On the Silk Road from Khiva to Samarkand

gate of Silk Road caravanserai between Bukhara and Samarkand

From Khiva to Bukhara takes about 8 hours across the Kyzl Kum Desert.  Water from the Amu Darya River has been diverted into canals to allow cotton production in some parts of the desert. Surprisingly in one area, there is a large airport, formerly used commercially, with a Korean Air jumbo cargo jet parked on the tarmac.  That's because Uzbekistan has a long-standing relationship with Korea and a free trade zone for some very large Korean factories nearby.

Silk Road cistern

We visited an old caravanserai and cistern along the Silk Road route between Bukhara and Samarkand.   During the Silk Road days, caravans traveled about 40 miles a day, so caravanserais were located about every 40 miles, along with cisterns to catch the rare rain water.  Camel drivers and traders would fill their water buckets from the steps of the cisterns.  Inside the caravanserais, there were rooms for travelers (definitely not plush and filled with vermin, no doubt), places to cook meals and room for the large numbers of animals that carried the goods.

Don with puppy in Kyzl Kum Desert

At one stop, bleak and mostly deserted, we found 2 dogs and a puppy who all lived off the remains of travelers' lunches.  And they looked like it.  I fed everything I could find to the dogs who were quite fearful, except for the puppy.  Don and I are dog lovers, so couldn't resist petting this cute little creature, dirt and all.  He rolled over and closed his eyes in deep bliss as we scratched his little belly.   I doubt that the pup will have another opportunity for such attention, and he loved it.

About halfway along the route, where the Amu Darya River is near the road, an isolated building houses a family and a rather grungy restaurant.  Last year, we stopped to try their river fish which is fried quickly so that the meat stays very moist.  It is delicious so we stopped again, though we had our picnic lunches with us as well.  The fish is cut into chunks and deep fried in a large metal tub over a fire.  Well worth the stop--and no one got sick!  Plus, if you're driving this road, there is a rare, clean flush toilet behind the restaurant.