Archive for the ‘My life & thoughts’ Category
Holiday in Central Asia (27): conclusion
September 29th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
It was always apparent that this trip to Central Asia would be a challenging one. In the end, we visited four countries and not five (because Turkmenistan would not allow us entry); we made seven flights instead of nine; and we stayed at 16 hotels instead of 18. So, not quite what we expected, but […]
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Holiday in Central Asia (26): Tashkent in Uzbekistan
September 28th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Our last day in Central Asia (Day 25) was one of the very busiest of a consistently full itinerary. In Nukus, the hotel offered the smallest breakfast selection of the trip. We left the hotel at 8 am and reached the airport in a mere 10 minutes and then the flight to Tashkent was just […]
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Holiday in Central Asia (25): Karakalpakstan in Uzbekistan
September 26th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
It was our penultimate day (Day 24) in Central Asia and, leaving behind Khiva after three nights, it was back to travelling, back to bumpy roads, back to the endless desert. However, the temperature had suddenly fallen from around 35C to about 25C which was more comfortable. Over the last few weeks, we have spent […]
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Holiday in Central Asia (24): around Khiva in Uzbekistan
September 25th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Day 23 found us still staying in Khiva and it was a light day with simply a morning trip to two nearby locations with a local guide called Enessa. On the outskirts of Khiva is the Palace of Nurullabay which was built between 1906 and 1912. Like the Summer Palace outside Bukhara, this is a […]
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Holiday in Central Asia (23): Khiva in Uzbekistan
September 24th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
We are now in Khiva (Day 22). Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand were all caravan cities on the legendary Silk Road, the ancient trading route that led from China through the Middle East and into Europe, and Khiva is the most intact and the most remote of these Silk Road cities. The place has existed since […]
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Holiday in Central Asia (22): the road to Khiva in Uzbekistan
September 23rd, 2022 by Roger Darlington
If our trip had gone according to plan, we would have driven into Khiva from the border crossing between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan a short distance away, having spent three nights in Turkmenistan. Instead on Day 21, we had to travel to Khiva by road from Bukhara, a distance of some 450 km (over 300 miles) […]
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Holiday in Central Asia (21): still Bukhara in Uzbekistan
September 22nd, 2022 by Roger Darlington
As yesterday, it was a slow day (Day 20) in Bukhara instead of an intensive day in Turkmenistan. We started by visiting the workshop of a world renown artist of miniatures. Davlat Toshev has exhibited in the Louvre and hopes to have an exhibition in London sometime soon. His work ranges in price from $50 […]
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Holiday in Central Asia (20): around Bukhara in Uzbekistan
September 21st, 2022 by Roger Darlington
At this stage (Day 19), the whole pace of our intensive holiday changed. Instead of crossing into Turkmenistan, we remained in Bukhara for a leisurely day In the area. First, we drove the short distance out of the city to a place called Sitorai Mohi Hosa. This is popularly known as the Mir’s Summer Palace […]
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Holiday in Central Asia (19): Bukhara in Uzbekistan
September 20th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
Now in Bukhara (Day 18), we had a splendid day on a tour of some of the many sights of the Old City. It was 35C and there was not a cloud in the sky. The name Bukhara means ‘monastery’ in Sanskrit. They say that the 20th century has not yet arrived in Bukhara, yet […]
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Holiday in Central Asia (17): Samarkand in Uzbekistan
September 18th, 2022 by Roger Darlington
We spent the whole of Day 16 in Samarkand and it was the best day yet and arguably it will be the highlight of the entire tour. Samarkand – ‘samar’ means land and ‘kand’ means sweet – is situated in the valley of the river Zarafshan. The first settlement here was constructed in the 6th […]
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