From Khiva we made our way onward to Bukhara, an ancient oasis city on the fabled Silk Road. Bukhara is an easy city to explore on foot and we enjoyed getting lost in its back alleys while exploring its highlights (Ark Citadel, Char Minar, Samanid Mausoleum and the Kalyan minaret). After 2 days here, we…Continue reading Uzbekistan – Bukhara & Samarkand & Tashkent
Tag: Oasis Overland
Uzbekistan – Nukus & Moynaq & Khiva
Crossing the Turkmenistan border into Uzbekistan brought no relief from the relentless heat. If anything, it was kicked up a notch or two. And we still had a few more bush camps to get through…yippee!! First stop was in the town of Nukus to do a bit of money exchanging and cook group shopping. It…Continue reading Uzbekistan – Nukus & Moynaq & Khiva
Turkmenistan – Ashgabat & Darvaza Gas Craters & Konye Urgench
Turkmenistan! Our 5 days/4 nights here flew by and its time to jot down a few thoughts of this fascinating and bizarre country. Getting into Turkmenistan was surprisingly easy. We were efficiently stamped out of Iran and into Turkmenistan in less than 2 hours…compared to last year’s border crossing taking well over 6 hours and…Continue reading Turkmenistan – Ashgabat & Darvaza Gas Craters & Konye Urgench
Iran – Yazd & Garmeh & Mashhad
Our last week in Iran was spent in the fabulous mud built city of Yazd, the tranquil desert oasis of Garmeh, and the holy city of Mashhad. Yazd was voted by many of our group to be their favorite city in Iran, and a few more of our fellow travelers succumbed and finally bought their…Continue reading Iran – Yazd & Garmeh & Mashhad
Iran – Persepolis & Shiraz & Yazd
From Esfahan, we drove south towards Naqsh-e Rustam (a necropolis housing 4 tombs of Achaemenid kings). Since Iran decided in 2013 to jack up tourist entrance fees to a whopping 30x what the locals pay, most of us opted to skip out on visiting Naqsh-e Rustam since the carved rock face tombs were visible from…Continue reading Iran – Persepolis & Shiraz & Yazd