The Silk Road!

 Having seen a lot of blue and turquoise the prior day in Khiva we felt in need of a paler palette! So off we went to the Kyzlkum Desert to see century old fortresses of Ayaz Kala in the Republic of Karakalpakstan.

It was a 2 hour drive from Khiva but definitely worth it! I think the gate below shows us entering the Republic.......not too clear from the guide! It also could be saying entry to 50 Fortresses!

We first stopped at Topraq Kala, a ruined 2000 year old fortress.....

...all the while looking over the well traveled valley used by the silk road traders! The original internet!

Then on to Ayaz Kala.... we were to climb to the top fortress!

We had a long trek across sand before having to climb......not as easy as it looks!

The fortress below us looked more intact! It was younger! But where we were was where Russian archaeologists supposedly found gold statues, now at the Hermitage in St Petersburg!

Amazing ruins from the 4th to 1st century BC! Totally hidden and covered by sand until the late 1930s.

Below is the original gate entry.... which would have been a much easier entry for us but the road to it was totally covered by sand and we were not in a 4X4!

We could also have had a ride on a Bactrian camel or stayed in a Yurt at the site.......

But we settled instead for a late lunch in a lakeside yurt!

On to Khiva.... a museum city!

 To get to Khiva .......... also known as Ichan Q'ala.....

we had to take a very early morning flight to Urgench in the north west of Uzbekistan.

Departure was on the domestic side of the airport.....buses to the plane! Only one flight per day at the moment...I kept an eye on the baggage.... 

It is quite a small airport!

Urgench airport was however even smaller.....  when we picked up baggage from the only carousel we saw a poster of the madrassah we were headed to.... the building on the right!

Then a car ride for around an hour to get to Khiva where we were still in time for breakfast!

We were staying in a madrassah which had been turned into a hotel!  The Orient Star hotel, formerly the Mohammed Amin Khan Madrassah........basic cell rooms but charming!

Great courtyard on one side.....

And a view over the city with its minarets from the bedroom!.

Then out to see the sights!

First the Ark... the old citadel.... one enters through massive doors!

Then the Ayvan.... covered area of a courtyard.........

with its beautiful tilework......

A quick look at the throne room.....

Another covered area....

...again with amazing tilework....

Of course I had to climb up on the bastion as high as possible to get this view!

Then the Juma (Friday) mosque.......

Then on to the Tash Hauli Palace.... and the Khan's harem! Not exclusively for the concubines.... it was for all women! However the Yurt was for the Khan!

The harem area.....

again beautiful tilework......

Happy to see a little less blue and turquoise at the Islam Khoja minaret...

and at the Pakhlavan Mahmoud Mausoleum... our eyes needed to re-adjust!

Uzbekistan.... finally!

 Last year I signed up for a small group tour of the Stans! Which inevitably got canceled because of Covid. So once it seemed as though it might be possible to go this year I got back in touch  to find that only the waitlist was available! Very annoying! So started researching and found a very small group tour to just go to Uzbekistan. 

This suited me fine as it was only one country and did not require a visa.... just a negative PCR covid test within 72 hours before entering the country. It also included the main Silk Road cities I was interested in visiting.

So I signed up  with Silk Road Treasures Tour and interested a friend in joining me......

Turkish Airlines seems to be the easiest access route from the US or Europe to the Uzbek capital Tashkent.

The layover of a few hours at Istanbul airport was interesting.....

However most flights  arrive in Tashkent at 1am which leads to confusion as one needs to reserve a hotel room for the prior night if one contemplates sleeping! 

The first 2 nights were booked at the Lotte Palace hotel... which was very comfortable and in a great location. View from my window.....

We started touring Tashkent the following morning. 

The city was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1966 so there wasn't too much' old' to see!

First off we went to the Hast Imam complex............. a mosque and madrassah..... which houses the oldest Koran. No photos allowed inside!

We were initially amazed by the lack of tourists! A few.... but no real fear of catching Covid from them.... social distancing was not an issue!

Then on to the Chorsu market...... a different story, plenty of people there!

The items offered were also a little different from other markets ....

Horsemeat....

Lots of different textures of cream...

...and some rather large livers! Not too tempting!

Looking down one realises how immense the covered area is........

And of course there was still the outside part!

Now I know what Peganum Harmala looks like.... apparently well used this past year to ward off Covid!

Apparently it was burnt everywhere and they attribute low Covid cases to its smell!

...and there was inevitably lots of bread!

....here social distancing was a little more problematic! But not too bad!

However only very minimal social distancing was possible on the totally packed Metro! 

The Museum of Applied Art was extremely peaceful afterwards with its Ikat banners!