End of the journey

From historic Uzbekistan, past the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea, through Russia and beautiful Georgia to the Bosphorus in Istanbul ...

First to Uzbekistan : we were allowed to experience the cultural heritage of the Silk Road! Long before the strong development in Europe, Arabic architecture and education with universities (Madaris) already existed there.

After art and culture, we continued to the Aral Sea . It was once the fourth largest inland lake, about the size of Bavaria (1960), today super small, only half the size of Thuringia. The main reason for this is the drainage of water into canals for irrigating the cotton harvest, but also sunflowers and the like. We were very surprised how green it was 150 km from the lake, but there is a dusty salt desert right by the lake..
The irrigation canals are also open and poorly sealed, which means that a lot of water is lost along the way. In addition, the plantations are getting bigger and bigger, and the need for water is increasing.

We drove to the lake by car: from the original coast to the current one, there are 4!!!! hour drive, 180km. What we saw there was pathetic, the water is extremely shallow, super warm (like bath water) and extremely salty. We were swimming and being carried by the salt like in the Dead Sea.

Then the next day we read about the Soviet biological warfare munitions they were testing in the region. The many cotton plantations around the lake also used Agent Orange, a toxic pesticide used to defoliate shrubs that has now been shown to cause cancer and genetic alterations. But we are fine!!! 😅😅

In addition to this toxic pesticide, many artificial fertilizers, herbicides, and other pesticides have been used in the region for decades. These are still contained in the dust, which is spread all over the world due to a large air corridor over the lake (the Aral dust is detectable in both the Arctic and Antarctic!).

Russia: Yes, we dared. It wasn't an easy trade-off. There are three routes to the Caspian Sea: crossing the "Caspi" by ship, Turkmenistan and Iran, or transiting through Russia. The ship was our favorite, but Azerbaijan currently prohibits entry by land. Turkmenistan is one of the most difficult countries to travel to in the world, similar to North Korea. We tried, but the price made our jaws drop. Even an Iran visa was not safe. Then the only option left to us was Russia. For a long time we thought about not flying. But we wanted to make this trip overland! And we have already traveled through Xinjiang. Somehow, one of the goals of the trip was to meet people you wouldn't otherwise meet. Be it the Pakistanis, the residents of Xinjiang, Kyrgyz nomads or the people in Russia who lead their normal lives there.

The visa for Russia was amazingly easy to get given train and bus tickets.
Our experience was quite positive. Border controls were totally relaxed, only two to three questions each, and above all the people we met were mostly really exceptionally friendly and helpful. It was unbelievable how hard the woman at the ticket counter tried to book the right ticket for us and cancel the old one. Some people called relatives in Germany to show them that they just met two Germans :)
However, Patrie also experienced two situations in which her men made symbols and signs that indicate wounds in the war.

After Russia we went to Turkey for a pit stop in Istanbul . This is where Asia meets Europe and the Black Sea meets the Mediterranean Sea. The city used to be populated by seafarers and traders, today tourists and locals from many different countries. It is Turkey's most populous city and an important logistical and transport international hub. The city's 2,700-year-old history still shapes the cityscape today, which is why parts of Istanbul's historic old town are also UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The originally Greek city of Byzantion became Roman Constantinople until Istanbul became the capital of the Ottoman Empire in 1453 (until 1923) and from then on also became Muslim.

Then I would have liked to take the Orient Express . Unfortunately, it now only runs very rarely on this route and is a luxury experience. Instead, we decided to return to Germany in 48 hours with the legendary Bosporus Express via Bucharest and then on via Budapest and Vienna. That means a lot of train travel again, which makes my soul happy! ;)