Semurg Bukhara

Inevitably at some point on every part of the journey, language fails me. In fact, I could spend the next decade searching the English language for enough superlatives to be able to give Samarqand it's due praise, and I would still come up short. Words like 'magnificent', 'awesome' and 'spectacular' sound so trite and cliche at the footsteps of the domes and facades that ornament this ancient city. I don't even know how to describe the exquisite beauty of it's ...

Bukhara, another stop along the Silk Road, is famous for its many medrassahs and pools. The centre of old Bukhara is the Lyabi Hauz, roughly translated to 'round the pool' or ‘banks of the pool’. Although much more commercialized than I expected (it’s chock-full of vendors selling tourist trinkets, as well as some life-sized camel statues strategically located for tourist pictures in place of the old men who proportedly played chess and drank tea for ...

... of the day and the minute we stepped out of the taxi we were encapsulated by an envelope of warm air. We were later told it was 43 degrees in the shade, which made the temperature in the sun sweltering. We disappeared off from the main square into a myriad of back alleys and mudbrick houses and eventually arrived at K Komil Guesthouse. This was a pleasant 19th century house with two stories of rooms perched around a small courtyard. Our room had some ornate historical features ...

Hi All,

Rode/drove across to Bukhara yesterday from Samarkand. Uneventful trip, very hot here now, in the low forties, Uzbek roads so much better than Tajikistan. There is actually more tarmac than holes - a real change!

Met a huge group of British bikers going the other way on an organized "round the world" trip, traveling across to Vladivostok in Siberia, then ferry to South Korea ...

... not been for Behruz recommending that we sat down every so often, I know that I would not have lasted our day tour of the wonderful Bukhara. And what a waste that would have been.

Despite me feeling like death, our day in Bukhara was fascinating. We explored, if rather slowly, Bukhara's oldest structure The Ark - the citadel where excavations reveal finds dating back to the 4th and 3rd Century BC, the Registan (the main square and once infamous place for public executions ...

... part antiga extensa, de carrers estrets de terra i murs gruixuts d una o dues plantes amb portetes petites, de fusta treballada i ferramentes massisses que s obren a mons, sovint sorprenents, de pulcres cases pati. Interiors amb porxades i tarimes que posen la vida a rercer del sol i la pols. El contrapunt a aquests carrers trencats, de gra petit, de canonades en l aire, que avancen a cops de colze, superant obstacles, ara en seccio i ades en ...

Hi ! Last summer, I had a 1 month holiday, and i dicied to travel anywhere or go anywhere. And soon i began checking for good countries. Personally, I interested in ancient cities and ancient things. Then i checked for some countries, and found a country called uzbekistan. I tried to book a ticket to Uzbekistan, but i didn't know where to go after arriving at Uzbekistan. innaly, i found a hotel ...

... well put me in with the Demented Dane if I start that behaviour when there's someone in the room with me. Anyway this place looks fantastic- very photogenic. Its not as over restored as Samarkand, the Russians basically left it alone so I'm looking forward to the tour tomorrow as long as it's not too hot. I may well get up around 6ish and see a lot myself before the sun bakes. Hope this blog didn't have "too much information " for you- if so blame the sun!!! Lots of love , Victoria. xxxxxxx

... power board for 4000 sum. Have lunch at a nearby restaurant with most of the group, then back to the hotel for rest. Arrange to go with the guide for a 5PM climb to the watch tower on the Kuhna Ark, and take photos all around. This, like most things we have done today, costs. Only the mosques seem to be free. Afterward, walk right around the city walls, climb the wall at the ...

... and not a second too soon, the Sharq pulled out of Samarkand. Luckily, two things: 1) we did pick up speed, and soon we could use the teal silk window drapes to funnel the window air down to our laps. After about an hour, a transit policeman ordered the windows snapped shut, and air conditioning came on. 2) I love train rides. I think all four of us do. We'd better--this three-hour, high-speed ride (aboard the "Sharq" train) was a good baby-step to ...