To Khujand, Tajikistan – Sept. 26
ElderTreks brochure: After breakfast, drive to the Kyrgyzstan/Tajikistan border where we will clear immigration and customs formalities. Our new guide and driver will then take us to Khujand. We visit the Citadel, Masoleum of Sheikh Massal ad-Din, Madrassah, Mosque of Sheikh Massal ad-Din, Panchshanba Bazaar. Overnight in Khujand: Khujand Grand Hotel.
It was a long, long overnight journey. Admiration for our drivers.
We stopped every few hours for a potty break. At one Roger thought he’d “lost” me. When he was checking to make sure everyone was on board our bus, he didn’t see me. After a while and I still hadn’t turned up, he began to wonder if I’d fallen down the hole, said something to Trish, and she pointed to me curled up sound asleep in my seat with my head covered by my scarf. He’d thought it was just my coat and scarf on the seat. Great relief that he wasn’t going to have to go stinky-hole-in-the-ground diving!
When we arrived at the Sunrise Guest House it was about 5:45 in the morning. Breakfast was at 7:30, bags outside the bedroom door by 8, leave at 8:30. Leroy decided to get an hour’s sleep as he hadn’t been as fortunate as me to sleep through the night. There was a lot of dozing on the ride to the border with Tajikistan!
After saying goodbye to Ilya and Ulan, leaving Kyrgyzstan was quick and easy, had our passports stamped, a short walk across no man’s land, then went through immigration into Tajikistan–also fast and pleasant.
After another couple of hours of driving we arrived in Khujand. Half our group including Trish went to the Mosque of Sheikh Massal ad-Din and Panchshanba Bazaar while the rest of us wimped out and went to our hotel.
Khujand: Day trip to Istarafshan – Sept. 27
From ElderTreks brochure: Our day starts with a relatively short drive to Istarafshan, a city that is one of the oldest in Tajikistan, dating back over 2,500 years. Once an important stop on the Silk Road, you will visit the Kok Gumbaz mosque, Khazreti Shokh mausoleum and the Mugtepa bazaar local knife makers . After lunch, we return to Khujand and time permitting we will visit the Arbob Cultural Palace. Overnight in Khujand: Khujand Grand Hotel
The relatively short drive to Istarafshan that ET mentions in their description of today’s activities (above) was short relative to what we’ve done over the past days, it was “only” a couple of hours! However, it was worth it, and it has been a delightful day.
Istaravshan was founded as a Silk Road trading post in the 6th Century BC. It was the east-west route for traders and travelers, and they also passed through here when journeying south to Afghanistan and the Pamirs.
I’m not writing much detail about today, it’s getting on for midnight and I need to be up at 5:30 a.m. for our departure at 8 for the Tajikistan/Uzbekistan border. I know, I know–I should be writing my blog in the evening and not having fun with my family and friends!
Our first stop was the Khazrati Shokh mausoleum.
Next, we went to Mugtepa bazaar:
Finally this morning, the Kok Gumbaz Mosque-Madrasa. It was built 2,500 years ago, the name means “blue dome”.
On our way to lunch, the bus air-conditioning unit did a wee-wee on Elaine!
After lunch, a visit to the Kamoli Khujandi house museum and, after that, the Historical Museum of Sughd, a regional history museum, dramatic exterior. In the gift shop, I found a tote bag with a top that zips shut and is just the right size to hold my painting. Very happy about that and feel more secure now than having it in the plastic hotel laundry bag.
As it was now late afternoon, while Roger took some of the group for a quick visit to the Narodnogo Artista museum I, along with Elaine, Trish, Leroy and a couple we’ve become friendly with, took a delightful walk through the Kamoli Khujand Park to the hotel and put our feet up for half an hour before dinner.
Khujand is very pretty at night with its lighting.
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