Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Baykonur Cosmodrome,
Kazakhstan
Book a tour
months in advance and you
can watch a rocket blast of
from Soviet cosmonaut Yuri
Gagarin's former launch site.
(p90)
Aral Sea
The beached ishing
boats at Moynaq (p215) in
Uzbekistan or Aralsk (p91) in
Kazakhstan are a ine place to
ponder the nature of environ-
mental folly.
Astana
Lie on a beach beside
palm trees inside the world's
largest tent, Khan Shatyr (p98),
then head to the Presidential
Cultural Centre (p103) to gawp
at 2000-year-old horse innards.
Darvaza Gas Craters
At night
this burning pit in the Karakum
desert resembles nothing less
than the iery gates of Hell. It's
weird, even for Turkmenistan.
(p384)
Ashgabat
A mix between Las
Vegas and Pyongyang, oddball
highlights here include the
Ministry of Fairness, the world's
largest handwoven rug and the
12m golden statue of former
dictator Turkmenbashi. (p374)
ing the local
aksakal
s (white
beards) over a pot of green tea,
a round of kebabs and a fresh
watermelon. (p469)
Russian Orthodox cathedrals
Babushkas, incense and sacred
liturgies ofer a diferent aspect
of Central Asian religious life,
best at Tashkent's Assumption
Cathedral. (p146)
Visit a Sui shrine
Make a
weekend visit to the Yasaui Mau-
soleum in Turkistan and you'll
see families praying, feasting
and making wishes by tying rags
to sacred trees. (p88)
Opera for a song
Shell out a
couple of bucks for a classy
performance of
Aida
or
Swan
Lake
at Tashkent's restored
Alisher Navoi (p153) or
Almaty's Abay State Opera &
Ballet Theatre. (p66)
The Nomadic Life
Yurts
Stay overnight in an
authentic yurt in the high
eastern Pamirs or the pastures
of Kyrgyzstan, and visit the
world's only three-storey yurt
in Osh. (p304)
Manaschi
There's something
other-worldly about listening
to a white-bearded bard recit-
ing the Kyrgyz national epic,
Manas
. It's a direct link to the
Kyrgyz nomadic past. (p302)
Horse games
Summer brings
the good life to the
jailoos
(summer pastures), along
with horse races, horseback
wrestling and Kyrgyz-style
kiss-chasy. (p306)
Eagle-hunting
Real hunts
(with eagles, not
for
eagles)
take place in winter but
several spots in Kyrgyzstan
ofer summertime displays
from authentic
berkutchi
(eagle
hunters). (p272)
Horse trek to Song-Köl
The
best way to visit this lovely
mountain lake is on a horse
trek, stopping in herders' yurts
en route. Allow four days.
(p273)
Of the
Beaten Track
Central Asia's remoter
gems take some getting
to but offer some of the
region's most memorable
experiences.
Karakalpakstan
Tick of the
'Stan within a Stan' with a
visit to the Savitsky Museum
in Nukus, home to some of the
greatest avant-garde Soviet art
of the 1930s. (p214)
Mangistau
Underground
mosques, necropoli and the
enigmatically named 'Valley
of Balls' await exploration in
the deserts around Aktau in
western Kazakhstan. (p96)
Desert Castles of Khorezm
Hire a car and track down the
dozen or more two-millennia-
old fortresses known as
elliq-Qala that rise from the
Karakum desert like giant
sandcastles. (p202)
Cultural
Immersion
Banyas
Sweat the day away
or indulge your inner kink with
a birch branch logging at
Almaty's Arasan Baths. (p60)
Chaikhana culture
Nothing
beats the experience of join-
The Weird & the
Downright Odd
Central Asia supplies a dai-
ly dose of the unexpected,
but for the really odd stuff
head for Turkmenistan and
remoter Kazakhstan.
IF YOU LIKE... DARK SOVIET-ERA HISTORY
Malinovka's ALZhIR museum outside Atana (p71)
ofers an introduction to the horrors of Soviet labour
camps and you can even visit a former KarLag camp
outside Karaganda (p111). Tours of the Soviet-era
atomic teting site at Semey (p118) are also possible:
bring your own Geiger counter.
