Explorations along the Silk Road
The Silk Road was a network of trade routes connecting the East and the West for 3000 years until the 18th century. It allowed goods to be bought and sold, especially the lucrative silk after which the route takes is name. China had a monopoly on silk but it was heavily desired in Europe so in return the West would sell horses, ivory, furs and jade to the Chinese. The overland Silk Road stretched from Xian to Istanbul, a distance of 4000 miles, however maritime routes included Indonesia, India, the Arabian Peninsula and ended in Venice. The route began to decline after Vasco de Gama discovered a route around the Cape of Good Hope as sea travel was faster.
Due to the Silk Road, many cities flourished during this time, such as Xian (China), Kashgar (China), Bukhara (Uzbekistan) and Merv (Turkmenistan). UNESCO have now designated a large part of the route as a World Heritage Site.
Why am I telling you this? Well, due to a large part of Central Asia opening up over the last few years, I am taking my first visit to the region. As it would take the average caravan 240 days to traverse the route, I am obviously not doing the full route. Instead, focusing on two countries in the region. Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.
After arriving in Tashkent, our first priority was to head out! Many of the main streets were wide avenues but with not many cars on them, possibly because it was Sunday. After about 10 mins walking, we stumbled onto a square with a couple of statues of astronauts on it and we quickly realised this was the entrance to the Kosmonavtlar metro station. Tashkent metro is known to have stations in a similar vein to those in Moscow i.e. incredibly elaborate and photo worthy, but we wouldn’t be going down into the station just yet.
We carried on to Amir Temur Square. Temur is widely regarded as one of the world’s greatest military leaders, especially in Uzbekistan where he was largely based and had his capital city. In the centre of the square is a large statue of the man himself, backed by the Soviet-style Hotel Uzbekistan. It really is something to behold, but what that something is we are not quite sure. It is a beige coloured, rounded building with bars in front of all the windows.
We headed towards the train station. En route, we found a small restaurant where we stopped for lunch. They spoke no English, we spoke no Uzbek and basically no Russian but, thanks to a picture menu, we managed to order ourselves two dumpling soup dishes, bread and chai for lunch. This was also our first view of Uzbek bread. Usually circular in shape, every region has different bread made of different dough types, with different designs embedded into it. From here, we carried on to the Railway Museum, home to many old soviet locomotives which could be clambered on and into.
By this point, it was time to investigate the metro stations. From the main Tashkent train station metro, we headed to Chorsu, home to the country’s most famous bazaar. Under a green domed roof, you can buy all sorts of food inside the market as well as other everyday essentials. Whilst returning to the hotel, we got off at Kosmonavtlar station, widely regarded as the best decorated metro station. Shades of blue and portraits of various astronauts kept us occupied for a while whilst we tried to identify them. The station also seemed to be a popular stop for tour groups and guides. Until about a year ago, you were not permitted to take photos on the metro or of the stations, but thanks to the current President’s mission to relax the country, clicking away is now perfectly allowed. And all of this costs the pair of us less than 25p per journey. Bargain!
Two years ago when I first started planning for this trip, Khiva was very inaccessible. No train station, no bus station. The closest of each was located in Urgench, some 35km away. However, in those two years the train line has been extended to Khiva and a brand new station built along with a new train line across the desert to Bukhara, saving on a 7-8 hour bumpy taxi ride. The line is also in the process of being electrified for use by the high speed trains but for now we had to settle for old Soviet trains.
By morning, we were in the middle of the desert – sand as far as we could see. It was another 3 hours until we arrived in Khiva, where conveniently the new station is only a short walk from the east gate of Ichon Kala – the name given to the walled inner city of Khiva and an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Inside are numerous medressa’s, Islamic schools now used as museums, and minarets.
First; to the Islom-Hoja Minaret. At 57m tall, it is the highest minaret in Khiva, built only in 1910. To get to the top, we had to climb approximately 120 steps, up a spiral staircase where the steps were steep and uneven, to the top. From the small observation point at the top, we could see over the whole of Ichon Kala, down to the train station and so far to the south, we reckon it would have been Turkmenistan.
Bukhara is often dubbed as Central Asia’s holiest city, with over 140 protected buildings, many of which have stood for centuries. The city used to consist of a network of canals and stone pools, where stagnant water meant that plague was a common problem. The majority of these have long since disappeared with just Lyabi Hauz remaining at the centre of the city.
We arrived in Bukhara after the 6 hour train journey, the majority of which was through desert as we skirted around the Turkmenistan border. Numerous Medressa’s and a small bazaar to explore, we started by visiting Lyabi Hauz, which now is surrounded on three sides by cafes and also has plastic camels in tribute to the caravans that used to plough the Silk Road. The next was spectacular, with the Mir-i-Arab Medessa and Kalon Minaret which was built in 1127. When Chinggis Khan was ransacking his way through the region, it is said he was so dumbfounded by the beauty of the minaret that he spared it from being destroyed.
For our final wander, we headed to the infamous Ark, built around the 5th century, which is now largely a museum, with a series of exhibits, as well as a mosque. Simply stunning and the perfect place to end an incredible journey in Central Asia.