From the immense deserts (а - огромные пустыни) of Kara - kum to the snows of the Tien Shan, the newly independent republics (b - независимые республики) of Central Asia have a natural beauty(c - природная красота) and grandeur easily matching their wealth of Silk Road treasures. Our adventures start in Kyrgyzstan, a mountain paradise surrounded by deserts. The mountain-dwelling Kirghizes are celebrated horsemen (d - прославленные джигиты) and many still spend the summer in remote yurt camps (e - отдалённые поселения из юрт) in the Tien Shan ("Heavenly Mountain"). We hike wonderful valleys with forests and glacial lakes (j - ледниковые озёра), and relax at Lake Issyk-Kul (The kirghiz "Sacred sea"), an enormous alpine lake (g - огромное альпийское/горное озеро) at 5.000 feet where we can ride horses and soak in hot springs. After a raft trip on the Chu river, we move to the steppes of Kazakhstan to have bird watch in the Aksu Gorge wildlife reserve. In Usbekistan we visit three magical oases of Silk Road fame: Samakand, Bukhara, and Khiva, in Samarkand, where Tamerlane held sway, we find the most spectacular architectural ensemble (h - самый впечатляющий архитектурный ансамбль) in all Central Asia: 14th-century Registan square, which would easily dwarf the Taj Mahal in a contest of mosques, minarets, and mosaics. In Bukhara, once one of the "Three pearls" of the silk road, the old historic quarter illustrates 1.000 years of history in its collection of caravan saries, domed bazaars, mosques, and madrassas. And in Khiva, a walled city (i - город-крепость) in the entire inner town are a virtual outdoor museum (f - музей под открытым небом) of the 17th to 19th centurues. Our last stop is at Ashkhabad, capital of Turkmenistan, where we wander in its famous Sunday rug bazaar and ride camels before returning home.
