🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25

Two weeks in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Baku
An enchanting journey through Central Asia, from the ancient Silk Road cities of Uzbekistan to the mountain landscapes of Tajikistan, and the deserts and modern architecture of Turkmenistan Read more

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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Kalyan Mosque: the most beautiful
April 19, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
The Kalyan Mosque, part of the Po-i-Kalyan complex, is one of the largest in Uzbekistan and dates back to the 1500s.

The blue domes, the minaret, and the sunset (and possible storm) lights make the scene even more beautiful.

Additionally, we were able to witness the evening call to prayer.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
A fancy dinner in Bukhara
April 19, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Last dinner before continuing the journey to Khiva.
A slightly more elegant dinner in a beautiful city hotel. For me, a nicely grilled river fish.
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Finally a bit of sun!
April 20, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
Finally a bit of sun in Bukhara!
In Samarkand, we encountered very cool temperatures and a few days of rain.
Now, the sun has finally come out, and the good weather has returned.

Time to tan waiting for my travel mate to be ready.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Perfectly integrated and camouflaged
April 20, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C
I am wearing the *doppa*, the traditional square-shaped cap of Uzbekistan. Many men, especially the elderly, wear one embroidered with geometric or floral patterns that vary depending on the region and the community they belong to.

This hat in particular is a gift of a Tajik guy to my travel companion.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
USSR nostalgic icecreem
April 20, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C
In one of the shops, we found an ice cream called "USSR".
We were curious of trying this nostalgic icecream, but in the end we opted for the local version of Magnum.
A good way to cope with the high temperatures of Bukhara.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Statue of Nasreddin and the donkey
April 20, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C
The statue depicts Khoja Nasreddin Efendi riding his donkey and is located in front of the Kukeldash Madrasa, in the central square of Bukhara. The donkey is, in fact, the protagonist of many stories of this philosopher and storyteller (who may have never existed), whose tales are part of the culture of Turkic-speaking countries.

The statue’s legs are polished from the thousands of children who climb onto it, as there is a belief in Bukhara that if a child is placed on his donkey, their life will be filled with joy and a sea of positive emotions.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Time to move on to Khiva
April 21, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C
This time, the train is very different from the Afrosiyob.
To get to Khiva, we take a sleeper train that has traveled for over 24 hours across the country from east (Fergana) to west (Khiva), covering a distance of more than 1,300 km.

Depending on the class chosen, there are 2 or 3 berths stacked one above the other.

We settle in for a journey through the desert lasting over 6 hours.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
3H later, somewhere in the desert
April 21, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Three hours after departure, we are in the middle of the desert. To the right and left of the train tracks, there is only the red sand of the Karakum Desert. We are travelling along the border with Turkmenistan.

Although the berth isn’t the most comfortable place, the fatigue from the journey helps us sleep very well.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
We are (finally) in Khiva!
April 21, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
After 6 hours of travel, we arrive in Khiva.
We take a photo with our diesel train, which crossed the desert in the middle of nowhere, and we leave the train station.

We notice that all the stations (in Samarkand, Khiva, and Bukhara) look very similar from the outside.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
A group of people singing and dancing
April 21, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
In the city center, we come across a group of people singing and dancing to local songs. A lovely moment of local folklore.

Inside the bazaar and the tourist shops, we come across rehearsals for a show where a group of girls is dancing. A beautiful surprise performance.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Shashlik and bread/ayran production
April 21, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
After arriving in Khiva, we stopped to have a shashlik in one of the eateries in the city center. Next to us, a man was kneading and baking the typical local bread, while the women prepared ayran by passing the milk through a mix of herbs over and over again.

The bread was very good (though not as good as in Bukhara and Samarkand), while the ayran had a very strong taste, and we couldn’t manage to drink it.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
A refreshing (non halal) beer
April 21, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Although Uzbekistan is an Islamic country, tourist venues sell beer and other alcoholic drinks.
We decided enjoying a nice, cold local beer to face the heat of Khiva.

In the same place I took a fancy and very well made coffee.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
The uncompleted Kalta Minor Minaret
April 21, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
The Kalta Minor Minaret is one of Khiva’s most iconic landmarks, instantly recognizable for its short, stout shape and vivid turquoise tilework.

It was begun in 1851 with the ambition of becoming the tallest minaret in the Islamic world, planned to reach about 70 meters. However, the project was never completed, leaving the structure at just under 30 meters.

Despite this, the minaret’s cylindrical form, completely covered in glazed blue, green, and white tiles with intricate patterns, has made it the enduring symbol of Old Khiva.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Wooden Juma Mosque
April 21, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
This mosque is famous for its 218 wooden columns supporting the roof, with bases carved with Kufic inscriptions dating back to the 10th–11th centuries.

Although the mosque itself dates to the 1700s, some of the columns come from a previous mosque that once stood in the same place.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
The sunset behind Kalta Minor
April 21, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
The Kalta Minor Minaret changes colors in the evening, when the sun sets behind it.

At this time of day, the small town of Old Khiva truly becomes magical.
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
The city and the Silk Road
April 21, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
Behind the minaret, on a low wall, there is a statue depicting a caravan of camels and merchants. The statue commemorates the many traders of the Silk Road who, after crossing the desert, would arrive in the city.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Uzbekistan flag
April 22, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
A huge flag flies over Khiva.
The blue represents the sky and water, white stands for peace, and green symbolizes Islam. The red lines between the colors represent vital energy, and the crescent is also an Islamic symbol.

The five-pointed stars to the right of the crescent, joined together, form a stylized representation of the name Allah in Arabic.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Islam Khoja Minaret
April 22, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C
The Islam Khoja Minaret, at 57 meters, is the tallest minaret in the city and one of the tallest in Uzbekistan. It stands behind the madrasa of the same name and was built around 1900.

It was constructed to surpass in height the Kalyan Minaret in Bukhara, which is about 10 meters shorter.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Pahlavon Mahmud Mausoleum
April 22, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
The mausoleum honors the hero Pahlavon Mahmud, a poet, philosopher, and warrior who became a patron saint of Khiva. Built in the 1300s, it was taken over in the 1900s to become the tomb of the family of the Khan.

The Khan and his family are buried in various tombs decorated with blue and white tiles in geometric patterns. The walls and dome are also elaborately adorned.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Time to tan a bit in Khiva!
April 22, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Living in dark Luxembourg, I’m taking advantage of Khiva’s sun and 30-degree weather to get a bit of a tan.
The cool breeze makes everything more bearable and enjoyable.
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Camels and dromedaries in the Khiva
April 22, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C
In one of the main squares of Khiva, just outside the city walls, there are trained dromedaries and camels with which tourists can take photos.

The square is located in front of the Kuhna Ark fortress, where the Khivan royals once lived.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
What a climb, but what a view!
April 22, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C
Climbing the 57 meters of the Islam Khoja Minaret was definitely a challenge (especially for me, since I’m 1.90 m tall). The corridor is narrow and winding, and the steps are very steep. Fortunately, the weather was cooler at sunset.

But reaching the top was absolutely worth it. From there, we were rewarded with breathtaking panoramic views of Khiva’s ancient rooftops, domes, minarets, and streets.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
Dinner with view on Kalta Minor Minaret
April 22, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ 🌙 21 °C
At dinner, we had a stunning terrace view over the historic heart of Khiva, with the turquoise-tiled Kalta Minor Minaret rising majestically nearby.
Despite a short wait and a higher price, the ambiance under the evening sky made it truly worthwhile.Read more
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
A sky full of stars
April 22, 2025 in Uzbekistan ⋅ 🌙 19 °C
Thanks to the absence of artificial lights, in Khiva you can admire an incredible sky full of stars.

But it’s time to go to sleep, because tomorrow marks the start of a new leg of this journey.
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🇺🇿🇹🇲🇹🇯 🇦🇿 Stan/Baku 25 Leonardo Floridia
We are in Turkmenistan!
April 23, 2025 in Turkmenistan ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
We’re in Turkmenistan.
Unfortunately, it is illegal to film at the border, but here’s how it went:

Our Uzbek driver dropped us off at the border, and we completed the exit procedures from Uzbekistan.
The two border posts are about 300 meters apart, separated by a bridge over the river. We had to wait for an old bus that took us across the 300 meters and charged us some som/manat.

This is where the things get more complicated. We entered a building full of military personnel, where chaos reigns—people shouting, walking, and tourist guides bustling around. In front of us is a huge group of Taiwanese tourists.

We spot our guide, who took our passports and went to speak with the officials to obtain the touristic visa.
Meanwhile, we take a COVID test (still mandatory), whose validity I seriously doubt since the swab barely touched the nose.

Once the results are ready, we could go to the next desk, where the guide handles everything for us. We just had to pay $120—strictly in cash, in USD (no euro) and only with bills that are in perfect conditions.

After getting the visa, there’s a luggage check (drones are illegal and are confiscated), and then it is possible to exit. From this point on, we will have two guides following us every minute.

It was not very complex, the most challenging part is obtaining the letter of invitation issued before. It is very easy to be rejected at this step after submitting a request.Read more
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