A Brief Recap About Kyrgyzstan

Two years ago, Helen and I visited Central Asia for the first time including Uzbekistan and Almaty, Kazakhstan; plus a few days in Istanbul. We enjoyed Uzbekistan’s rich history and cuisine including plov – their national dish of rice, meat, and vegetables – and shashlik meat skewers; while Shymbulak Peak in Almaty was a decent day hike. Since we wanted to further explore that part of the world and get some serious hiking in, we visited Kyrgyzstan this year including an eight-day trek in the Alay Mountains. I will do a separate post about that trek and will use this post to briefly recap Kyrgyzstan.

Wrapping Up Central Asia

My last two posts about the September trip to Central Asia focused on Uzbekistan; the first part dealing with Tashkent, Samarkand, and Shahrisabz while the second talked about Bukhara and Khiva. However, the trip also included four days in Almaty, Kazakhstan and another four days in Istanbul on the way back home. Let’s look at what Almaty has to offer, as well as some of the sights in Istanbul we didn’t explore back in December 2019.

Helen and I at the top of Shymbulak peak near Almaty

A Long Overdue Travel Post on Uzbekistan (Part 2)

In Part 1 of my Uzbekistan series, I talked about getting there, as well as the experiences visiting Tashkent, Samarkand, and Shahrisabz. While Samarkand may get the most tourists in that country, a trip there can’t be complete without also visiting Bukhara and Khiva. Those two cities will be the focus of this post, while Almaty is featured in a separate write up.

The Ark of Bukhara seen from Bukhara Tower

A Long Overdue Travel Post on Uzbekistan (Part 1)

Back in September, Helen and I went to Uzbekistan, Almaty (Kazakhstan), and Istanbul. While I did write a post in October explaining some urbanism observations – including the awe-inspiring Tashkent metro – I never got around to writing about the sights themselves. Let’s look back at that trip to see why you may want to consider heading there in the future.

A view of Samarkand from Hazrat Khizr Mosque