Istanbul is a beautiful city. The old part at least. I’d enjoyed my time here, even the visits to the dentist. But now it was time to head further east, following the Black Sea coast into Georgia. Reputable travel advice mentions landmines, unexploded ordnance and kidnappings. Further east the scenery changes. The ’Stans – Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, back into Kazakhstan. Desolation. Deserts. Prohibited zones. Frequent police checks.
But first I’d have to get there. And that meant unraveling the Byzantine world of visas, letters of introduction, endless fees, mostly in US dollars. It’d all be worth it, a chance to follow the old Silk Roads into western China, to complete an unbroken land crossing of Asia. Epic days, gritty tales to tell. Tough times ahead.
Leave a Reply