I don’t usually post blogs for a short trip. However, I just spent three nights and two full days in the town of Joshua Tree, California and spent two complete days in the national park. I basically flew down to San Diego from Portland so I can get out of the rain and into the… Read More Joshua Tree National Park

On the way to Nisa, we stopped by the Magtymguly Pyragy cultural park complex. Magtymguly Pyragy was a Turkmen spiritual leader, philosophical poet, Sufi and traveller who is considered the most famous figure in Turkmen literary history. He is referred to as the Shakespeare of Turkmenistan. Please see my previous post for pictures of old Nisa.… Read More 2nd Day in Ashgabat

At its height, the Parthian Empire, from the third century BCE to the third century CE, stretched from the northern reaches of the Euphrates, in what is now central-eastern Turkey, to present-day Afghanistan and western Pakistan including Turkmenistan. The empire, located on the Sulk Road, became a center of trade and commerce. Nisa was an ancient settlement… Read More Türkmenistan was once part of the Parthian Empire

Entering Turkmenistan is like entering an alternative universe. I now know why someone called this Disneyland for a dictator. The presidents of the country have been trying to create the most beautiful city in the world. It reminds me of the pharaohs and some of the Roman emperors in the construction did in both Egypt… Read More 1st Day in Turkmenistan

While on the bus, I was having some thoughts about Muslim women’s dress. In the Stans women do dress modestly. Not all wear headscarf but most do. Their clothing is absolutely beautiful. They are very stunning. I don’t see where dressing modestly is a negative thing for them. So actually, I was thinking that the… Read More On to Turkmenistan 

Khiva is our last stop in Uzbekistan. Tomorrow we go to Turkmenistan. It is my understanding that in Turkmenistan Wi-Fi is not always available. So this might be my last post till I get to Frankfurt on Wednesday. Khiva’s old town is a walled ancient city. We spent the day exploring the town on foot.… Read More Khiva

The distance we had to drive was 280 miles but it took us about seven hours because part of the road was pretty rough. It was not a very interesting ride because it was very flat and not very exciting. As we got closer to Khiva though it started to get more interesting. They provided… Read More From Bukhara to Khiva along the Silk Road and Through the Desert

Today was not quite as frantic as yesterday. Our first stop was the XIV century Bahouddin Naqshband Complex. Riding out to the complex, we saw a lots of greenhouses, solar panels on houses and orchards. Naqshband is one of the most well-known Saints in the Islamic world and the founder of the Naqshbandi Sufi order.… Read More Another Great Day in Bukhara

Today was incredibly full. Here is a picture of the room that we are having breakfast in. Remember that this hotel was a renovation of an old Jewish house. Our first stop was the Samani Mausoleum. Ismail Samani was the rule of the Samanid Empire during the end of the 9th century. He chose Bukhara… Read More 1st Day in Bukhara