Uzbekistan
A 6 weeks trip in Uzbekistan and a few days in Tadjikistan
Samarkand
31 mai
A three-day tour of this mythical Central Asian city. The Registan and its absolutely magnificent Medrassas. But also the observatory that enabled scientists to position the stars in relation to the earth. A mausoleum and a mosque on the well-marked route to the Registan.
The old quarters have been cut off from the main tourist attractions by high walls. This is where we are staying in the old town, just a stone’s throw from the main attractions. But behind these walls we will also see the (…)
From Yettitom to Samarcande
28 mai
Initially, the two girls at home wanted to try out my bike. They took it in turns and were very happy : they don’t really see this kind of bike around their house.
We set off before 7am to avoid the heat. We skirt the mountains of Tajikistan. Mission accomplished, we reached the first high point (788m) at around 10am. After the second (810) we had a nice break, sharing a melon under an apricot tree.
Finally we arrive in the mythical city of Samarkand. Lots of police everywhere, it looks (…)
From Karshi to Yettitom
27 mai
A short stage today on the road to Samarkand, lined with watermelons freshly picked from the fields. We stop in the small town of Yettitom and soon see several hotels. We stopped at the end of the village for a coffee and asked if there was a hotel a little further down the road. The lady tells us we can sleep upstairs. We’d like to go a bit further, but it’s still early and if we don’t, we’ll have a long stage tomorrow... In the end, we stayed at the lady’s house and even had dinner there. (…)
From Muborak to Karshi
26 mai
From Mubarak we reach Karchi by avoiding the main road. The route is quieter, but the road is often rough... or even bumpy ! The information on the state of the road seems not to have been given in the software, as it considers our route to be mostly tarmac, which is not really the case. Nevertheless, we went relatively fast, slowed down a bit on the bad roads and finally rejoined a good road for the last few kilometres to Karchi.
We arrived at the hotel’s GPS point at 13:30... but there (…)
From Bukhara to Muborak
25 mai
Saturday’s return by train from Khiva went very smoothly : at the station baggage check the officer wasn’t really motivated, so my gas cartridge went through without a hitch. Then when we got to our carriage, the smiling officer immediately thought of a solution and told us that we would have to move the bikes after departure (the doors opening on different sides), which we did. The journey in this non-air-conditioned compartment is a bit hot but it goes well enough with a smiling Uzbek (…)
Khiva
23 mai
A few days in Khiva. Everything seems quieter here than in Bukhara. No cars in the main streets. But tourism is also much more systematically organised : you need a card to enter the enclosure and access most of the monuments, and you need an ‘extra-ticket’ to visit the Great Minaret or the ramparts... Music groups come to play or wave their puppets before mealtimes...
From the hotel, we’ll take a tour of the desert fortresses. These are ancient abandoned fortresses that are being eroded (…)
Bukhara
20 mai
Three days in Bukhara allows us to visit the city, which is rich in magnificent monuments.
Our accommodation, Parmivash, was very pleasant, with a cool little courtyard, a hostess who tried to arrange everything for us, her daughter who translated from English into Uzbek and her husband who helped out.
We visit the main monuments and discover the huge modern bazaar. The Bolo Haouz mosque is astonishing and a magnificent monument. On the outside are richly carved wooden pillars. Closed (…)
From Navoyi to Bukhara
17 mai
We arrived at our hotel in Bukhara in the middle of the afternoon. We set off from Navoyi at 5:00 am, and the journey was no picnic. It was Daniel’s turn to be ill, but fortunately the road was downhill and the wind was in our favour. We made a lot of stops, notably at the Rabati Malik caravanserai (of which only the main door remains) and on the other side of the road at the Malik Sardoba cistern. We meet a cyclist on an Umra safari , riding with the Uzbek flag proudly displayed.
When we (…)
From Nurota to Navoyi
16 mai
We set off early because the road is long and a pass awaits us !
Our route takes us past the Nurota cemetery, where we hear women mourning their dead...
The cooler weather helped, and here we are at the top of the Qoraqarga Dovoni pass (805m) at 8.15am - one of the few declared passes in Uzbekistan !
A piece of string on my panniers enabled them to hold on and swallow the kilometres without a hitch !
After a smooth ride we arrived in Navoyi, where we could finally change some euros (…)
From Qizilcha to Nurota
15 mai
Sick during the night, I couldn’t swallow anything in the morning. I won’t know what made me ill : the water from the Guest House the night before, the chicken I’d eaten in the evening that I thought was too fatty, or simply heatstroke ? The fact remains that it’s not easy to push on the pedals and the heat is becoming unbearable. What’s more, my front panniers easily jump off the rack... [I’d already had problems in Turkey with this luggage rack and panniers, but on this new bike it’s even (…)