Camels and sand castles

After leaving Nukus, we hired a taxi to drive us around the Elliq-Qala ("Fifty Forts") area of ruins dating over 2000 years. No one knows quite how many forts there are, but they show that this area was once the heart of a rich farmland watered by the Amu Darya (Oxus) river, once as large as the Mississippi. The Amu Darya still flows nearby but has only a fraction of its water.


The forts are ruins now, but some are still quite impressive, with large walls and multistory dwellings.








We spent the night at a yurt camp in the desert and in the morning we sprung $10 each for a camel ride. We were skeptical because it sounded so touristy, but these were real desert camels and it was actually quite fun. My camel was pretty comfortable, certainly much better than a yak, but Marcia had a little trouble sliding off the hump. Camels are pretty foul-mannered, and they complained as much as the yak while they were being saddled up.


The desert stretched as far as the eye could see.