weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Our bus drives us some 290 km/180 miles from the border with Tajikistan to the ancient city of Samarkand. On the way we pass the "Gate of Tamerlane" where the Pamir and Tien Shan mountains meet, separated only by a small river and valley. We stop at a fruit stand with predominantly apples for sale.

Small fertile valley encroached by road, train track and power lines at the "Gate of Tamerlane"

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Rock face detail of the Tien Shan range

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Face of the Pamir range with traffic on this strategic road

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Apple vendor at a road-side food stall

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Happy vendor trio with apples at a road-side food stall

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ncribble Loc: Albuquerque, NM

Love your photos, but also the Geography lesson. I couldn't refrain from going to Google maps and looking up where in the heck is Tajikistan. You capture on the 'Apple Stand' is terrific. Thanks

RV Loc: Chicago

Checked out your website and just wanted to compliment you on your vacation images. Always a pleasure to see well framed and thought out shot that actually tells a story and or raises your imagination. Also wanted to say how damned "jealous" I am of your travel resume!. I have traveled but not in your league.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thanks Norm for looking and your comments. I always was fascinated with the 'Stans, particularly in connection with the silk road, and places like Samarkand and Bukhara were firmly planted in my mind - but I didn't actually know that the area was called Central Asia, until I looked for a travel book that covered the area and then found the Lonely Planet "Central Asia".

From a landscape point of view, Uzbekistan is rather drab, flat and uninteresting. But what it does not have in landscape, it makes up in ancient cultural treasures - and you will see plenty of these in my upcoming posts (I plan to do about 2 posts a day for a little while). For landscape, my favorite country was definitely Kyrgyzstan, I posted some pictures from there last August, before I went on a bunch of trips. You can see them by looking at my postings - I am particularly fond of the landscape pictures around the Burana Tower area.

Joe

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thanks for looking at my posting and also at my website. I don't know whether you realized it, but on the website, you can click on any of the pictures to see a full frame and it should give you a description as to time, location as well as in most cases more details on the place. The info should be in the right panel, if it is not there, then you can hover the cursor on the picture and in the upper right will be a small i in a circle, click on that and the info will show up (cn also toggle off as the info panel sort of interferes with the picture).

Yes, I have been very lucky to do a lot of interesting travels, both while I was working (and living in a bunch of different locations internationally) as well now that I am retired - it is such a beautiful world out there and I keep going to see more, that is why I am so far behind in working on my pictures, but I refuse to work on the latest pictures, otherwise the "in-betweens" will never materialize!

sailorsmom Loc: Souderton, PA

Fantastic shots, weberwest!

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thanks again, Sailorsmom!

AuntieM Loc: Eastern NC

Love your series and how you are capturing the local people, colors, and lifestyles along the way.

weberwest Loc: Ferndale WA

Thanks again