After a break of ... well ... too long, I am back on pbase!

Samarkand ... the name conjures up romantic images of the Silk Road, caravans, spices and days of travelling on camel, trading fabric, culture, flavours, sciences and faiths.
Uzbekistan hosts the most beautiful towns on the Silk Road, apart from Samarkand, Khiva and Bukhara were important trading posts. Much of it has been preserved through the centuries, and others are being restored. Although the trade route closed a long time ago, these places are now hosts to a different brand of traveller - tourists who want to take a step back in time.
Uzbekistan is a country of surprises and contradictions, and so rarely have I travelled to a place where I was welcomed with such warmth and open arms. The people of Uzbekistan are refreshingly friendly, openly curious to find out about life beyond their borders, and have the grace of hospitality ingrained into them that I felt like a welcome guest at every turn. This is a visit that I will remember - and since so little is known about this country, I have posted more tourist type photos than I normally would.

If some of the buildings remind you of Iran, it could be because Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva brought in people from Iran to design and construct the buildings. In fact, one of their main languages, Tajik, has Persian roots.

This trip was organised with the help of David Berghof and Aleksey Nizamov (www.stantours.com), who made it really easy and safe for independent travellers like me to get around.

You can click on the thumbnails for a better view. Best viewed in slideshow format.

PS 2017 - uploading the ones I left out earlier.