I’m off in a couple hours for the grueling .. but I’ll get over it .. 20 hour flight to Urgench in Uzbekistan (LA-Istanbul-Urgench) and then 3 hour drive to Nukus. Here is the first post where I told about Uzbekistan. Then a friend in Japan asked me “but why Uzbekistan?” and I replied as follows:
I have never been anywhere in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan).
I have a friend who worked for the State Department and was posted in Uzbekistan for 2 years. She says it is a good country to visit – the government, although authoritarian, is stable, the people are very friendly to travelers, and the excellent train system makes it easy to get around. It is also where the great cities of the Silk Road are located.
Here is what AI has to say:
“The major Silk Road cities in Uzbekistan include Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva, renowned for their rich history, stunning architecture, and vibrant culture that highlight the region’s past as a central hub for trade and scholarship between Europe and Asia.”
I’ll be there for three weeks and able to visit all these cities, other cities, and the countryside. I am going on my own but my friend in the State Department knows the travel agent in Uzbekistan who makes all the travel arrangements for the US Embassy and she will be helping me.
It’s going to be a while before I can write again, but stay tuned!