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An early morning at Iskanderkul (In Explore 01-10-2022)

I always had the plan to post more shots of the wonderful Iskanderkul in Tajikistan, but it is already three years ago that I finished my trip through central Asia, and how the world has changed since then.

 

Beside this shot www.flickr.com/photos/115540984@N02/49221949713/in/photol..., that I posted a long time ago, there were many more.

 

This image was taken when we left early next morning. The scenery was gorgeous thanks to the light and the haze, and the lake got a wonderful turquoise color.

 

Iskanderkul is situated in the northwest of Tajikistan, in the Fann-mountains. I am not sure if it was named after Alexander the great, the stories are somewhat vague on this matter, but what is sure is that the dacha of the Tajik president is situated at the east end of the lake.

 

We spent two days at this lake, and although this scenery is fantastic it took me a lot of pictures to capture its grandness. Not only the lake but the surrounding mountains are so stunning you don't know where to look all the time. Enjoy!

 

 

20 September 2019 I came back from my journey over a part of the Silk Road to and through Central Asia. 4 months of traveling through 14 countries (Germany, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran) before I flew home from Teheran. An impressive journey in countries that are extremely beautiful, with lovely and welcoming people and diverse cultures and history.

 

Intense traveling with more than 20000 kilometers in our mobile home on sometimes roads that hardly could be called that way. We saw many villages and cities (some wonderful, others very ugly), countries that are transforming from the old Soviet era into something more related to older cultures and the way people live, often funded by oil readily available around the Caspian sea. We saw the amazing mountains south of the Black Sea, the wonderful Caucasus, and the high mountains in the far east close to China with peaks over 7000 meter, and not to forget the (Bulgarian) Alps!

 

We crossed the great steppe of Kazakhstan. a drive of at least 5000 km, the remnants of lake Aral, once one of the biggest lakes of the world, saw a rocket launch from Baikonur (this little part is Russian owned), we crossed many high mountains passes, and drove the breathtaking canyon that comes from the Pamir, beginning at ca 4500 meter, and going down for ca. 400km to an altitude of 1300 meter, driving for 100's of kilometers along the Afghan border.

 

And then the numerous lakes with all sorts of different colors from deep cobalt blue to turquoise, and one rare spectacle in Turkmenistan where a gas crater is burning already for more than 40 years. And finally and certainly not the least to mention an enormous amount of wonderful, hospitable and welcoming people. The woman often dressed in wonderful dresses, and bringing a lot of color in the streets of almost of all countries we visited.

 

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Uploaded on September 30, 2022
Taken on August 27, 2019