Central Asia (Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan)

The former Soviet Republics of Uzbekistan & Kirghistan are in the heart of Central Asia. The area is a vast inaccessible wilderness, surrounded by harsh desert and high mountains. It was once the site of the ancient caravan routes and its towns were oasis on the Great Silk Road of the East. Traveler Ian Wright's journey begins in the smallest of these oasis towns, Khiva. Khiva is a strange time capsule in the middle of the Kara-Kum desert. The City grew up around one small well and the old inner town with its mud streets and squares has been perfectly preserved as a museum. Ian wanders the streets and attends a Uzbek wedding. Ian drives to Bukhara and swims in the sacred pool in the center of the town called Lyab-i-Haus. He flies to Bishkek, the capitol of the Republic of Kirghistan. Kirghistan is a mountain paradise surrounded by deserts and populated mostly by nomads who were never quite tamed by the Soviet regime. The mountains and high pastures have been spared Soviet industrialization and Kirghiz, Russian Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Germans and Koreans live peacefully side-by-side.