There are vacations, then there are adventures. This is very much one of the latter. Silk Road Treasure Tours is out to show folks the wonders of the “Stans” (many of them, anyway) with 14-day tours of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The point of all this Standardization is to give you an up-close-and-personal view of some singularly fascinating cultures.
So what’s to see and do? Plenty, and much of it is right out of your childhood storybooks.
The two-week odyssey begins in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent. If you’ve ever wanted to immerse yourself in the architecture and artifacts of Islam, this isn’t a bad place to begin. The bazaars are extraordinary to behold, the perfect place to bargain for that perfect once-in-a-lifetime keepsake.
After Tashkent, Silk Road takes you on to Tajikistan. The landscape is amazing: alpine lakes, magnificent glaciers and far away towns with strange-sounding names. Just, across the border, back in Uzbekistan, is the the iconic city of Samarkand, fancied by some as the “Rome of the East.” See the Bibi-Khanym mosque, constructed by no less than Tamerlane. This was once the cultural epicenter of the Silk Road, and more than a hint of that storybook remains.
Searching for something to cover that bare wood floor back home? Turkmenistan is where you’ll want to look. It’s famous for intricately-woven, bold red carpets – the kind of thing you pass on through your family from generation to generation.
Back once again to Uzbekistan, and the city of Khiva, a place legend has it was founded by Noah’s son (ancient means precisely that over here). It’s one of the very best preserved of the Silk Road’s ancient habitations.
If it’s Borat you’re looking for, look elsewhere. The reality of Kazakhstan is something a bit different. Vast steppes give way to monumental mountains. The capital city of Almaty is rife with treasures: Zenkov Russian Orthodox Cathedral among them.
The sights, sounds, and smells of this quintet of “Stans” are as decidedly different. If it’s the predictable and the pre-packaged you’re after, you’ll want to search elsewhere.
(Image: travelourplanet.com)
