Two-Week Agenda In Uzbekistan
Two-Week Agenda In Uzbekistan. Islam Karimov, Uzbekistan’s first leader from independence in 1991 to his death in 2016, ruled this country with an iron fist. His harsh policies overflowed and negatively impacted travelers to Uzbekistan. Upon Karimov’s death, Shavkat Mirziyoyev assumed the presidency and the country made significant changes. Some of these positive changes positively effected the tourism industry. In fact, Uzbekistan in a short period transitioned from a challenging country to visit to a very pleasant experience. Uzbekistan is the best introduction to Central Asia for travelers. There are affiliate links in this post for the hotels. Visa In the old days (pre-2016), you had to jump through some hoops to get a visa, such as actually going to the embassy or at least mailing in your passport. Under the new regime, many countries are visa free (most of Europe) and evisa for countries like the US, China, and India. The online evisa was simple and fast to fill out, and I received my evisa in several days. The fee is $20. In addition, Letters [...]
Visiting The Children’s Circus In Kabul
Visiting the children’s circus in Kabul. Life goes on. People wake up. Put their clothes on. And they go about their day. Yet, some people have to overcome much larger challenges every single day. Over one billion people live on $1 a day. Tens of millions have been forced to flee their homes. Others in Yemen or Syria live in war zones. Thomas Hobbes, a 17th century philosopher wrote, “the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” But yet, life goes on, and people strive and endeavor, dance and laugh, and live. Life goes on … a car is prepared with flowers for a wedding I traveled to Afghanistan and of course I carried with me my preconceived notions. I have followed Afghanistan since the 1980s when the Soviet Union invaded this landlocked nation. And Afghanistan has been smothered by the media since Bin laden and the subsequent US invasion. The headlines are consistently not positive. Attacks, bombings, killings. Death. I traveled to Afghanistan with Untamed Borders. Untamed Borders specializes in bringing travelers [...]
Watching Buzkashi In Afghanistan
Watching Buzkashi in Afghanistan. Buzkashi is not a sport for the faint-hearted. Think of polo on horses, but the ball is dead goat, missing its head. Men on horses compete fiercely to grab the goat off the ground (or from a competitor) and race to the goal while fending off other players. In Farsi, Buzkashi translate to goat pulling and this seems to be a very apt name. This tradition dates back over 1000 years and is mostly played in Central Asia as Turkic people migrated from the plains of Mongolia sharing their sport. I had seen buzkashi played once before at the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan. In Kyrgyzstan, the sport is known as kok boru. The kok boru I witnessed on the shore of Issyk-Kul Lake was formal and regulated. Multiple teams from the region enthusiastically competed in a match overseen by a referee. The athleticism and energy displayed was intense. My second opportunity to watch buzkashi was in Mazari Sharif, in the north of Afghanistan. Mazari Sharif is well known for [...]
Afghanistan – 140th Country
Afghanistan – 140th Country. To see where I have been so far, check out my map as I count down the final 93 countries on the road to all 193 UN countries. Afghanistan is my 140th country. Check out the best 193 travel books to read! Afghanistan is a landlocked nation of over 30 million people. Kabul is the capital of this mountainous country. Afghanistan is an ancient land with the Silk Road serving as a land bridge between the Middle East and Asia. These lands have been subject to violence wars from the Great Game between the UK and Russian Empire to the current turmoil involving ISIS, the Taliban, the Afghan government, and western forces. Virtually all Afghans are Muslim with most of the speaking either Dari or Pashto. I spent two weeks exploring Afghanistan, flying into Kabul on a direct flight from Tashkent. During my trip I visited Mazar-i-Sharif in the north, Herat in the west, Bamiyan in the center, and the capital of Kabul. Our group was forced to fly to each of these [...]
Visiting the Jihad Museum Afghanistan
Visiting the Jihad Museum Afghanistan. I’ve been fortunate to visit some of the world’s most renowned museums of the world such as the Louvre, the Vatican Museums, and the Hermitage. I have even managed to explore lesser known gems like the Bardo Musuem, Museum of Baikonur Cosmodrome History or Nukus Museum of Art (I.V. Savitsky collection). But one of the most unexpected museum finds was in an unforeseen place, Herat, Afghanistan. I visited the world-famous (well, Afghan-famous) Jihad Museum. The Jihad Museum was built on 2010 and honors the efforts and sacrifices of the mujahideen who battled the Soviet Union from 1979 for ten years. The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December of 1979. This was a vicious war that left one million Afghans and 15,000 Soviet soldiers dead. Ismail Khan, a politician and former mujahideen fighter and Sayed Abdel Wahab Qattali are the founders of the Jihad Museum also known as the Manzar-e Jahad. I was a guest of Untamed Borders. Untamed Borders specializes in bringing travelers to challenging locations like Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, and Yemen. [...]
Visiting The Tomb Of Ahmad Shah Massoud
Visiting The Tomb Of Ahmad Shah Massoud. The Mujahideen were painted as courageous and resilient freedom fighters as they defended their lands from the Soviet invaders in the 1980s. None were more lionized than Ahmad Shah Massoud. Massoud was an Afghan politician and a military commander who led the guerrilla resistance in the Panjshir Valley. And for many years after, Massoud battled the Taliban as they sought complete control of Afghanistan. Massoud and his Mujahideen preserved the independence of his lands from both the Soviets and the Taliban over two decades of war. Massoud’s home, the Panjshir Valley, is only 93 miles (150 km) from the capital of Kabul. It is about a three-hour drive with the opportunity to pass by the vast Baghram US military base. Over 1,000,000 people make their home in the valley with Afghanistan’s largest population of ethnic Tajiks. Panjshir means Valley of the Five Lions and Massoud is known as the Lion of Panjshir. The Panjshir is a stable and secure area, compared to the rest of Afghanistan. The [...]
