Shymkent and Turkestan, Kazakhstan

From Almaty, I boarded a 16 hour night train that took me to Mankent village just outside of Shymkent, the third largest city in Kazakhstan. Now, I know 16 hours sounds like a lot but the company was great! I shared a compartment with two rad and kind women, one kazakh and one uzbek, who shared their food and tea with me over conversation that mainly consisted of hand gestures since they did not speak any English and I any Russian. Still, we managed to exchange some individuel life facts and phone numbers in case I needed a place to stay for a few nights. Our goodbye was one of kisses on cheeks as I got off on the small station of Mankent.

Here, I were to stay with a young girl, Fatima, and her family for a night. I had met the sweet girl through Couchsurfing (my first time couchsurfing) and I spent a lovely evening at their full dinner table eating all kinds of nutty treats and fresh fruits. The grandmother kept pushing plates of food towards me whenever I did not have something in my mouth. Of course, through all of this I always had a full cup of chai tea sweetened with cherries by my side. 

My gorgeous host, Fatima

After a solid breakfast the next morning, I said goodbye to Fatima and her family and caught a bus to Shymkent. Here, I were to spend two nights giving me a full day to go explore the historic city of Turkestan located just a couple of hours Northwest of Shymkent. I got up early and caught a marshrutka (a shared taxi that leaves as soon as it fills up) that dropped my off right next to the Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasavi, one of UNESCO's World Heritage sites. It is said that three pilgrimages to this place is worth one to Mecca and I kinda get it. It is a beautiful place! I spent hours wandering the sight and surrounding area in the golden sun between families, construction workers and a single camel. 

Walking towards the mausoleum 

The entrance is still not entirely completed after more than 600 years 

Some Silk Road vibes

Back in Shymkent, I had to call it an early night because the next morning at 8 AM, I was catching a bus towards Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The border to Uzbekistan has only been open for a little more than half a year. Before that you had to have a visa and get your belongings as well as your phone thoroughly checked before you could enter. Now, as a European citizen, you can stay up till 30 days in the country without a visa as long as you register at every hostel/hotel you stay at. However, I was still a bit nervous. I handed the Uzbek border guard my passport and waited patiently as he tried to decipher which country I came from. He got it right on the first try ("Dania?") but before he handed me back my passport, he asked "Visa?". I was slightly alarmed for a second but then, the way he said it sounded more like he was asking me if I knew if I needed a visa or not because he did not. I stayed calm and simply replied that I did not need a visa and finally, he gently waved me through. Yes! I had made it into Uzbekistan!