STEP BY STEPPE
The 5 ‘Stans of Central Asia
account of the journey in April – May 2008

Our first day’s outing once we had found our way to Almaty in Kazakhstan was awesome. The ski season was over but we still chose to board two ski lifts to the top of the snow covered mountain, part of the Tien Shan range that overlaps from western China. Advertising is hardly thought of in these parts but a hoarding in Russian Cyrillic caught my eye which meant “Beyond Expectations”.

During the next 3 weeks we traversed the 5 ‘Stan countries, formerly part of the Soviet Union, but now all had won their independence in the early ‘90s and their own unique outlook on life. It was like an Aladdin’s cave of experiences, which several months later are still whirling around my brain.

We visited the legendary cities of Tashkent, Samarkand, Khiva, Bukhara with their Madrassahs, Mosques, Museums, Markets and Minarets. The shimmer as the sun glinted off the turquoise tiles often dazzled my eyes. It was incredible to think that the Mosques were once embedded with real precious stones. I climbed all the minarets which were permitted with their spiral staircases to the top (quite a squash as you meet the descending traffic), often with little to hold onto once I had summitted, sometimes onto an openair parapet! If you had been an employee of the Emir and caused his displeasure you found the quick way down. One victim survived and was thrown off the top again.

Detail on one of the Mausoleums	These countries have a tough history, the 5 ‘Stans being: Kazakhstan, Kyrygyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. They have known the bormbardment of Alexander the Great, Timur or Tamurlane which meant Timur the Lame, Genghis Khan and later on Bolshevik armies claiming these lands for their own in the early day of the Soviet rule. In the early 19th C the spies from Russia and Britain played the Great Game as Russia pushed for infiltration into the British Raj of India and a sea route. These latter exploits I had read of in some of Peter Hopkirk’s books bought on a journey along the Silk Route in China in 1992 where we had reached Kashi or Kashgar on the border with Kyrgyzstan. His “Setting the East Ablaze” tells how Colonel Stoddart called on the Emir of Bukhara in 1839 but since he had come with no gifts and had the effrontery, as we heard on our visit to this walled city, to ride his horse to the gates of the Ark (citadel) he was clapped into irons and left in a Pit for three years. Along came Captain Connolly to the rescue but he joined the confines of his colleague. Three years later no letters having arrived as promised from Queen Victoria so the Emir tires of them, marched them out onto the Registan (sandy square) below the Ark’s ramparts and once they have dug their own graves they are executed. The Zindon (gaol) both in Bukhara and Khiva caused shivers down my spine. If a woman misbehaved in the slightest way she was shoved in a sack full of wild cats and all were beaten soundly from the outside until she succumbed. Men could be placed in stocks and suffered beatings and other horrific tortures. Other explorers I have admired are Count Przewalski whose statue we visited near Lake Issyk Kul. This fascinating second largest and highest mountain lake in the world after Lake Titicaca, has crystal clear waters lying to the east of Bishkek and also forms part of the fabled Silk Road coming through from China to the West. The Count was part of the Czar’s army and allowed to make many journeys through to the Russian Far East in the 1860’s. He roamed as far as Tibet and Mongolia. He came across the diminutive horse which now bears his name. I first
The central square, Registan, in Samarkand
Lake Issyk Kul, the 2nd highest mountain lake in the world in Kyrgyzstan
heard of him in Mongolia and followed up on the breeding of these endangered horses in the UK. Fortunately they were successful in UK and USA and have since been reintroduced to their former habitat. While he was in the area near Bishkek, then called Pishpek, he succumbed to typhus and was nursed at the town of Karakol on the eastern end of the lake where he requested to be buried in 1888.

I enjoyed paddling in the icy waters of Lake Issyk Kul and walking barefoot along the sandy beaches to a pier that wouldn’t have looked out of place in Brighton. Nearby was a colossal granite block of a hotel built for the former Communist gatherings in the shape of a ship complete with bowhead. The lift was terrifying as it bore us up to the 3rd floor and clunked as it deposited us at the requested destination. We all had huge balconies to our rooms full of furniture and bathrooms which had seen better days. The squirrels didn’t mind and they braved the balcony parapet and even popped into my room for breakfast probably of my trusty homemade rusks I use for padkos.

We ate incredibly well but fortunately didn’t put on weight. The meals were so healthy, generally many salads dished up as starters which we shared out. These contained beetroot, corn, rice, lettuce, tomato, cheese and meat and as we were ‘starving’ after long days of sightseeing would almost fill up before soup (vegetarians beware they take out the meat from the soup but it is still a meat stock), then a pilaf or stew would arrive with veggies, rice or potatoes. Sweets were not evident but occasionally we’d get cherries and I discovered they made delicious ice cream so we could choose from a variety of choc ices on sticks.

We had chosen the best time of year we could from 2 °C at night in Almaty where we started our visit to the upper 30 °C’s for Samarkand. You don’t want to be visiting in mid winter at minus 40 °C’s and we heard in Turkmenistan, our last ‘Stan that the desert temperatures rise into the + 50 °C’s in summer.

Bread available in the market

We visited the Bazaars or Markets prevalent in every major centre - the variety of fresh produce was awesome. We could only put names to some of the produce: nuts such as pistachios, almonds, walnuts; there was dried fruit from apricots, kiwi fruit to concoctions of dates mixed with walnuts and plates full of a kind of halva with nuts. I brought back a selection of these delicacies in the bottom of my suitcase and they were eagerly munched by friends a few weeks later. There were cheeses of every kind from goats to cows. Many diameters of cheese balls, rather sour were also on offer. They used to be carried in camel saddle bags so you could reach in and have padkos on the hoof so to speak.

Fruit was plentiful with fresh strawberries and cherries among my favourites. There were the meat and fish sections of the market and all other wares one might want from kitchen utensils, clothing material, bedding, carpets . . . To think that so much could be harvested from the countryside with such a harsh climate? Part of the secret, in Uzbekistan for example, is the two major rivers which we call the River Oxus locally called the Amu-Darya and Syr-Darya once fed into the Aral Sea once the world’s 4th largest lake. But the Russians organised major irrigation (not very efficiently in big open channels) to pour water chiefly into the cotton fields. Uzbekistan achieved being the world’s 5th largest producer. They are attempting to make this irrigation method more efficient in the future. The devastation around the Aral Sea for people and animals alike is another story.

Like good South Africans we were let loose to bargain and ‘shop till we dropped’ already slightly ‘drooped’ after a hectic 5 hours city tour. Then would follow a late lunch – the group ate together once a day which gave everyone a chance to meet up either for lunch or dinner.

One of our most memorable meals was in Samarkand. Are we going to meet your family? we pestered Laziz, our knowledgeable and friendly and very patient guide, who spoke 6 languages and was with us throughout the tour. He’d explained they still have arranged marriages and despite his cosmopolitan outlook - his parents who are both doctors - said it was time to settle down. They drew up a short list of possible wives. The second lady he met at his garden gate as you can’t ‘date’ in Central Asia: it is forbidden. They exchanged a few pleasantries and then the wedding was set for a month ahead. They now have a 15 month old son and with nearly a 2 year maternity leave she stays at his parents house in Samarkand. I realised the bus was driving us into the suburbs so I kept quiet about where we might be heading. Laziz mysteriously hopped out to buy ‘something’ at the corner café which turned out to be wine – they do drink beer and wine in moderation – then we stopped at a gate and alighted. His father welcomed us into their house and garden and there was a feast ready on outside tables. His mother, sisters, and of course his delightful wife, Laziza, brought endless dishes for us to eat our fill. I’m afraid we didn’t do it justice and had to explain we really didn’t have good appetites much to every hospitable mother’s disappointment. We sat under their cherry tree laden with fruit which Laziz’ toddler, Begruz, kept putting in an appearance and demanding fruit to be picked.

Our sweet that night was delicious cherry jam which we were encouraged to put into the tea. Tea was served at all meals, either green tea or black tea with no milk. Bottled water was also plentiful and we knew to keep ourselves hydrated in those extreme temperatures.

Before we knew it, we entered out last ‘Stan, Turkmenistan by pulling our suitcases the best part of 1 km through the various buildings as we checked out of Uzbekistan and then walked a solid one kilometre of no-man’s land to the Turkmenistan border buildings; the wind and sand blowing in our face. Previously we had only crossed a few metres, said farewell to one lot of transport and driver before finding a similar coach or mini coach in the next ‘Stan.

We had left Bukhara at 7 a.m. to be the first group across the border. Once we reached the Turkmen’s side it was heading for lunchtime. Our bags were searched, our documents duly stamped and we were free to walk another 500 m dragging our cases to our coach before they closed for 2 hours. The Taiwan group we met up with again in Ashgabad were not so lucky. They had to wait outside in the hot conditions for their turn to enter.

A few minutes after we had slumped into our coach seats we stopped on the Oxus river bank. Laziz said we might have to walk across the pontoon bridge to lighten the load but the authorities took pity on us. The coach driver gingerly descended a ramp and we clattered across on the metal plates. As we crossed we nervously watched the swirling waters of the grey Oxus river with dredgers plying their trade to keep the sand at bay. Lunch was certainly most welcome that day in nearby Turkmenabad.

There followed a fascinating few hours crossing the Kyzyl Kum desert known for its red sands. And were they ever swirling and causing a driving hazard! There was a single track of tarmac complete with potholes and huge trucks overtaking us and others approaching suddenly out of nowhere. I admired the skill of our driver. Then we saw camels wandering around, seemingly wild, but they do belong to someone. We requested a halt and alighted to photograph despite the hazards that grit can do to photographic lenses. Nomadic ladies appeared to sell us woven items from camel hair, good luck charms or bracelets, smelling very much of their former owners.

These are just some of my impressions, of these fascinating countries filled with friendly people who are 90% Moslems; very relaxed and you do not see a veiled woman. We learned a huge amount of their present and past history. I’d go back tomorrow to be off the beaten track again where we encountered very few tourists. They were as much interested in us as we were in them.

Travel AdviCE

To keep costs down travel with a group of 10-14. Jo Meintjes Travel plans to put a group together which will be escorted from South Africa as well as have a local tour leader in April/May 2009 – the best time for the extreme climatic conditions.

5 visas are needed. 4 were obtained in London and one group visa obtained by the tour operator. Passports must have plenty of spare pages and be valid for 6 months after travel. Jo Meintjes organised the visas which require plenty of form filling, photos and payment of approx R1000 per visa. Passports are required promptly about 9 weeks in advance of travel.

Airlines: the group flew on Turkish Airlines via Istanbul. Full day tours were organised to fill
up the time before flying onto Almaty also on Turkish Airlines. We flew Uzbekistan Airways from Bishkek to Tashkent, Tashkent to Khiva return to save time. We returned from Ashgabad to Istanbul on Turkish Air.

Hotels ranged from 3-4* Russian built hotels to small guesthouses. All had en suite facilities of varying splendour and amounts of hot water. Buffet breakfasts were included of varying standards.

The tour in 2008 for 24 days cost around R36000, ever dependent on current exchange rates. An extra food and tipping kitty were collected by the tour leader on arrival. A sense of humour and plenty of energy are required. Our age group ranged for early 40’s to almost 80.

Please enquire for details of the 2009 tour from from 21 April to 14 May 2009 with Jo Meintjes Travel on
011 788 9443 or jo@jomeintjestravel.co.za