with a Kyrgyz friend who will also be my travel partner for the next two weeks. The very next day we will start our two week road trip navigating the mountainous dirt roads of the Pamir and Tien Shan ranges visiting isolated villages, centuries-old caravanserais, and broken temples. We may even be bumping around high mountain lakes on horseback and sleeping on the ground in yurts.
Virtually join me on this adventure. I hope you enjoy my erratic missives from the road less traveled.
Zac
My visit to Istanbul this time will be brief, a lot more brief than my first visit nearly a decade ago during one of the coldest winters the city had ever seen and I had ever felt.
The compass needle of this journey points directly toward the center of Asia, it's heart. I will spend nearly one month exploring the silk road cities and ruined temples, palaces, mosques, and forts of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. The journey begins with a flight into Tashkent, Uzbekistan, a sameday connection to the oasis town of Urgench/Khiva near the Turkemistan border where I spend the night in a centuries old former madressa or Koranic school converted for travelers.
Traveling along the famed silk road, I step into the past by visiting the holy city of Bukhara and Timur's city of Samarkand said to be a jewel within the heart of Asia. These present day cities were once watering holes, resting places, and places of worship for the weary merchants traveling the silk road - which for centuries carried much more than just silk from one end of Asia to the other, but technology, religion, politics, and more. I will then venture south to the city of Termez, Uzbekistan - a frontier town on the border with Afghanistan - where there are more ruined Buddhist and Zoroastrian temples to explore and local villagers to greet.
I will continue my trip into the mountainous, lake-ridden, former Soviet state of Kyrgyzstan where I will be swept away upon arrival to the Radison Guesthouse (no connection to the chain and not at all similar). I will meet with a Kyrgyz friend who will also be my travel partner for the next two weeks. The very next day we will start our two week road trip navigating the mountainous dirt roads of the Pamir and Tien Shan ranges visiting isolated villages, centuries-old caravanserais, and broken temples. We may even be bumping around high mountain lakes on horseback and sleeping on the ground in yurts.
Virtually join me on this adventure. I hope you enjoy my erratic missives from the road less traveled.
Zac
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