by Jill Bowdery | Saturday 7th October 2017 | Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan
I spent a couple of weeks this summer in Central Asia, visiting the Silk Road nations of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. These countries have had a chequered history. From a rich heritage as trading posts, and at the heart of Timur's vast empire, all three nations have natural beauty but also magnificent historic cities, fortresses, mosques and madrassahs which play a substantial part in their heritage. All three countries have withstood countless invasions and destruction of the places Read more [...] 
by Jill Bowdery | Saturday 9th September 2017 | Uzbekistan
It's quarter to ten on a Wednesday night, and I'm standing on a station platform in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. I'm here on a trip-of-a-lifetime, bucket-list kind of adventure - and that's saying something for someone who travels as much as I do. But for many years now I've dreamed of visiting the beautiful squares and madrassahs of Uzbekistan, with their towering turquoise domes and exquisite mosaic façades. Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva: they have been on my wishlist for years, and this was the trip Read more [...]
