Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan

One of the most fun things about photography tours is driving along a very foreign road and then being able to stop when a photo opportunity appears. 

This blog post highlights these experiences on a trip I took to Central Asia a year ago. Yep, we were following the Silk Road, not on camels but in a bus or four wheel drive vehicles.

I hope  to share a bit of the feeling of the three countries I visited with Fantastic Photo Tours. We visited Uzbekistan,   Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. 

Let’s get started. 

Cemeteries 

We saw two.  The first one shown in the  photo below was in a huge stretch of dessert.  If there was a town nearby I didn’t see it.Felt very random to me.  Maybe there was a town at one time? 

This one on a hill was a designated stop on the way between Khiva in Uzbekistan and the small regional airport. We were really remote. Not many American tourists get to Khiva. Watch for a dedicated post in the future about this fascinating place. 

The cemetery was on a hill, dusty and sandy. Filled with Cairns. Probably what fascinated me most was the opportunity to do some portrait shots of this lovely lady who was visiting the tombstone of a loved one. She was very gracious about letting us photograph her.  

Let’s talk about animals spotted on the drive. We did see camels from time to time. We didn’t stop so I only got a snap from the window. We saw more horses. 

These were in a watering hole. Yep, in the hole. It was hot. I imagine this was a way to stay cool as well as hydrated. 

And then after a visit to a three mile long sand dune in the Kazakh National Park called “singing dunes” we saw these fellows in a nearby barn.   

And, of course, we saw sheep at a dusty windy moment.

This cow fascinated me. I was told the the cows are taken to a pasture in the mornings and they are able to find their way home at milking time. I captured this one while I waited in a vehicle for our guide to get a few supplies at a shop on the main street of a very small village near Kaindy Lake in Kazakhstan. Imagine my surprise when she meandered right by me. I watched her turn right at the mosque you see in the photo.  She knew where to go to get to her home. 

Living near sand dunes and beach in Michigan, I was fascinated with the system for containing the sand during the windy times.

I loved seeing the fashion shoot at Charyn Canyon.  The bright red color really stood out.

Lastly this sign at a rest stop made me laugh.  Don’t throw your apple cores in the toilet please.