Vignettes of the World
My Travel Journal
Before arriving in Buhkara, we would also be making a stop at the town of Nurota to see some ancient ruins. This part of the journey was simple. We went up to the Nur Fortress to see what was supposedly a military installation built at …
We would be going to Bukhara on a private car in a five-hour drive from the Syyod Camp. We bid farewell to the staff at the camp and headed over to see the two wonders of Uzbekistan: the Kyzylkum Desert and Lake Aydarkul. Its sheer …
We spent a day and a half hiking with Mr. S and he shared quite a bit about his thoughts on the world as an Uzbek. I had this incredible privilege to learn about some current affairs in this region, which is not widely known …
We rose early. The hike of the day will be a full 7-hour hike onto the peak of the Nuratau Mountains Range. The ascent is between 900 meters to 1690 meters, almost 700 meters of altitude to climb. At 1690-Meter Altitude Unlike hiking in Hong …
Early in the morning we bid farewell to Samarkand. We would be heading to the Nuratau Mountains for a significant change of scenery from the ancient sites of Uzbekistan, and stepping into a wonderful embrace of its wilderness instead. A driver from the Syyod Camp …
Midnight in Peking, a book by Paul French Midnight in Peking has all the captivating elements that make it an amazing work of historical fiction. Based on a true crime that occurred in a time long past in the last century, it fuses history, diplomatic …
We took a quick lunch at the Siab Bazaar and then headed toward the Shah-I-Zinda. On our way, we passed by the Hazrati Hizr Mosque. The Hazrati Hizr Mosque The Hazrati Hizr Mosque was built in 1823. Although as compared to the myriad other ancient …
We woke up to a rainy morning in Samarkand. I had my Uzbek breakfast early in the morning and watched the rain as I ate. The weather was cool, perhaps in the low 20’s. We were going to see the Sha-I-Zinda that day, as the …
In our first night at the Bahodir B&B, we were quite disturbed by the group singing that went well into the depths of the night. The songs sounded like Christian songs to me, and I thought there were some evangelicals also staying at the hotel. …
Amir Timur ruled via the puppet khans in the khanate kingdoms in which he managed to consolidate his power. This was because Amir Timur himself was not a descendant of the Genghis Khan. Without this lineage he could not become the Khan. He became qurkan …