The road from Samarkand is similar to the road into it; a succession of dreary linear towns with advertising boards and men with red Star Wars sticks waving motorists into their roadside cafes. The road then suddenly climbed a steep hill after the turn-off to Jizzakh and emerged into a region of rolling brown treeless hills. On descending this region, the road passed through a charming agricultural zone with fields of rather short barley. We drove through the Nurabad (“city of light”) suburb of Akhangaran which boasts a large coal-fired power station. Its very tall smokestack can be seen from miles away. We had a delicious meal at a roadside cafe; I had chunks of mutton while Jennifer had two kebabs and we shared a fresh tasty salad, all for £8. We spent the night in the van outside a large filling station on the way to Kokand.
