TravelStream™ news feed for member flowergyaru on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/flowergyaru en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:08:08 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1195931220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1195931220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1195931220/tpod.html Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:08:08 -0500 A woman on a mission - Africa, Iran and the Silk Road

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Riversdale, New Zealand

Hehe, we did it - got hitched!  In beautiful Riversdale, 2.5 hours from Wellington.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1199558760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1199558760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1199558760/tpod.html Tue, 05 Feb 2008 14:01:41 -0500 A woman on a mission - Africa, Iran and the Silk Road

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Bangkok, Thailand

Well, we finally got married - and after spending a week on the road in New Zealand with some buddies after the wedding, we headed off to Thailand over Christmas for our honeymoon.  Just the two of us - FINALLY! (not that we didn't love hanging around with our mates for weeks...) For a full 17 days (without our luggage, a story in itself) we enjoyed ourselves and each other in paradise.  Just what the doctor ordered!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1177232700/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1177232700/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1177232700/tpod.html Tue, 01 May 2007 07:30:22 -0400 A woman on a mission - Africa, Iran and the Silk Road

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Brikama, Gambia

hehe!  So, after a year away, I went back to Africa.  Different this time though, because, without ever being there, I was heading HOME - well, to one of my homes anyway :-)Barika and I are getting married at the end of the year (yee haa!) and so it was important that I saw his family, and saw his life.  And man, what a fantastic experience it was.Too little time to write it all down now (I am hoping I'll come back to this), but here are some of the highlights:- The family - lovely and welcoming.  And there are hundreds!- A new house - we put the roof on our new house while we were there!- Beaches - hundreds of kms of beautiful beaches (and the tourists that go with it, boo)- Late nights and live music - The reggae! Everywhere- BEAUTIFUL handmade silver- Being given a sheep as a present on the last day from the local marabu (witch doctor).  My sheep was slaughted and a feast was eaten!- St James Island / Jeffure - the home of Roots- Bribing police to get a certain family member off a police charge- Trying to bribe border police to be allowed into Senegal without a visa- Over-loaded busesAnyway, more details to follow!  For now, just trying to upload my pics!  Enjoy!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1156068720/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1156068720/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1156068720/tpod.html Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:49:34 -0500 A woman on a mission - Africa, Iran and the Silk Road

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Wellington, New Zealand

Well, here we are at home sweet home! Finally, after 15 years I have moved back to New Zealand :-)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1154425140/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1154425140/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1154425140/tpod.html Sun, 06 Aug 2006 12:17:24 -0400 A woman on a mission - Africa, Iran and the Silk Road

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Reading, United Kingdom

After coming back from my travels, most of my last 2 months has been spent in Reading - lazing about, meeting Barika for lunch EVERYDAY, cooking, cleaning, swimming, volunteering at Oxfam and the local Fair Trade shop, intersperced with the odd trip into London. I had been worried about how bored I might be being a kept woman and all, but, surprisingly I have LOVED the time! More importantly, a lot of quality time has been spent with my man. One of the highlights here in Reading has been the annual WOMAD festival. WOMAD stands for World of Music and Dance and is a massive 3 day festival of 'world' music, conveniently held in the UK a 30 min walk from our place. It didn't take long for Barika to hook up with other Gambians at the festival, visiting from all over the UK. We found the drumming tent and used it as a base, using the area around to made Gambian tea (it takes hours...) as we enjoyed the music and dancing happening all around us. Some of the highlights was Angelique Kidjo (from Benin, brought back lots of memories of my trip in Africa...), Cuban Ska, Salif Keita, oh yeah, and Barika's friend Abdul's Gambian dance workshop! The week before WOMAD we headed into London to see wee sis Charlotte for the last time before she left London! Bye bye sis... We also managed to catch up with Marc, pregnant Yukari and a fast growing Noah, as well as Yuko who came over from Brussels for a picnic in the park. Another weekend we helped out with Eric and Nahila's food store in Bracknell - a Gambian and a kiwi on a Malaysian food stand in the UK dressed African style! And then on Barika's week off, a bit of a UK trip - up to Edinburgh to catch up with Barika's mates (he used to live there), with a quick side trip over to Glasgow (no pics available sorry... kept forgetting to take my camera out with me) - then on the way back, a stop over in Birmingham for a Gambian 'naming ceremony' of a new born baby named after Barika's sister Haddy. We both got well and truly dressed up Gambian style - and I thoroughly enjoyed the night with my new extended family :)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149682860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149682860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149682860/tpod.html Thu, 29 Jun 2006 06:08:52 -0400 A woman on a mission - Africa, Iran and the Silk Road

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Tashkent, Uzbekistan

And so, on June 7th I headed to the capital of Tashkent, my mind and heart already on the airplane back to my Barika. I spent time doing the usual things I end up doing in big capitals - getting my hair cut, splashing out on fabulous Korean food, getting my legs waxed, and days on the internet trying to update my travelblog :)There isn't much to write about Tashkent. Its a Russian style town - nothing special except for the Chorsu Market in the north west (fabulous), the subway (efficient and clean), and the theatre - fantastic. For $1.50 I got to see ballet, and then $2 the next night got me a ticket to the opera :)A lovely relaxing 3 days in the city to mull over my last 3 weeks in Central Asia, and 2 months away from my Barika. Iran, as you all know (or should!) I loved - for its hospitality and its people. The small glimpse I have had of Central Asia, I have also 'loved' - for its silk road romance, beautiful buildings and the relaxed atmosphere. I just wish I'd had the time to check out Tajikstan and Kyrgyzstan!! Next time...It has been a hard 2 months by myself on the road, but I am so glad I did it. I now have such an incredible feel of achievement - if I can travel by myself through Iran and Central Asia, there is NOTHING I can't do in life :)Altogether now I have spent a total of nine months travelling - Africa, Iran and Central Asia. And without a single doubt, I have enjoyed every minute of it. Even the bad times have been good times! I have done everything I set out to achieve, and have gained so much more than expected along the way. It has been the best nine months of my life. But now I am ready to stop and settle down and to enjoy the next stage of my life - back home and with a lovely LOVELY partner :) IAnyway, enough of that! As always, I would like to end this with a few of my favourite photos - these are my best from Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Enjoy :) ...and the lovely people :)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149582660/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149582660/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149582660/tpod.html Thu, 29 Jun 2006 05:23:27 -0400 A woman on a mission - Africa, Iran and the Silk Road

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Samarkand, Uzbekistan

While Bukhara is a living breathing ancient town and Khiva is a small fortress with everything within close proximity, Samarkand is a large city where there are few tourist attractions, but the ones that are there....just blew me away with their design and scale. Incredible!I stayed in a cheap backpackers hostel (Bahodir B&B) and hooked up with lots of other backpackers. A nice change after weeks of only meeting the more 'affluent' travellers! The hostel was centrally located, and so I spent the next couple of days walking around town and then joining my new Israeli friends for dinner.My favourite place in the city, and indeed one of my favourite places from the whole trip, was the Shahr-i-Zindah Mausoleum on the edge of town - an important 9-14th century Muslim pilgrimmage site (a cousin of the prophet is buried here). It is like a small town, with up to about 10 small mausoleums on both sides of the main path running through the middle. What makes it so special is that it is soooo beautiful. The tile work is detailed and elaborate and involves hundreds of different shades of blues. Inside the mausolems themselves, the original artwork is slowly being restored by master craftsmen - the detail is incredible... The main tourist attraction in town is a group of 3 extremely large Medressa (medieval muslim clergy academy), known commonly as The Registan. The Registan was conveniently located a 2 minute walk from my hostel and so I got to see it at all the different times of the day - up early at 6am to bribe an official to let me climb one of the minarets for a fraction of the normal price, and then again at night to enjoy the free (if you stand at the back) light and sound show in French... The other main attraction is the huge Bibi Khanym Mosque complex. Construction of the mosque was completed in 1404 shortly after Emperor Timur successfully conquered India, leaving a trail of destruction behind him. Bibi Khanym initially gripped the minds of many poets and was compared to the beauty and brilliance of the Milky Way, however not long after the mosque became a place of worship, the building began to collapse and fall into ruin until being restored in the 1970-80s. There is however a romantic legend surrounding the building - that Bibi Khanym, Timur's wife, built this mosque, thinking she could surprise her husband with a colossal monument on his return from India. Instead he was surprised by a love-bite in her neck, left there by the mosque's Persian architect. Timur sent a platoon to capture the architect dead or alive, but he fled up the minaret he had just built, leapt over the top and flew home to Persia... In reality, it is more likely that Timur build a mosque to thank the gods for his victory, and he wanted it to be bigger then anything he had seen on his travels. Either way, its a pretty impressive building! Otherwise, not so much to see in Samarkand! A few other buildings, but otherwise its just another amazing silk road city!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149236280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149236280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149236280/tpod.html Thu, 29 Jun 2006 04:49:52 -0400 A woman on a mission - Africa, Iran and the Silk Road

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Khiva, Uzbekistan

Despite being somewhat out of the way for me to get to, I had heard so many good reports about Khiva that I couldn't resist the 6 hour drive up to check it out. Armed with only a daypack, I found a bus to the outskirts of town and bargained myself a good deal for a share-taxi - 15,000 sum (USD$12) for the 6 hour journey :)Khiva didn't disappoint. Its a very small fortressed city, with so many amazing buildings inside the walls that for the first hour I just stood and stared with my tongue hanging out. The only draw-back is that not many people live inside the walls so it can feel slightly lifeless compared to the very 'living' Bukhara. But man, its an amazing place! I was only here for 2 nights so not much to say. The locals around town are all involved in the tourist trade and so not quite so innocently friendly as those in Bukhara, but I did get involved in a good many conversations. Oh, and for any people heading to Uzbekistan, the shopping in Khiva is a bit cheaper than in Bukhara - bargain hard! :)
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149156300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149156300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1149156300/tpod.html Thu, 29 Jun 2006 04:38:58 -0400 A woman on a mission - Africa, Iran and the Silk Road

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Sometimes you just get a real 'feel' for a town - for the atmosphere, the people, the buildings. I definitely got this in Bukhara, and ended up staying for days more than planned, just soaking up the ancient silk road feel to this beautiful beautiful town.Its a fairy-tale town - of magical lamps, blue domes, Eastern beauties, winding alleys, quaint gift stores and stunning buildings bearing mosaic designs made from a thousand shades of blue. And somehow...you can just feel the ghosts of ancient camel caravans laden with silk and other treasures from hundreds of years ago as they traipsed across the desert into Bukhara, the only oasis for days around.<img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0618.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0644.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0622.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0610.jpg" height="120"> Bukhara is one of the most ancient cities of Uzbekistan, founded in 13th century BC. The name of Bukhara originates from the word "vihara" which means "monastery" in Sanskrit. The city was once a large commercial center on the Great Silk Road and home to the great Sheikh Bahautdin Nakshbandi. He was a central figure in the development of the mystical Sufi approach to philosophy, religion and Islam. In Bukhara there are more than 350 mosques and 100 religious colleges. Its fortunes waxed and waned through succeeding empires until it became one of the great Central Asian Khanates in the 17th century.Anyway, 'nuff of the history! Just believe me when I say its a living, breathing ancient city, with the alleys filled with kids happily playing and women shopping, oblivious to their beautiful surroundings and the blue domes in the background of the many mosques and other ancient monuments preserved around the town.<img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0629.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0628.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0611.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0615.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0621.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0609.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0631.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0607.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0658.jpg" height="120"> I didn't do much while I was here, except spend hours and hours walking the streets, oohing and aahing over the beautiful buildings, checking out the local market, and of course, buying up :) So many goodies!<img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0635.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0634.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0636.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0637.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0640.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0665.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0641.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0656.jpg" height="120"> One night I did make it out to the local very amateur puppet theatre - basically a bunch of college girls putting on their own performance. I was priviledged to be the only one in the audience that night, and so the whole performance was for me alone, making me feel very special :)<img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0647.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0649.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0645.jpg" height="120"> Otherwise, I just spent hours chatting with the women and kids on the street. Despite being a tourist centre, everyone was very friendly and curious to talk to a young(ish) independent traveller. Though, sadly, all I initially got was 'how is life in America?' and 'I want to go to America'... I spent a good few hours on educating the youngsters on world geography and the pitfalls of the American way of life!<img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0690.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0679.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0668.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0675.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0689.jpg" height="120"> Perhaps the highlight of my stay however, was getting involved in a Women's Refuge Project. There is unfortunately a lot of domestic violence in Uzbekistan, mainly originating from pressure from the power-weilding mother-in-law on her son, to 'educate' his wife with his fists for being too lazy around the household. The wives have very little power or say, and so suffer terribly. A group of Uzbek women in Bukhara are now busy fund-raising and working with the local government to try and establish a refuge for women with problems to come and escape and learn to be self-sufficient. Through a contact of mum and dad at home, I got in touch with the director of the project and we went to the new proposed site to measure and take photos so students back in New Zealand could design a new refuge for them. A lot of hard work coordinating and measuring, but I did it, with the help of my translator Akmal, who insisted on taking me out afterwards to show me off to all his friends! If anyone is travelling to Bukhara and is interested in helping out (donations are very graciously accepted!) the contact details on the link above are correct :)<img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.courtyard_and_rooma_and_b_entrance.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0692.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0693.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0836.jpg" height="120"> Oh yeah, and if you want a nice place to stay, check out Komil B&amp;B - in a beautifully restored 19th century house! Komil is friendly, the massages are great, and the food pretty good as well. He asks $25 for a single, $15 with shared bathroom, but it may be possible to bargain a cheaper room in his father's house. It isn't the cheapest place to stay in Bukhara, but it is lovely and very centrally located!<img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0654.jpg" height="120"> <img src="http://www.travelpod.com/users/flowergyaru/thumbnail.large.africa-2005.1149156300.img_0653.jpg" height="120">Anyway, thats enough from Bukhara! Next stop, Khiva!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1148717040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1148717040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/flowergyaru/africa-2005/1148717040/tpod.html Wed, 28 Jun 2006 05:29:38 -0400 A woman on a mission - Africa, Iran and the Silk Road

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Mary and Merv, Turkmenistan

We left Ashgabat after the morning market, and headed in our 4WD towards the third largest city of Mary, passing through countless police checks along the way. The roads were surprisingly good, but the heat was close to unbearable as we crossed through the desert. One of the boys told me that the desert of Turkmenistan is the hottest place in the world, I don't know if this is true or not, but damn it was hot! Along the way we stopped off at two ancient sites - the old and holy Muslim Jamal Ad-din shrine (destroyed in the 1949 earthquake) and the ruins of the ancient Silk Road city of Abiwerd. It is really sad to see how much the earth has/is changing - in the old days, there was enough water in the area to make Abiwerd a very important and large trading post. Now its just desert ruins... Amazing though to walk around spotting pieces of ancient pottery just sticking out everywhere! Mary itself was uninspiring. Similar to Ashgabat in the way that it felt virtually deserted despite being the third largest city! We stayed in the worst hotel of the trip so far, Sanjar Hotel - the room above leaked into mine, the entire place stank of toilet and I had fleas in my bed :) I put up with it by sleeping on the floor, but the boys ended up forking out extra and paying for another hotel. Disgusting place! We made up for it though by going out for a night on the town, to a night club, where the boys ogled over the scantily dressed Russian women boogeying around while they skulled back the vodka. The next morning we had an early 5am start to try and beat the heat on our day excersion to Gonur Depe. What, you may be asking (as I did), is Gonur Depe? Duh, just the site of Margiana, one of the ancient civilisations! Or so the Russian archeologist Viktor Sarianidi is trying to prove, in true Indiana Jones style. In 1972 he set out looking for the lost capital of the Margiana Oasis. What he found in the desert was the remains of a highly developed Margiana society, thought to be the 5th Great Civilisation (following Egypt, Mesopotima, China and India). His theory hasn't quite been fully recognized in the archeological world but is not far from it. The site has however been confirmed as the oldest fire-worshiping civilisation. Sarianidi's theory is that the site is the birthplace to the Zorastrianism faith and at some time, was home to the founder of the religion, Zoroaster. There are the remains of 4 fire temples and also evidence of a cult based around priests getting high on a drug made from poppy, hemp and ephedra plants (thought to be hoama brew). The site has been dated as being 4000 years ago, and there is clear evidence of a royal palace and a necropolis holding 2000 bodies. A huge site, with more evidence of the civilisation being uncleared daily. In fact, for me the most amazing part of the whole visit (apart from meeting the man himself, Sarianidi) was seeing a room of basin-like remains that had apparantly only been unearthed 3 days ago (2nd photo below). I was one of the first people to see these 4000 year old treasures!The whole area is pretty much a living and breathing outdoor museum. Sarianidi and his team have unearthed so much pottery and remains that it is impossible to catalogise and restore them all, and so walking around the site you have to be careful not to trip over 4000 year old bits and pieces everywhere! Absolutely incredible... The biggest attraction of the area however is not Gonur Depe, but the ancient city (cities) of Merv. If you are a history or an archelogical buff, then Merv is your place. I, however am not, and got a little bored of all the FOURTEEN different main sites after a couple of hours :) For the interested however, Merv is unique in that the area has been used from BC 6th century, right up to AD 18th, through different invading forces and religions, with each different society 'era' moving their living place within a few km of the other (following the movement of the changing steam-way of the river). So, through visiting each of the sites, you can see the different streams from Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity and Islam ideas, and where these faiths led their levels of culture. A few pretty cool ruins, but two hours is more than enough! And so, after only five short days, my time in the amazing country of Turkmenistan came to an end. It was a pity, because I hadn't yet got a proper feel for the country, mainly because I was travelling with a guide and so didn't get the chances I normally get to stop and chat to the kids and women around. Never mind, its such a bizarre country that i'm sure i'll be back sometime in the future... that is, if the government approves my visa after all this!
]]>