We took 4 hours to drive from Khiva to Nukus, literally traversing the Kyzylkum Desert. Note: trains and planes depart only on certain days and perhaps only once, making planning exceptionally difficult—hence the taxi ride between cities! Further, we took YangdexGo (Lyft/Uber equivalent) taxis everywhere in the various cities: trips cost literally pennies and traveling 5 miles was less than US$1!
There are at least three ancient Khorezm fortress ruins on the road between the cities (called Karakalpakstan). They represent remnants of Zoroastrian civilizations that flourished around the Amu Darya River more than 2,000 years ago. They are the highest points in the region (Chilpak; Toprak-Kala), used to monitor trade and defend fertile oases from nomadic raiders. They seem to stick out like abandoned sandcastles. We explored them on foot, climbing around without any limitations.
Our final stop was at the Savitsky Museum. Igor Savitsky rescued more than 100,000 archeological and folk objects that Soviet authorities considered politically dangerous or unacceptable (Kremlin banned this style of art). Because the museum is in such a remote location, authorities never visited or enforced their censorship. As such, it is the largest collection of over 40,000 Soviet avant-garde art pieces (nearly half of the museum’s collection).
Overall, a layered experience of Timurid grandeur, Islamic scholarship and calligraphy, Silk Road commerce and the beauty and resilience of hundreds of different cultural groups of the centuries.
