More Deserts, Bush Camps, Konye Urgench

More Deserts, Bush Camps, Konye Urgench

Continuing away from the crater we encounter, yes you guessed it, more deserts and still no people. Looking back on these days I can not say that I remember anything really particular about it other than it was blisteringly hot, finding a tiny desert shop with cold water was a blessing, and camping in this heat aide it impossible to sleep until it cooled down at 2 am.

(Sittin on top of the truck roof to watch the sunset)

 

This particular bush camp provided with some pretty good entertainment at night. Our guide Max has a particular taste for vodka. Like most Turkmenistani people, he loves it. We have begun to notice that as the moon rises the vodka goes down, down, and down. The most entertaining part about this is he can be heard signing to himself in the late hours of the night!

Due to the heat I did a lot of sleeping on the bus and stayed up a good portion of the night with Lee and Alex. We found a dung beetle carrying a load though camp and had a good laugh about that among other things. 

Early the next morning we packed up camp and drove down the road to Konye Urgench, meaning Old Urgench from the Persians. Here we wandered through the ruins of a once magnificent city long ago.

Throughout the years this city has seen many travesties and successes. Back in the 12th century it was one of the centers of the Muslim world until a revenge attack from Chinggis Khan in 1221. The Mongols fought and destroyed the city for over 6 months before finally drowning everyone by diverting a river.

During the next years the city was rebuilt and became one of the most important cities in Central Asia thanks to trading routes. However, in 1388 it was seen as a rival city to Samarkand and Timur ordered it destroyed. Although it was partly rebuilt in the 16th century only a few structures have managed to escape the destruction and can been seen left standing. It has now become an official UNESCO world heritage sight.

 

This minaret was spared during the descruction due to its beauty. When the Mongols came to the city it was ordered to be left alone. Today, the minaret stands tall but leaning greatly to one side!