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Uzbekistan Nov 5-17 2015 This is Central Asia’s cradle of culture for more than 2 millennia, the home of an arsenal of architecture and ancient cities, all deeply infused with the bloody, fascinating history of the Silk Road. In terms … Continue reading →

TIPS & OBSERVATIONS 1. Currency. Denominated Turkmen Manat (DTM). 1€ = 4.1 DTM This is a black market money country – the official rate is 1$US = 3.5 DTM. The black market rate is $1 = 18 DTM. As a … Continue reading →

Area. 447,400 sq km Capital. Tashkent Population. 30 million. Languages. Uzbek, Russian, Tajik, Karakalpak. Uzbek, a Turkic language, is official, has 15 million speakers and is the most widely spoken non-Slavic language from the former Soviet states. It was first … Continue reading →

This is Central Asia’s cradle of culture for more than 2 millennia, the home of an arsenal of architecture and ancient cities, all deeply infused with the bloody, fascinating history of the Silk Road. In terms of sites alone, Uzbekistan … Continue reading →

This is Central Asia’s cradle of culture for more than 2 millennia, the home of an arsenal of architecture and ancient cities, all deeply infused with the bloody, fascinating history of the Silk Road. In terms of sites alone, Uzbekistan … Continue reading →

Afghanistan October 31, 2015 Shighnan (also Shignan, Shugnan, Shughnan, Khughnan in the local language) is an historic region whose name today may also refer to a town and a district in Badakhshan Province in the mountainous northeast of Afghanistan and also a district in Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province in Tajikistan. The administrative centre of … Continue reading →

Tajikistan’s highland landscapes offer adventure for mountaineers, trekkers and adventure travellers. Rural homestays are the norm and rural transport is so irregular that most rent 4WDs. The people are predominantly Persian, rather than Turkic speaking, and enormously hospitable. It is … Continue reading →

Tajikistan – The Trip Oct 24-Nov 6, 2015 Its highland landscapes test climbers, trekkers and adventure travellers. Rural homestays form the bulwark of accommodation in timelessly photogenic rural villages hosted by a curious mixture of different facial appearances. The people … Continue reading →

HISTORY Early People. The earliest recorded residents were Sakas (Scythians) with rich bronze and gold relics from the 5th and 6th centuries. Then Turks lived around Lake Issyk-Kol. In 751, the Turks with Tibetans and Arab allies, drove out a … Continue reading →

HISTORY Kazakhstan as a single entity with defined borders was an invention of the Soviet regime in the 1920s, before that, the great bulk of the territory was part of the domain of nomadic horseback animal herders that stretched right … Continue reading →