Blog

Intro – For those who are not familiar Craig and Di Shanklin are our dear friends from the Souther Utah part of the region and they have made world wide travel an art form. It might be easier to say where these two fun loving kids have not been rather than try to list all the countries that they have been. They have been kind enough to allow me to share their travel blog with everyone. So I will be sharing random stories from their travels periodically. I hope you will enjoy the ride as much as I have.

Gary Lea President Las Vegas Region PCA.

Where in the world…are Craig & Di?

Uzbekistan was the heart of the Silk Roads…all roads led (or at least crossed) here. It became the hub of culture and trade for many centuries. However, the absolute hub was the legendary city of Samarkand….the capital of the Sogdian civilization…later conquered by Alexander the Great. To get from the modern capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, we took a high speed bullet train for an hour and half to Samarkand. Upon arrival, your first impression is that this was a special place. We toured many mosques and mausoleums. But lest you think this was an ABC tour (Another Bloody Cathedral…or mosque in our case) each one told a story. Some were ancient, some showed unique architectural knowledge for the time, others showed the evolution of religion. It was an impressive visual feast…we can’t think of a time we have been more impressed with architecture and design. We also visited local markets and had an opportunity to discover daily life in this ancient capital…much of it unchanged for thousands of years. We’ll let the photos do the talking but if you get interested in the subject or area, I can recommend “The Silk Roads…a new history of the world” by Peter Frankopan. During our days in Samarkand, we took a detour. While we mainly focus on destinations, this detour turned out to be about the journey… In the nearby city of the Panjakent, there is what is referred to as the “Pompeii of central Asia”…archeological sites that further explain this ancient center of civilization. But there was a problem…these sites were in another country…another “Stan”… Tajikistan. To further complicate things…Tajikistan and Uzbekistan aren’t friendly with each other. But National Geographic knew a way.

1May 24, 2025 We took our usual bus to the border and disembarked. We faced a military-like zone…huge gates, uniformed guards, razor wire. We were given instructions on how to navigate the walking border crossing…no cars or trucks were allowed. (Photos also strictly prohibited…sorry) We would pass through 3 Uzbekistan checkpoints and be cleared out of the country. Then we walk 1/2 mile though what felt like the DMZ until we reached the gated border of Tajikistan.. As we slowly walked across this eerie barren section between border crossings all of us commented on what a unique (some thought scary) experience. About halfway along this walk, we crossed the actual border…double tall parallel fences about 20 feet apart, topped with razor wire…running as far as you could see in each direction.. Some compared it to a prisoner exchange during the cold war. It was just basically our small group and a few others making this crossing…in silence. Upon passport control and two more inspections…we were officially in Tajikistan…the 4th of our five “Stans”. We boarded a couple of small buses (clearly this was a poorer country with little visitor infrastructure). They have had the same President since 1994 and have struggled post-Soviet Union) and made our way to the archeology sites. We had a local guide explain what we were seeing…most of it 500-800 BC. They also had an excellent on-site museum to view the materials that have been removed from the site. We also did a hike at another historic site which gave us a view of the extensive site but also a great view of the city down below us hugging the river. This was a contrast with other central Asia countries…most houses had simple metal roofs and there were few tall buildings. To take a break from the heat, we had lunch in a local tea house with traditional foods…most eaten by locals with their right hand. It was excellent and unlike most of this region was primarily vegetarian (which we enjoyed). Our local tour guide, a school teacher, was excellent but also gave us views into life in Tajikistan. She even shared that she was not yet married and that she was looking forward to her parents selecting her husband in the future. She shared, with great passion, that it was such an honor to have an arranged marriage. She also explained the wedding process including the 40 days immediately following the marriage where the bride does not leave the home…to learn the needs of your new husband from your new mother-in-law. She described it all in such lovely terms with such a smile…she would then be happy.

After another 6 border crossing inspections we are now back in Uzbekistan for more history and architecture. Then tomorrow we board the high speed train again….this time bound for the “Athens”