There it is! Ayaz Kala (or Icy Fortress, in Uzbek, according to our Uzbek driver). Both of the forts in the photo are Ayaz Kala, the larger one on the higher hill, is the older one. What would we find up there?!? Who knows?
Since we delved on the Karakum (aka Black Sand), we might as well cover the Kyzylkum (or Red Sand) Desert, in Uzbekistan, the place we visited after the Karakum. If you’re by this time, sick with madrasas and mosques (and you will, if you spend enough days in Uzbekistan, how many madrasas do you wanna see??), and you’re still stuck in Khiva, this is one nice excursion you could make, to break the monotony. A trip to see 3 forts, or 5 forts, or 7 forts, …take your pick! Yup, that’s the sort of package you’d get from your hotel, guesthouse or driver in Khiva. We took the 3 forts trip, and I can tell you it’s more than enough for 1 day, if you are slow coaches like us.
Tip: YandexGo doesn’t work in Khiva. So, the best alternative is to call up Islambek Travel, or negotiate with the drivers parked near the west entrance of the Ichan Kala, or your guesthouse (which would usually be a bit costlier). Islambek Travel is the more professional, as they respond, on time, every time, even if you do not use them. (We took a random taxi at the entrance after negotiating a price with him for bringing us to the Turkmenistan border and back, and the 3 forts tour…) His name is Bek, +998 914271202. But had it not been for us already agreeing with Bek (he was a tad cheaper than Islambek), we’d have used Islambek, just for their tendency to respond promptly, with the info we needed. With Bek, we were a bit worried on whether he'd come to pick us up at the Uzbek border when we returned from Turkmenistan, bcoz there is no way to call, or message within Turkmenistan (nope, our phones don't work in Turkmenistan, and all messaging apps are blocked, yup, WhatsApp, Telegram, WeChat, you name it, with ...the exception of IMO, I heard, and that is if you can get to a Wifi, which, we've not seen anywhere...). Luckily for us, when we were returning, our car passed thru an area very close to the border, and Voila! we had Uzbek line coverage, and I sent Bek a reminder to meet us. Thank God, he was there.
Nuff said. I’ll let the photos speak.
Ayaz Qala Campsite, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan. We’ve reached. That’s as far as the car can go!
What’s it with the cannons? There, on top of the hill, lies the Icy Fortress. And it lived up to its name that time, f@$*in freezing, brrrr….
Trekking over the freezing Kyzylkum. Looks like we’re the only ones that day
We’ve reached the ancient walls! (And I mean ancient, from 300 - 400 BC). See the snow on the ground. Told you it was friggin frigid! Even with the sun bright and nice!
Breaching the walls
We’re in!
Nothing much to do, except explore the ruins. And build a snowman! Smile!
A view of the smaller Ayaz Kala below, from our vantage point
Let’s go, shadow selfie on the snow. Ayaz Kala (or Qala if in Uzbek), Karakalpakstan. Karakalpakstan is an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan. It’s the home of the Karakalpak, a tribe more closely related to the Kazakh then the Uzbek
Next stop, Topraq Kala (or Earth Fortress)
Topraq Kala, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan
Final fort, Kyzyl Kala (Red Fort) … Do you see Justin in the hole?
The Kyzyl Kala is a partially restored fort. Both the Topraq Kala and Kyzyl Kala are easy to access from the road itself, unlike Ayaz Kala
One final photo for the post. Smile! Ayaz Kala, Karakalpakstan, Uzbekistan, Dec 2023
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