The last stop after leaving Tashkent. A market and the mosque in Khujand.

Check out the previous post for the description of border crossing adventures. Great fun. HAHA!

Silk Road Journey: Highlights of Tajikistan’s Natural Beauty

Tashkent didn’t start out great for us as both Anita and I are dealing with digestive distress. So. Just coffee for breakfast, which was sad as the breakfast buffet looked wonderful.
Lilia, our intrepid guide took us to a bank that would issue USD. We’re headed to Turkmenistan next. The visa fees need to be paid in cash plus foreign credit cards aren’t accepted at all there. Even ATMs only take local cards. None of us were aware of that before leaving home. It’s important information!
We decided to do the least strenuous activity we could think of and walked to the nearest subway station from the bank. The next few hours were spent getting on and off the trains, exploring some of the beautiful stations. The system was built after the massive earthquake of 1966 destroyed Tashkent. Since it was technically a military location (bomb shelter) photos weren’t allowed until recently.

After relaxing for a couple of hours and doing some sink laundry, we met Sarah and Jane and walked to Jumanji for dinner. It was delicious! Most of the food has been thus far. We’re getting lots of veggies too which I really like.

Train to Samarkand

Tuesday, June 17th
The 4 hour journey on the train was pleasant and passed through miles of agricultural land. There are concerns about running out of water. Lakes and rivers are drying up because of rerouting water for irrigation and cities. Years of cotton crops have done great damage to the soil

Once in Samarkand we saw so much water waste though. Giant hoses left on in parks to seriously over water trees and vegetation. Maybe it has to be done that way?
Samarkand is beautiful. 13th century buildings have been restored to their former glory. Every night there’s a light show depicting the history of Uzbekistan in Registan square.

We did a tour of the city with a highlight being Amir Temur’s mausoleum. He was very famous here, yet none of our group had ever heard of him. Stay tuned as we learned a LOT about him. A hero in Uzbekistan but not so much in Turkmenistan.

The next day we toured a few more sites and spent some time at the market. We had grandiose plans to visit the prophet Daniel’s tomb but the heat sucked all the energy out of us. Besides, there’s not much of Daniel there. Maybe an arm? So the afternoon was spent enjoying the hotel pool. A rarity in these parts.

June 19th, 2025

Nur Fortress

Up and out early we headed out into the country side. First stop was The Nur Fortress, also known as the Fortress of Alexander the Great. It is located near Nurata, Uzbekistan, and is believed to have been built by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC.  The fortress was intended to protect the region, particularly the city of Marakanda (modern-day Samarkand), from northern nomadic raiders, according to VisitSilkRoad.  Nurfortress is situated on a hill, offering a strategic vantage point for defense. 

Apparently Alexander didn’t build it. Someone else with an unpronounceable name did. There’s also a pool created by a meteor said to have healing power. It’s supposed to be in the shape of a hand. You need a very creative imagination to see it.

Next stop was Aydarkul lake. A swim in the balmy water was a welcome treat

Taking a bus down the dirt roads was interesting. Pretty sure you’d want a 4×4 at home to do it but our driver handled it just fine.

Yurt Camp in the Desert

The yurt camp Sputnik Navoi was a pleasant surprise. We practiced our archery skills (seriously lacking) and walked to the top of the dune to watch the sunset over the desert. Beautiful!
Dinner was wonderful. First we had an opportunity to try making dumplings. Again, my skills are lacking. They served an assortment of salads, soup, little dumplings and a potato, meat, carrot and cabbage dish. Watermelon and cookies were dessert.
I waddled outside to join the others around a bonfire. We listened to a local musician play the duma (traditional instrument) and sing. I didn’t understand a word but it sounded nice.
Despite the heat, I slept remarkably well. We were up early so went for a walk about. By 7:30 am it was already ridiculously hot.

Bukhara

After breakfast we packed up and headed out again. A few stops along the way were interesting. The ruins of the market in Navoiy and the water reservoir across the road tell a story about the history of the place.

Bukhara is a beautifully preserved, walled city and our hotel was right in the old city. It’s an historical building that was once a madrassa.
Although we’re “lucky” that it’s “only” 38 degrees, the heat had us melting. Lilia showed us around the town and we headed off to dinner.

The next morning we had an official walking tour of Bukhara. There’s so much history here and it’s so well preserved!

After that we wandered around inside and outside the city, moving slowly due to the heat. Many places close in the afternoon so there aren’t many people out and about. Back at the hotel we met with the others and our new tour leader. We will say goodbye to Lilia and a few of the group members. Aygur will guide us into Turkmenistan. It’s complicated so that took so much time we didn’t get to climb the wall as we’d hoped. So, Jane, Sarah, Anita and I found a place to eat dinner on a roof top with a view of and over the wall. Win/win.

We’d visited the fortress on our tour but didn’t go in. Our guide said it was best viewed at sunset. So, after dinner we headed there. She wasn’t wrong!

More of Bukhara….because it’s pretty special!

The next day we headed to Turkmenistan. Now THAT is an adventure!