Uzbekistan - Khiva

The day started with a 4.15 alarm call, and included 2000 year old hill top mud forts, lunch in a yurt, camels, a horse and cart ride and being adopted by the Turkmen family who own a restored walled village. Tonight we're in the Old Town of Khiva, with no vehicle access, in a traditional cloistered caravanserai, listening to the muezzins call the faithful to Ramadan prayers.





I said it looked like nowhere on earth I'd ever seen. That may be an understatement.


No travelling today, but a walking tour straight from the front door of the hotel to mosques and madrassas, palaces and prisons, shops and slave quarters, high places and the harem. The city is stunning, but still quiet from its normal tourist levels. More accessible from Europe and this would be on as many bucket lists as Venice. One day, it may well be. But for now, everyone is glad to see the tourists back.
In the evening we dine on a rooftop terrace under the moon and stars - by candlelight when the city loses power - entertained by a band of musicians and dancers.









Loads of travel today - around 450km in the coach from Khiva to Bukhara through the Red Sands desert. Around 400km of them on a reasonably modern dual carriageway that suddenly stopped and turned into a potholed dirt track that would be a scandal in the remotest Highland village. Teeth chattering and bone shaking, but oddly not too scary despite the continual games of chicken with oncoming lorries, many of them tankers full of propane or petrol.
When we left Khiva the wind was blowing and we joked about sandstorms. The desert obliged, sending dusty clouds across the road and surroundings. The scarf isn't for modesty; it's to bind around your head and every possible part of your face to protect it. It's also a good protection from undesirable smells in the roadside facilities...
Across the water is Turkmenistan. The actual location of the border is under debate; hence the warning not to pass the fence and risk being shot by trigger happy border guards.








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