MIR's Silk Road Tour: Journey Through Central Asia
Central Asia is home to the old Silk Road, with its great trade routes linking Europe and China for more than 2,000 years. Join one of MIR's most popular tours, Journey Through Central Asia: The Five 'Stans ( a modern-day caravan on an epic journey to five of Central Asia's exotic countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
These five 'Stans are laced together with traces of the old Silk Road, conduits for the silks and spices that gave the world much of its brilliance and flavor, as well as ideas, art, architecture and spiritual beliefs.
• Note: Click on CC icon (lower-third right side in video) for handcrafted closed captions.
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KEY SECTIONS:
1:44 Skip to: Kazakhstan
2:38 Skip to: Kyrgyzstan
3:53 Skip to: Uzbekistan
4:42 Skip to: Tajikistan
5:06 Skip to: Uzbekistan
7:56 Skip to: Turkmenistan
• Explore Central Asia in MIR's in-depth story filled with exotic, colorful photos: Silk Road Tour Spotlight: Journey Through Central Asia –
• Learn more about MIR's small group tours and handcrafted, private journeys to Central Asia – (
• For detailed information on each of these Central Asian countries:
Kazakhstan – (
Kyrgyzstan – (
Tajikistan – (
Uzbekistan – (
Turkmenistan – (
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CONTACT:
MIR Corporation –
Destination Specialists since 1986
Small Group Tours • Rail Journeys by Private Train • Custom, Private Trips • Siberia & Western Russia • Silk Road and Iran • South Caucasus
1-800-424-7289
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PHOTO AND VIDEO CREDITS
Video script, creation and voiceover: Helen Holter
Photos: Christina Z. Anderson, Michel Behar, James Carnehan, Russ & Ellen Cmolik, Donna Collins, Jamshid Fayzullaev; Richard Fejfar, Ana Filonov, Lindsay Fincher, Jered Gorman, Douglas Grimes, Peter Guttman, Helen Holter, Dilshod Karimov, Martin Klimenta, Charles Lawrence, Andrew Mills, David Parker, Abdu Samadov, Ann Schneider, Kevin Testa, Bill Thornton, Vladimir Ushakov, Ji Wensheng
Video narrator and creator: Helen Holter
Video: Marina Karptsova, Jamshid Fayzullaev, David Parker, Abdu Samadov, Kevin Testa
Video thumbnail: Lindsay Fincher
Music: Karakalpak Musicians of Nukus; Khalfi Family of Khiva; Urda Bass Troupe of Almaty
VIDEO TRANSCRIPTION (HIGHLIGHTS)
00:00 – INTRO
More than 2,000 years ago, the great trade routes that linked Europe and China opened Central Asia to foreign cultures, customs and religions. MIR's iconic tour, Journey Through Central Asia: The Five 'Stans, is a modern-day caravan on an epic Silk Road journey to five of these exotic countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
01:44 – KAZAKHSTAN
Kazakhstan is the largest and richest of the five 'Stans. We visit the country's former capital, Almaty, known as the Capital of Apples; Zenkov Cathedral; as well as a falcon farm for an up-close look at these beautiful birds used in hunting.
02:38 – KYRGYZSTAN
Mountainous, unspoiled Kyrgyzstan is Central Asia's best-kept secret. We visit Lake Issyk-kul; learn about horses and traditional horse games; visit Burana Tower; and in the country's capital, Bishkek, we listen to a portion of the famous poem, Epic of Manus – with nearly half-a-million verses.
04:42 – TAJIKISTAN
Tajikistan is a country infused with the influence of Persia, Islam, and Russia. We visit the 2,000-year-old city of Khujand; in this old Silk Road town we explore the colorful covered Panjshanbe Bazaar.
05:06 – UZBEKISTAN
Some of the most famous UNESCO-listed Silk Road sights are in Uzbekistan. We visit Osh and Rishtan in Fergana Valley; explore the country's capital, Tashkent; wander through Samarkand, known as the Crossroad of Cultures with Registan Square's blue-tiled mosaics, mosques, and madrassahs; and see Shakhrisabze, birthplace of Tamerlane the Conqueror. Bukhara was an oasis in the desert for Silk Road camel caravans long ago, and still is for modern travelers today. In Khiva, the Old Town called Ichon Qala looks much as it did centuries ago, while Nukus is known for its once-banned avant-garde Soviet art at the Savitsky Museum.
07:56 – TURKMENISTAN
Turkmenistan is a country of tribal culture and camels as well as modern cities and transportation. We visit three UNESCO-listed sites: Khorezm's Kunya Urgench and Kutlug-Timur Minaret, Merv, and the 2,000-year-old city of Nisa. The tour ends in Turkmenistan's capital of Ashgabat, filled with white marble buildings, as well as a nearby visit to an Akhal-Teke horse-breeding farm.
Uzbekistan/Beautiful Khiva City Walls Part 2
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Khiva-Uzbekistan
Though Khiva is about 2500 years old, it acquired its present appearance in the 18th – early 20th centuries. Khiva consists of two urban parts: the inner town Ichan-Kala and the outer town Dishan-Kala. From the very beginning the core of the city –Ichan-Kala, rectangular in plan, was enclosed in fortification walls.
For centuries these walls served ideally the purpose of the town’s defense. But in 1220 they were destroyed by Mongol invaders and in later period gentle slopes of the collapsed walls were used for burying the dead. In 1790 the wall was rebuilt by order of Khiva’s khan Muhammad-Amin-Inak. It was 1200 meters long, 7-8 meters high and about 6 meters thick at the base. Since Khiva stood at an important intersection of the Great Silk Road, there were built four monumental gates directing north, south, east and west. Ark-Darvoza gate located next to Kunya-Ark Citadel let in the caravans from the west. Kosh-Darvoza (‘Double Gate’) with two entrance arches faced south. Tash-Darvoza (‘Stone Gate) was built in the northern part of the city.
The most remarkable is the eastern gate Palvan-Darvoza (‘Hero Warrior’s Gate’), through which ran the road to the Amu Darya River and to the ancient trade town Khazarasp. The survived marble slab above the arch of the gate shows the date the construction was completed: 1221 anno hegirae (1806). Adjoining the gate is the gallery with six domes – a shopping arcade. Soon after the gate had been built, near it there appeared Allakuli-Khan Madrassah, caravanserai and a tim domed trading center. This was also the place where executions used to be carried out. Next to the gate, behind the Ichan-Kala walls, there was the Asian largest slave market. In 1842 a new fortification wall around larger area was built. Supervised by Mahammad Yakub Mekhtar, the construction was completed within 30 days. The wall was 6 kilometers long; it had 10 gates and a lot of turrets. Three out-of-town gardens – Rafanik, Nurullabay and Nurullabek – became part of the town. The larger ring of the town was then called Dishan-Kala (‘Outer Fortress’). Today only separate parts of this unique fortification structure remain. Yet these strong pahsa adobe walls narrowing to the top, are rather impressive. Every 30-50 meters along the length of the wall there are semicircular watching turrets; they seem to support the wall with their abutments. Looking at Khiva’s walls it is hard to believe that outside this well-preserved medieval town is the 21st century.