Editor’s note: Both the US and British governments both warn against any travel to Afghanistan. Although, our Central Asia-based writer, Stephen Lioy, visited recently and lived to tell his story, does not mean it’s safe for foreign travelers. Though once a common stop on the Hippie Trail, Afghanistan is no longer a common destination on […]
Getting to Afghanistan Read More »
Something seems special about staring across a wide valley towards Afghanistan. All through the Tajik Wakhan, I find my eyes lingering at the villages just across the border and wondering what life is like there. This photo, taken above the village of Langar, is nearly to the end of the Tajik Wakhan. Several kilometers
Photo of the Week: View above the Tajik Wakhan Read More »
Listen in on a story about the beautiful mountains of Tajikistan, and you’ll almost certainly hear a tale of an epic road trip through the harsh but beautiful plateaus of the Pamir’s. Spend any time in the country, though, and you may find yourself equally drawn to the far less visited mountain ranges on the
Your Guide to the Fan Mountains of Tajikistan Read More »
Aksai Gorge near Almaty Kazakhstan Almaty just exudes ‘nature’ and ‘mountains’. From almost anywhere in the city, the Tian Shan Mountains form a beautiful snow-capped backdrop to city life. After spending nearly two weeks in the city waiting on an Uzbek visa, though, getting out of the city and into these mountains was my highest
Photo of the Week: Gorge-ous Outpost Aksai Kazakhstan Read More »
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
Photo Essay: Bukhara Uzbekistan Read More »
The Soviet fossils in Ashgabat are strewn over the surface of daily life here. One in particular is the bukhanka. This is the Russian word for “loaf”, as in “loaf of bread”. However, the word is used as a standard sort of measure of the state-subsidized and state-produced bread that fills a lot of
Letters from Ashgabat: Feeding Turkmenistan's Capital Read More »
Turkmenistan visas are not for the faint of heart. With the exception of a few intrepid overlanders who take advantage of an oddly liberal three-day transit visa, getting into the country is not easy. Either one comes in a very expensive tourist visa package or one comes sponsored by an international business or organization. As
Letters from Ashgabat–Landing in Turkmenistan's Capital Read More »
Photo of the Week: Ashgabat, Turkmenistan In all my travels, Turkmenistan has been, by far, the oddest place I’ve visited. Culturally, the Turkmens are “cousins” of the Uzbeks, and I found many similarities in the everyday lives and customs with their Central Asian neighbors. The languages are also similar, both routed in Turkish. These are
Photo of the Week: Ashgabat, Turkmenistan Read More »
In Honor of International Worker’s Day, here is one of the ubiquitous public mosaics that once adorned buildings and public spaces across the whole of the Soviet Union, many still remaining to this day. Although there has been a trend over the past decade or so to remove some of these monuments and other artistic
Photo of the Week: Soviet Mosaic in Kazakhstan Read More »
Tash Rabat Caravansarai, Kyrgyzstan We took the road south out of At-Bashi immediately passing a huge animal bazaar. Our Kyrgyz driver carefully weaved his way through the cows and horses being led across the main road. We continued, overtaking huge 18-weelers full of Soviet scrap metal, lined up miles before the Torugart Pass border, the
Photo of the Week: Tash Rabat Caravansarai, Kyrgyzstan Read More »
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