The former Soviet Republics of Uzbekistan and Kirghistan are in the heart of Central Asia. The area is a vast
inaccessible wilderness, surrounded by harsh deserts
and high mountains. It was once the site of the ancient
caravan routes and its towns were oases on the Great
Silk Road of the East.
Traveller Ian Wright's journey begins in the smallest
of these oasis towns, Khiva. Khiva
is a strange time capsule in the middle of the Kara-Kum
desert. The city grew up around one small well
and the old inner town with its mud streets and squares
has been perfectly preserved as a museum. Ian wanders
the streets and attends an Uzbek wedding.
Later that evening he takes part in a wrestling contest.
Ian drives to Bukhara and swims in
the sacred pool in the centre of town called Lyab-i-Haus. He visits a holy Imam at the tomb
of Sheikh Bakhautdin just outside Bukhara
and joins some old men discussing Islamic and Soviet
history.
Tashkent is Ian's next destination
and he arrives in time for the Independence
Day celebrations. From Tashkent he flies to Bishkek, the capital of the Republic
of Kirghistan. Kirghistan is a mountain paradise surrounded
by deserts and populated mostly by nomads who were never
quite tamed by the Soviet regime. The mountains and
high pastures have been spared Soviet industrialization
and Kirghiz, Russians, Uzbeks, Ukranians, Germans and
Koreans live peacefully side by side.
Ian makes his way into the Tian Shan mountains, where he meets an eagle trainer and watches his eagle
hunt a badger. He climbs to a higher plateau where some
local villagers have  gathered to celebrate the festival
for 'Manas', a mythical folk hero. Karakol serves as a base for horse
trekking, climbing and skiing expeditions to the Tian
Shan mountain range. Impossibly remote, they are seldom
visited, with jagged peaks stretching to 7000 metres.
From Karakol, Ian hitches a ride in an old Red Army
helicopter and goes heliskiing with them.
Ian travels to the remote and stunning Arshane
Valley in a bumpy wagon. He goes on a horse
trek and meets nomadic shepherds who live in an oval-shaped
tent called a 'yurt'. On special occasion
they prepare a feast called a beshparmak, where
they kill and cook a sheep. They have so few Western
visitors that they prepare a feast especially for Ian.
Ian has to plait the intestines and cook the sheep's
head in the fire. He then shares a meal with the nomads
and has to eat the sheep's eye, which is offered only
to the honoured guest and to refuse is an insult. |
