We spent Saturday walking around Khiva’s ancient fortress city known as Itchan Kala, the capital of the Khanate of Khiva, an independent city-state from 1511 until 1747, when it was briefly under the control of Iran. In the 1800s, the Russian Empire launched several invasions into the khanate and Khiva ultimately became a protectorate of … Continue reading
In my last post, I mentioned that Ismail Samani united the various Sogdian city-states of Central Asia into a single dynasty in 892 AD. Samani made the fortress city of Bukhara the capital of his family’s brief dynasty, which lasted until the end of the first millennium, that is, until 999 AD. Like Samarkand to … Continue reading
Inhabited since 700 BC, Samarkand is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia. Arab armies captured it in 710 AD. At that time, Samarkand was a diverse religious community of Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Hindus, Manichaens, Jews and Nestorian Christians. In most cases, upon conquering territory, new Arab rulers would neither settle nor impose Islam on … Continue reading
We are ready now to ease our way back into the past. Our tour itinerary will take us first to Samarkand, one of the oldest, continuously inhabited cities of Central Asia. After a brief detour into neighboring Tajikistan for a trek up into the Fann Mountains to visit the Seven Lakes, we will pick up … Continue reading
Recovered from jet lag, we met our guide and the other members of our touring group in the hotel lobby Friday morning. We were also greeted by our travel agent, Severa, who has been extremely helpful in making all our travel arrangements. I was not surprised to learn she is one of Advantour’s most senior … Continue reading
We usually plan our own journeys and travel alone, but this time we booked an arranged tour through an Uzbek travel agency, Advantour, a small group excursion they call the Essentials of the Silk Road. The tour is scheduled to begin on Friday morning, April 18. We arrived a few days early to have time … Continue reading
When the internet first became a “thing” back in the 1980s, I could sign up for any service with my username being my first and last name, like “markulmer@aol.com.” As the years have gone by, however, I’ve discovered that there are a surprising number of people that share my name. So many that when I … Continue reading
The Road Less Traveled 