The high speed rail line ends in Bukhara, which means to go to Khiva, you’ll have to take the slow train that leaves Bukhara at an ungodly hour of 4am, arrive in Urgench >6h later, then arrange for another transportation to Khiva. Now that I’m less broke, we opted to hire a private transfer.
On the way from Bukhara to Khiva, we saw the part of the Amu Darya river that forms the border between Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The Amu Darya is one of the most important rivers in the desserts of Central Asia, flowing from the Pamir mountains through Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, before emptying into the (dying) Aral Sea.
We reached Khiva in the early afternoon. I recommend getting a hotel inside the walled city (called Ichan Qala) because everything you need to see is within the walls. Ichan Qala is similar to Bukhara in that the whole place is an open air museum, but it is immaculately clean and tidy, and small enough to be finished by foot in half a day. Fewer big tour groups make their way to Khiva, so you’re left with more independent travellers, many of whom are Chinese. And let’s just say, nothing has changed from when I wrote my China posts.
The buildings in Ichan Qala are relatively new, built after the 1700s, but their foundations are ancient, dating back to the third century or earlier. Khiva, along with Bukhara, were known as the slave capitals of the world 400 years ago. Trafficked slaves from Russia and Persia were brought here and sold throughout Central Asia. Males were used for hard labour, and females, well. Russians and Persians were targeted because Islam banned Muslims from enslaving other Muslims. But since most people in Central Asia were Sunni Muslims, Persians (who were Shia Muslims) and Russians (who were Christians) were seen as legitimate targets for slavery. I’m literally lifting off Wikipedia so don’t shoot the messenger. The slave trade only stopped when the Russian empire annexed Khiva in 1873.
It was also in Khiva where we experienced our first bout of diarrhoea, a day before our 2d1n Aral Sea off-roading adventure. According to Reddit, it’s the melons?
Hi! I am Joey, a University student from Singapore, attempting to show my appreciation for the world’s most powerful passport by literally milking its visa-free benefits one country at a time. I describe my travel budget as shoestring and travel style as audacious.
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