We left Ashgabat at the end of the morning to travel the approximately 260 km of a line of asphalt in the middle of the arid desert of Turkmenistan and arriving in the vicinity of the Door to Hell, a crater about 70m in diameter created by accident by the Russians in the search for deposits gas. After several attempts, the authorities have refused to turn it off and set fire to prevent an environmental disaster, convinced that it would be sold out in a short time. I'm 40 years burning. Not being able to reach the crater with our motorbikes, too heavy and with reserve fuel tanks on the sides that prevent the manoeuvrability on the sandy track, we decide to stay on the road, stay at the local roadside restaurants, and settle down for the night. Our host will drive us there late at night and see this giant brazier, truly spectacular.

We then drove 360 ​​km of rough road in the desert, challenging and exhausting, a moment of distraction and you are likely to hit a hole, with serious risks for the tires, between the Door to Hell and the Uzbek border. Three hours of checks, and we reached Khiva, beautiful town protected by UNESCO, all surrounded by thick walls made of mud bricks. The minarets and monumental gates covered with blue mosaics are the hallmark of this beautiful village in the north of Uzbekistan.

We then moved to see another Uzbek jewel, Bukhara.

It was for centuries one of the most important cities of Islamic Transoxiana, located to the east of Khorasan and the native city of Bukhari, the most conservative and traditionalist of all the history of Islam.

During the Mongol invasion, Bukhara was destroyed by Genghis Khan and then fell under the influence of Tamerlane. Later it became famous as the Khanate of Bukhara, in this period saw its economy grow considerably thanks to the rich trade routes, rising on the Silk Road. The city became again an important religious centre of Asia; They built many mosques and madrassas that still bear witness to a magnificent past. Tomorrow we move to the legendary Samarkand.