Tag: termez

Uzbekistan: The Buddhist stupas and barbed wire of Termez

October 26, 2012

Located in the southernmost part of Uzbekistan, on the Afghan frontier, Termez is a small city with a history dating back at least 2,500 years. Throughout its history, Termez has been conquered by Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, and Tamerlane. It was later controlled by Imperial Russia and then the Soviet Union, who used Termez as a staging area for the 100,000 troops who fought in Afghanistan from 1979 – 1989. Termez also plays a role in the current NATO military operations across the border by hosting the German military at the local airbase. Here, transport planes fly Bundeswehr soldiers and military supplies from Germany to Termez and Termez to final destinations in Afghanistan.

As one might imagine, there aren’t many tourists in this part of Uzbekistan. In fact, the only other foreigners we ran into were diplomats on leave from Mazar-i-Sharif, some 60 miles across the border. The lack of tourists is a shame, however, as I believe it is truly one of the most underrated parts of the country. This area has a unique Buddhist heritage; from the 1st to 3rd century AD, Termez was part of the Kushan Empire and hosted thousands of Buddhist monks in its various monasteries. (Remember the Buddha statues in Bamiyan that the Taliban blew up in 2001? They were also built by the Kushan.)

After breakfast we headed outside the city to visit some of these sights. Our first stop was at the Zurmala Stupa, thought to be from the 3rd century AD. The main purpose of stupas is the enshrinement of Buddhist holy relics. It’s been a bit worn down over the centuries, so now just appears to be some random mud stump in a cotton field.


From afar






Cotton fields

Our group of 16 foreigners wandering around a cotton field taking photos of a mud stump attracted the attention of some local kids.






View of Afghanistan from across the Amu Darya river.

Next we visited the Al Hakim At-Termizi Mausoleum, the main holy place in Termez. Al Hakim At-Termizi was one of the great early authors of Sufism. This complex dates from the 10-14th centuries.




Hill where you could go look at Afghanistan. But no cameras allowed.


It’s impossible, you see

Next stop, the remains of the Fayaz Tepe Buddhist monastery complex, which dates from the 2-3rd centuries AD.






Inside the dome are the remains of a stupa


Sand dunes in Afghanistan


Security tower


More border security



The archaeological museum in Termez. Incredible collection of artifacts!

Now let’s take a moment to talk a bit about the food in Uzbekistan, because it was in Termez, at dinner upon our arrival the previous evening, that my stomach finally said “No more, Lindsay. No. More. ” A typical meal would consist of salads (which were tasty, but often suspect because you weren’t sure if they used bottled water to clean the veggies), soup and non bread, followed by a main course of fatty beef or lamb with a side of potatoes or veggies. And for dessert, cake! Doesn’t sound too bad, right? It wasn’t, and the food was quite good at times, but I just wasn’t used to eating three large meals per day, and certainly not the same thing over and over. Before I went to Uzbekistan I loved beets, but I haven’t eaten them since returning a year ago. In Termez I began to have visions of salmon tacos and In-N-Out double doubles and carne asada burritos. I would be eating a carrot salad for the fifteenth time, but my taste buds and imagination were working together to conjure up images of the food I so dearly missed. So that day at lunch, when the restaurant staff placed large platters of french fries and small tubs of ice cream on the table, I was the happiest person in the country.

Our stomachs full of french fries and ice cream, we paid a visit to the local bazaar.



I don’t know why my mom always worries so much about my travels 😉




Pram used as a shopping cart.




We went further out of town to the Kirk Kiz (“forty girls”) fortress, thought to be a summer estate for royalty dating from as early as the 9th century.






The kids like having their photos taken here.

Nearby was the memorial complex of Sultan Saodat, built during the 11-17th centuries. This complex contains the graves of the Sayyid dynasty of Termez, direct descendants of the Prophet Muhammad.




More curious kids


Huge bales of cotton



View of Hairatan, Afghanistan. Termez is separated from Afghanistan by the Amu Darya river and connected via the Afghanistan-Uzbekistan Friendship Bridge, which was built in 1985 to supply Soviet troops in Afghanistan. But aside from the increased border security, you wouldn’t know that this war torn country lay less than a kilometer away.


Soviet military forces withdrawing from Afghanistan to Termez in October 1989 (RIA Novosti archive)

Uzbekistan: Nukus to Termez via Tashkent

October 25, 2012

This morning we boarded an Uzbekistan Airways flight and flew over the vast desert back to Tashkent. We were actually headed to Termez, a city in southern Uzbekistan on the border of Afghanistan. But with a few exceptions, all internal flights in Uzbekistan are via Tashkent, so we would be stopping there for the day until our late evening flight south.

We would be returning to Nukus in four days, to cross the border to Turkmenistan. But why not cross now? It is a long story, but in short, there were complications with the Turkmen visa that necessitated an extension of our time in Uzbekistan, and so for the next few days we would be flying and driving around the opposite side of the country.

We had eight hours in Tashkent, so did a bit more sightseeing after lunch (my stomach problems cleared and I was finally well enough to eat). We visited the Chorsu Bazaar, the oldest market in Tashkent. Here you could buy everything: meat, produce, spices, Fanta, carpets, and wedding clothes.



Sheep that will be slaughtered for the religious holiday of Eid al-Adha.

Next, we stopped for tea at the Rakhimov Ceramics Studio. This studio had a lovely courtyard filled with pomegranate trees (and, of course, ceramics).

Our flight that evening was delayed, so when the plane finally arrived, the stern flight attendant yelled that we were late, and we were to take any seat. Passengers hurriedly stuffed their bags into the overhead bins and buckled their seatbelts, lest they be lectured again. Our flight was further delayed when the attendant discovered that one of the passengers was considerably drunk, and so she had him removed from the plane with the assistance of several crew members. With everyone seated, and the drunk passenger gone, our aging Ilyushin turboprop began the bumpy flight south to Termez.

We were the only tourists on board, and so the curious Uzbek teenagers seated behind me took the opportunity to use the English they had learned in school and pepper me with questions: “Where are you from? What is your name? Where have you gone in Uzbekistan? Why are you going to Termez?” (“Just to see it” was met with a quizzical look).

As we began our descent into Termez, I was horrified as my seatmate pulled out her cellphone and began to call someone (presumably the person who was picking her up from the airport). Thankfully, we landed without incident and my new Uzbek friends announced “Welcome to Termez!” and wished me a good trip. Stepping off the plane, the first thing I noticed about Termez was how dark it was. The next thing I noticed was the police officer standing at the gate confiscating all the American passports before allowing us to leave the tarmac. Apparently they were to be taken to the police station and kept overnight, but after some negotiation they were returned, much to our relief.

As we drove through the city to our airport we couldn’t help but notice the thousands of blue, white, red and green (colors of the Uzbek flag) lights strung along the light poles and across the streets. Termez was either the most patriotic city in the country, or, as one traveler joked, it was simply to let NATO drones know that they had crossed from the Afghan border into friendly territory.