Introduction
Where
is it? Why go there? Because Uzbekistan is like an undiscovered jewel, It sits at
the cross roads of history right in the middle of the ancient Silk Road,
doubly land locked in the heart of Central Asia, 
directly
bounded by countries
such as Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan with Russia, China
and India beyond. Because it is being rebuilt to reflect its ancient splendor
and because its people are as warm and friendly as any you are likely to meet
anywhere on this planet. Because
the architecture of some of its historic cities compares favorably with the cities of Rome, Jerusalem and other great cities of history. And because you can
comfortably visit the country today, still unspoiled by tourist buses and fast
food.
In
antiquity, Alexander the Great laid waste from the west, followed in the 14th
Century by Genghis Khan from the east. A
century later, the feudal despot-king, Tamerlane took control and ruled perhaps the
largest empire ever, stretching across most of Asia and Russia, parts of India
and into Eastern Europe. In
the 19th Century, the Russians who were seeking a foothold into the
fabulous riches of British-ruled India conquered its Islamic-ruled emirate-ruled
states. Soviet-style domination
took over in the early 20th Century -- and then, in 1991 with the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan became a free nation.
We
fly from Simferopol in Ukraine into the Uzbek capital,
Tashkent,
in a beaten up old Russian Illuyshin airplane although new Boeing 767s fly from
London, Frankfurt or New York. Tashkent is the fourth largest ex-Soviet
city. It's a rather soulless place with gray Soviet-style high rises
although its ubiquitous tree-lined boulevards do give it a certain pleasantness.
The good news is that a new Intercontinental hotel eases
our way into this third world country. After
a good night’s sleep, early the next day we catch a new plane into the
distant lands of Khorzem and the old city of Urgench in the desert.
BAM! Suddenly – we have stepped back in time into antiquity.
Our guide, Marina and driver Timur, meet us and we drive a short distance to the ancient
oasis of Khiva.
Uzbekistan
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