Happy Independence Day, Uzbekistan!

When the western world was going through the Dark Ages, Islamic civilization was at its brightest. There was one particular place in Central Asia which became the world’s leading centre of science, medicine, and philosophy during that period. Today this place is called Uzbekistan. Ushering in the Golden Age of Islam, its cities Bukhara and … Read more

Greetings From Dushanbe

Greetings from Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Yesterday I cycled 105 kilometres from Denau to reach Dushanbe. Going through the Uzbekistan immigration was a pain in the arse. I was the only visitor at the check post and seemed the border authorities had nothing to do so they decided to kill some time by checking all my stuff. … Read more

Greetings from Denau

Greetings from Denau! My last five days were spent cycling in the mountains. The route turned to be surprisingly stunningly beautiful, one of the best in the whole journey so far. The greenish landscape with tall mountains looking down at the road provided refreshing views especially after having cycled desert-like Turkmenistan to Bukhara route. However … Read more

Goodbye Samarkand

Time to say goodbye to Samarkand and its turquoise domes, and hit the road again. If I don’t get the chance to access internet during the next seven days in Uzbekistan, I shall catch up with you guys from Dushanbe in Tajikistan which is still 480 samar from here. Plenty of time to cycle in … Read more

Sheep Shearing In Uzbekistan

As the summer has arrived in Uzbekistan, I saw two sheep shearers on my way to Samarkand removing a sheep’s wool. It was interesting to see how they used blade shears to remove this sheep’s coat. Next when I was battling against the headwind, a shepherd asked me to stop and wanted his picture taken. … Read more

Nasreddin Hodja

Nasreddin was a sufi satirist known for his witty anecdotes which contained bits of wisdom. His jokes and stories have been translated to many languages including Urdu language where he is known as Mullah Naseer-ud-din. Uzbek people believe he was born and lived in Bukhara. Here are a couple of anecdotes about him. One evening … Read more