Blog 19 20th – 27th June Termez (Uzbekistan) to Rushan (Tajikistan) Distance: 719km Total Distance: 6012km I may have just posted Blog 18, but the last couple of weeks have been intense with no time to write or opportunities to post. Also, I am about to head off into the Pamirs where there will be […]
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Back to the Amu Darya
Blog 18 14th – 19th June Urgut to Termez Distance: 403km Total Distance: 5293km Back in Uzbekistan with the new team, Georgia (just returned from the UK), Ilhom and Mansood, the aim over the next four days was to reach the city of Termez on the Amu Darya. Apart from the tourist town of Shahrisabz, […]
The Zerafshan-Karakum Corridor: Part 3 – Samarkand to Khisorak Settlement
Blog 17 9th – 12th June Samarkand to Khisorak Settlement Distance: 275km Total Distance: 4890km So far I’ve explored UNESCO’s Zerafshan – Karakum Corridor World Heritage sites in the Karakum Desert and Zerafshan River hinterland; a route of virtually all flat land. The final stage was to follow the course of the Zerafshan River into […]
The Zerafshan-Karakum Corridor: Part 2 Bukhara to Samarkand
Blog 16 1st – 8th June Bukhara to Samarkand Distance: 271km Total Distance: 4615km Arriving in Bukhara, there was a sense of what it was like arriving as a Silk Road traveller who had endured crossing the desert from Merv – Cycling from Merv, I had been going pretty hard in the heat and needed […]
Zerafshan-Karakum Corridor: Part 1 Merv to Bukhara
Blog 15 27th May -1st June Merv to Bukhara Distance: 404km Total Distance: 4344km The Zerafshan-Karakum Corridor – Stage 1 Arising in the mountains of Tajikistan, the Zerafshan River gushes down to the steppe, and passes through the legendary city of Samarkand where much of its water is taken up by the Dargom Canal. Samarkand, […]
Water is everything: the rise & fall of civilisations past and communities present
Blog 14 23rd – 26th May Turkmenabat to Gonur Depe Distance: 266km Total Distance: 3940km Day 60, Turkmenabat Turkmenistan’s second largest city, Turkmenabat, was adorned with eye-catching contemporary buildings that are intended to show off the power and wealth of the country; for example, the presidential palace is actually a folly, never used by […]
Turkmenistan’s Silk Roads
Blog 13 16th – 21st May Urgench to Turkmenabat Distance: 623km Total Distance: 3674km Day 54: Urgench – Dashoguz 70km In Urgench, we bid Elena farewell and set off for the Turkmenistan border. Anna and I were slightly anxious about what to expect crossing into Turkmenistan – one of the world’s most secretive countries. I […]
A cradle of civilisation and nurturing nature
Blog 12 8th – 15th May Nukus to Urgench Distance: 196km Total Distance: 3051km Nukus was a two day pit stop where we changed filmmakers – Anna Plocinska arrived from Switzerland for a month-long stint and Georgia left for the UK. It was important that they had time to connect and hand over the filmmaking […]
Moynaq to Nukus: Starting from the end (Amu Darya rivermouth)
Blog 11 4th – 7th May Moynaq to Nukus Distance: 256km Total Distance: 2855km In Moynaq I arranged for a guide to be with us for the remainder of the way to Nukus. Khurmet, whom we had met at the Yurt Camp beside the Aral Sea, was the perfect choice because he has local roots […]
Aral Sea South – Spectacularly sad
Blog 10 28th April – 3rd May Nukus, Karakalpakstan, the UZ border to Moynaq Distance: 313km Total Distance: 2599km The old Soviet-built train chugged slowly across the dry, featureless steppe stopping occasionally at villages and for about 90 minutes at the border for immigration and customs. I barely slept because I was paranoid about my bike […]
