Dear Reader (2024-02-26),
In today’s post we begin exploring Tajikistan. My written thoughts on this country are still a bit of a jumble. So while I go through de-jumbling iterations, I have started editing the photos for this country.
All of today’s images are from a long drive we took to the seven lakes region. The pavement died once we passed the mine operated in conjunction with the Chinese. It is a stunning area, and the Tajik government would love to see more tourists in the area. There is an access challenge though. The dirt road is barely wide enough at times for one vehicle let alone a constant flow of traffic in both directions.
Note on Photos
~ 2 – Probably a cottage owned by one of the miners who lives in a nearby village. Miners are well paid.
~ 3 – There is a lot of gravel around, and I have no incites into what makes this gravel so special.
~ 6 – Tuesday rules: There had been a hill slide and we had to wait a half or so until the road was made passable (and that counts as being repaired).
~ 7 – Out the bus window – was that last year or 30 years ago?
~ 8 – The first of 6 lakes.
~ 11, 12 – Did I mention the width of the road?
~ 13 – A rock barricade to protect the luxurious house (it really did look splendid) below.
~ 18 – And this is where we turned around, as the seventh lake was more driving than was reasonable for the day.
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Cheers, Sean
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All rights for all material on any media reserved – © Sean P Drysdale 2020-2024
At one time in my childhood/teens, after reading Marco Polo, Rudyard Kipling, and others, I wanted to travel the various versions of the Silk Road. Cities like Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara sounded like exotic and wonderful destinations. Then I learned about the USSR. As near as I can tell, you weren’t far from Kafiristan (now Nuristan).
3- I checked. Ms Google has nothing to say about the gravel in Tajikistan is special. Amazing.
5-That photo is wonderful! It could have been taken any time in the last 100 years or so.
6-Seeing the equipment working in that environment reminds me of the videos documenting heavy equipment operators doing something imprudent at best, and then finding out instead of just skirting the safety margins, they go over them, and then over and over tail over tea kettle…
7-She is very trusting to have her camera out where it could be bashed by some random piece of gravel.
8- Love the blue!
11, 12- I’m glad I’m not driving. I somehow suspect there is a really steep hill, with curves, and maybe a rickety bridge between where the photo was taken, and the road in the photo.
13-It is a lovely dry fitted stone wall, but I suspect it doesn’t really offer much resistance to anything beyond a few pebble sliding down a scree slope.
15-That is some clear water! Were you allowed to drink it, or are there bacteria for unspeakable diseases?
17-A wonderful evocative photo!
Thank you Keith for visiting and commenting. Oh, and I didn’t know the word exclave before – good word. Regarding Nuristan, Dushanbe the capital of Tajikistan is only 150 km (or so) from the Afghan border. Cheers