05/12 – Drive to Khiva

Today was an all-day drive from Bukhara to Khiva.  We stopped at a snack stand for a bio break where we met another group of 4 Americans on the way to Khiva too.  We also had a lunch stop at a simple restaurant along the way.  There aren’t a lot of facilities on this route.

The countryside had some farmland in the earlier stretches but much of it looked much like the unirrigated areas of California…dry with shrubs.

We arrived in Khiva late in the afternoon.  The hotel had a massive central lobby with a balcony all the way around. 

And the hotel is just across the street from the main gate into the old city.  This town looks very much like you have stepped back in time to Central Asia of the Silk Road.

The walls are massive.

the gate huge,

the buildings beautiful and the streets narrow 

and there were a lot of shops carrying furry hats.

We are all looking forward to our walking tour of the city tomorrow.