Ask GoMad Nomad: Solo Travel on the Silk Road? This month’s Ask GoMad Nomad column comes from longtime reader Heidi, whose question concerns a region near and dear to several of the writers behind GoMad Nomad: Central Asia and the Silk Road. I recently decided that I want to travel the Silk Road from China …
Photo of the Week: The Registan in Samarkand The Registan is undoubtedly the center of tourism in modern Uzbekistan, but long ago on the historic Silk Road than ran from modern-day China to the Middle East and Europe the city of Samarkand was also one of the very centers of the intellectual and religious world. …
Central Asia Visas: A Beginner’s Guide Your bags are packed, your flights are booked, and you’ve been chugging vodka and horse milk for weeks to prepare. (Though, please, not both at the same time.) You’re all set for Central Asia! But, are you sure? Rules are much more complicated in this region than the visas for …
Bukhara: Ancient City of the Silk Road For nearly two thousand years, Bukhara’s vibrant civilization and well-established economy kept it as a center of culture and commerce on the fabled Silk Road. Genghis Khan conquered here, British explorers languished and died in its prisons, and even the Soviet Union fought before and eventually conquered Bukhara’s …
This series of photos come from the Fergana Valley of Uzbekistan, a famous producer of fine silk. I had the opportunity to travel to the city of Margilan to visit a silk factory when I served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Uzbekistan. At the Yodgorlik silk factory, you can witness the different stages of …
My alarm clock goes off at five. It’s been about four hours since I fell asleep. I’ve woken up to go to the early-morning festivities for a neighborhood circumcision ceremony which is locally and collectively referred to as one of several Uzbek “weddings”. I have been a Peace Corps Volunteer in a small provincial town in Uzbekistan for more than a year now. The people of my town are exceedingly friendly and known to be the most festive in the country. If there’s a wedding to go to, it will be a neighbor of mine pouring the vodka and cracking jokes for the table.
I had been trying to see the interesting sites that get neglected when you actually live in a historical place. My most recent touristy visit was to a minaret in the nearby town of Shiforkan…
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