11th June, day 55, in Khiva, Uzbekistan


It's an early start to the guided tour of Khiva today, it needs to finish by about 11am because only mad dogs and Englishmen are out in the mid-day sun, and the tour takes a few hours to do.

The historic centre of Khiva is quite small, and is surrounded by impressive high mud walls with ramparts, and totals a length of some 2km, with turrets every 20m or so. Dired reinforced mud was a very popular building material here, the almost complete lack of rain makes it very durable.

There are many fascinating sights to see, such as the mausoleum and the caravanserai, without which no Silk Road city is complete. The old city is beautifully restored to what it's thought to have looked like when new, but at a possible cost of character and authenticity. However, it is a fascinating tour and it's great to be on the famous, exotic Silk Road.

12th June, day 56, Khiva - Bukhara, Uzbekistan

A half-days drive through endless flat boring irrigation. The irrigation system in Ukbekistan is immense, it's really no wonder the Aral Sea is empty, and it occurs to me that on the signs at Moynaq documenting the demise of the sea there is no mention whatsoever at the cause. One wonders about the freedom of information here. After all, the BBC website is blocked. Will this blog post also be blocked?

13th June, day 57, in Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Joy takes the morning tour today, I have a lie in. Much of the day I'm huddled under the air-conditioner to escape the heat.
I get out in the evenings, however, and there is a lovely lake surrounded my fountains and outdoor restaurants in the central square, a stone's throw from the hotel. A lovely place to relax, eat and drink beer in the evenings.

14th June, day 58, Bukhara - Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Another half-days drive through endless flat country, some of which is not actually irrigated, and therefore still desert. I think we're nearing the edge of this desert because there's a noticable increase in humidity and the sky has looked threatening these last couple of evenings. On the last approach to Samarkand, there are mountains in the distance. Makes a nice change. Samarkand, according to Lonely Planet, it at an altitude of about 900m and this should be good for taking the edge off the heat. Full of hope about this, I ask Alexander the local guide, who, somewhat unhelpfully, replies that is it "the will of Allah". I think that sums up the attitude of people around here.

Samarkand is indeed cooler. Still hot by British standards, but having roasted in >40C the last few days, it's nice to be in temperatures in the high 20's.

15th June, day 59, in Samarkand, Uzbekistan


The tour starts early again in relatively comfortable termperatures. Samarkand is one of those really exotic sounding places, and evokes images of far off lands and strange cultures, and sounds really far away, a bit like the way the name Timbuktu is steeped in fable.
With this high expectation I join the tour, and I am not disappointed. There's so much to see, wonderful buildings with a long and complex history. And so much more real than Khiva - although many buildings have been restored, it still feels like a real, living, breathing city.

Samarkand joins Istanbul in being one of my favourite cities in the world.

16th June, day 60, Samarkand - Tashkent, Uzbekistan

The trip is now 1/3 of the way through!

Another half-days drive to the capital. Any history here has been wiped out by earthquakes, so the city is modern with wide boulevards. Looks European. The most exotic thing about Tashkent is the name.

17th June, day 61, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan

We are hoping to get Kazak visas today. We need them for our little detour around Osh, and we need them quick - our Uzbek visas expire very soon, we plan to leave the country tomorrow, we can't cross the boder into Kyrgizstan, so Kazakhstan is our best hope. Pete is worrying about that today, but we'll get the visas if it's "the will of Allah". That's how things work here, after all.

Other than that, as we enter the middle third of the trip it's a day of little housekeeping tasks - money changing, blog updates, email checking, and generally lazing around.