Thursday 30th March 2023

 Khiva – Khorezm Fortresses

Today, the four of us have booked a private tour to the ‘Desert Castles of Ancient Khorezm’; we have a minibus and driver. The desert fortresses are around a two hour journey from Khiva in the Kyzlkum Desert.

There are various options available. One company advised us that only three of the ancient forts are actually worth seeing. Another company suggested we travel to four.  Finally we have decided to visit seven which is the most you can see in one day.

This means that we will travel just over 300 kilometres in a loop and it will allow us to see more of the surrounding countryside which is something we also want to do.

Leaving Khiva at 9am we passed through small rural neighbourhoods. Most of the fields have irrigation channels. We spotted a water tanker filling one of the channels.  A small abode was situated close to each field and we saw a few husband and wife teams working painstakingly with simple tools on their pieces of land.

Even the smallest and simplest of abodes have extremely large doors decorated with elaborate gold coloured fittings. A few of them have a veranda with wooden pillars.

At one point, we passed fields of apple trees in blossom but most of the scenery was shallow bush land.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The forts are in various states of repair. Only a couple of them have been restored.

Our favourite was the Ayaz Kala which is actually a complex of three fortresses.

It was baking hot but we all climbed up the hill to see the view of the main fortress.

 

These fortresses were made from clay bricks and were a defence from raids by nomads.

Toprak Kala was the residence of the Khorezmian King and according to what we had read, promised to be the best of the seven fortresses.

However, this place has been renovated and steps run through the centre of this once majestic castle. Although making it easier to view, the steps somehow took the atmosphere of times gone by away for me.

It was here that Dave and I chatted to a three generations of an Uzbek family.  The kids were having a great time jumping from one stone to another.  One of the guys asked for photos with us and of course we took one too.

Anne spotted a lizard perched on a dead dehydrated stump of a tree and the guys spotted a marmot and between them got a couple of excellent shots. Quite amazing really considering that this small animal (which incidentally is closely related to the elephant) spends 80% of its time below ground.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Between us we spotted just three flowers, somehow managing to blossom in this parched land.

Stopping at a yurt camp, we noticed some Dromedary Camels. While these were tethered, many do run wild in the desert.

After removing our shoes we entered the colourful yurt and ordered much needed cold refreshing drinks.  Our drinks were served along with the customary and complimentary tea.

As we pulled up at the last fort of the day, a small boy came running towards us with a small curly haired brown lamb.  He was hoping we would want to pet and photograph the lamb in exchange for some Uzbek Sum.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was after 7.30pm when our driver Bekzod dropped us back off outside the Itchan Kala in Khiva. He is 34 years old and a father of five, Bekzod is a devout Muslim and observed the rules of Ramadan throughout the day.

He did not have a sip of water or a bite to eat until the sun set.  He then asked if any of us had any water.  Anne passed him a bottle.  Murmuring his thanks, while still driving, he cupped his open hands together and bowed his head slightly in silent prayer.

My thoughts went to all the other drivers on the road doing the same at exactly the same moment! Bekzod then drank slowly a few mouthfuls of  the tepid water, sighing in relief after each mouthful.

All of us greatly admired his faith, stamina and perseverance.

Over dinner which was served outside in such a wonderful  setting, we chatted about our day. While we all had enjoyed the day, we agreed that fewer forts  would have been okay as there really wasn’t much to see at two or three of them.

All of us had expected a little more desert too rather than low scrubland.   But as we said, if you don’t do these things, you never know what it is like.

During dinner our views of the  dome of the Pahlavan Mahmoud Mausoleum and the Islam Khoja Minaret are just awesome. I feel like we have travelled back to a time long ago.

 

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