Photos -- Silk Road and Central Asia (the 'Stans)

Old Jun 13th, 2007, 12:47 PM
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Photos -- Silk Road and Central Asia (the 'Stans)

http://tinyurl.com/ytyfkw

I am cross-posting (also on Asia board) since this part of the world is often lumped in with the Middle East.
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Old Jun 13th, 2007, 12:56 PM
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Michael- funny you should have posted this, I got into work this morning and have been roaring with laughter for an hour over some of the stories 2 of the guys I work for have on the Silk Road. One of them, the guy who was telling us the stories, just got back Monday, him and the other guy started out in Beijing on May 1st by motorcycle - and he just flew home from Turkey. The second guy is still on the raod - he's going all the way through to London.

He had some hilarious stories in the Stans! I have an address of a daily blog if you are interested - the entries aren't long, but I will have to send you the address by email. My email is
lyndadswain at telus dot net

They shipped the BMW bikes over at the end of April, got on them in Beijing and had some great adventures on the 11,000 km of the Silk Road!
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Old Jun 13th, 2007, 01:03 PM
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Michael, thanks for sharing these. The architecture is just fascinating to me, and I am sure this was a really memorable trip.

Chris
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Old Jun 13th, 2007, 01:44 PM
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Interesting to see changes and non-changes since I was there 30-something years ago. For instance, the big Bukhara minaret and neighboring madressa - http://tinyurl.com/269p53
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Old Jun 13th, 2007, 01:53 PM
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Great, interesting and colorful architecture. Loved the guy in the golden suit!!!

For sure, you weren't bothered by the crowds, or having to wait on line for entry to any of these sites

Quite refreshing to see clean and empty streets, but for the camel market. Guess the Stans aren't yet big on the tourist maps!

The spice and produce pics are wonderful, but can't get over the meat markets with not a block of ice or refrigeration to be found!

Thanks for sharing these.
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Old Jun 13th, 2007, 02:40 PM
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Great head shots! (Shudder.)

Very interesting, and I, like Sandi, was struck by how devoid of crowds everthing appears. Thanks, Michael.
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Old Jun 13th, 2007, 03:18 PM
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Nice photos and it appears you had nice weather everywhere you went.
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Old Jun 13th, 2007, 05:29 PM
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Wonderful - thanks so much! The modern architecture reminded me in many ways of Turkey, except for the lack of people. It all seemed very empty and clean, even the markets. That area is definitely on my short list of places to visit.
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Old Jun 13th, 2007, 06:06 PM
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Michael~Once again, beautiful pictures from places I've never heard of! You sure travel to some very interesting places. Thanks for sharing these!
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 01:41 AM
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Wonderful pics!!! I haven't been to any of the "stans" yet....but since I live just across the Caspian, I hope to get to some of them soon!

Quite an intersting part of the world!
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 05:37 AM
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Its not quite true that these places are ghost towns, its just that I do not like to have recognizable strangers in my photos (by that I mean, shots where I can identify people -- distinct from a crowd shot), so I will awaken early, when the light is favorable and the streets quiet. I encountered a similar problem last August in Dubrovnik, when daytrippers covered the town like ants during the day, so I awoke at daybreak to take photos, and in those Dubrovnik looks like a ghost town, which it surely is not. Ashgabat, though, was a ghost town, but that's because I was there on a Sunday and it was 110 degrees.

Grccx3, I am considering a visit to the Caucasus next year (across the Caspian), from Baku to Tblisi to Yerevan.

Next trip (not counting short trip to Alaska over July 4 weekend) is to the Guianas at end of August, and there's a lot less information on Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana than there is on the Stans, but luckily I connected with an excellent agent in Guyana who is helping me with the trip.

Michael
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 09:04 AM
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Michael - We've been in Baku for 2 years and will definitely be here until Spring 2008. Will be happy to give advice on Baku and the areas of Azerbaijan that I know. The Caucasus Mtns are spectacular!

I have been to Tbilisi - but it was a whirlwind 36 hour trip for a cross-country track meet....so can't say that I saw that much of the city, much less the countryside.

Let me know when you start making your plans.
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 09:09 AM
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Can I just shout out how much I LOVE these pictures?

Wonderful mosques, interesting people. Great photos. I have the slideshow playing while I have World Music playing on AOL Radio.

I don't know why but I always love seeing colorful photos of a line-up of fruit or spices in a market.
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 09:23 AM
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Thanks, Wayne. I try to visit markets on all of my trips, partly because they are very photogenic, but also because the fruit is so tasty. The apricots were incredible (and that's not a fruit that I typically eat in NY).

Grcxx3, do you have any information on Nakhichevan (I'll probably do a daytrip, by plane, from Baku.
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 09:34 AM
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Wow, what great pictures! I really enjoyed looking at these -- it's a part of the world you don't often get to see. Thanks so much for posting them. It looks like you had an amazing trip. The architecture is just stunning. And I'm also a big fan of the market pictures... I got teased about that after my trip to India.
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 09:36 AM
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Micheal - let me see what I can find out and I'll let you know.
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 09:47 AM
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Thanks, if you find out anything, you can also reach me by email at [email protected]

I have found the flight info on the Azeri airline sight, but I admittedly have not done much other research (I'm not planning on visiting until August 2008).

Michael
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 12:06 PM
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Great pictures, Thanks!
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 12:26 PM
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Enjoyed these photos. Thanks for posting them. The markets, the mosaics, the golden man, and the Arch of Neutrality were especially interesting. Now I have to get my atlas out and find out where all of the "Stans" are, exactly. There's no end to my education through this board!

CW
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Old Jun 14th, 2007, 12:40 PM
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I didn't see much resembling Bhorat , are sure you went to Kazakhstan?
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