About the only time Turkmenistan has made its way into our con­sciousness is when its loopy President for Life Saparmurat Niyazov issued a cockamamie decree, renaming the months of the year for his family. Niyazov left the earthly plane a few years ago, and—most of the loopiness over and done with—Turkmenistan is revealed as a fascinating country, well worth a visit, especially in concert with Uzbekistan, which every fan of eye-snapping Islamic architecture and slam-bam history must eventually visit.

We commence in Ashgabat (which we might know as Ash­khabad), giving the Turkmen capital a good look, visiting its quite impressive museums and the Arch of Neutrality, topped by a golden statue of the late President for Life, which rotates in order to always face the sun. We’ll head out to Merv, an ancient Silk Road entrepôt and World Heritage Site that may have been the world’s largest city in the 12th century. A flight north takes us to Dosoguz (the former Tashauz, for map browsers) and into Uzbekistan just north of Urgench, and on to Khiva, one of the three superb Silk Road cities we’ll get to know in the coming days.

We heap some well-deserved praise and time on Samarkand and Bukhara. Khiva, smaller than its brethren, beat them to World Heritage Site status, a telling indi­cation of its intimate beauty. Walking the narrow streets of Khiva’s old city is the next best thing to time travel. As we wander, we might get a sense of what Yasushi Inoue meant when he wrote that “the blue of Central Asia’s blue tiles sings a siren’s song, drawing the traveler from the desert, almost as though this deep ceramic blue was necessary to life.”

Day 1: arrive in Ashgabat • Day 2: Ashgabat • Day 3: Tolkuchka bazaar • Day 4: excursion to Merv • Day 5: fly to Dosoguz, Konye Urgench • Day 6: drive to Khiva • Day 7: full day in Khiva • Day 8: drive to Bukhara • Day 9 & 10: exploring Bukhara • Day 11: drive to Samarkand via Shakrisabze • Day 12: Samarkand • Day 13: Samarkand, drive to Tashkent • Day 14: Tashkent • Day 15: depart for home.

• Currency Information
• General Description
• Health Precautions
• Reading List
• Travel Conditions
• Visa Information
• Weather Information

• More Silk Road Trips
• More Touring Trips