uzbekistan

Here we entered Silk Road territory and began to meet many more other travellers on this popular tourist route. After a day or so in the rather uninspiring capital Tashkent our senses were rewarded with stays in the cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, once key stops on the network of ‘silk road’ trade routes connecting East and West – with their stunning collections of all the “M’s” – mosques, madrasas (Islamic colleges), minarets (prayer towers) and markets. Oh and a Martini or two. Quite a bit of shopping and eating completed here too.