Top 10 Places to Visit in Central Asia and the Caucasus - Silk Road Travel Video (Documentary)
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Welcome to Central Asia and the Caucasus, two beautiful regions on the crossroads of Asia and Europe. Often overlooked as travel destinations, the countries here provide some of the most rewarding and unique experiences. From stunning mountain landscapes of the Pamir Highway to historic monasteries in Armenia, from spectacular monuments along the ancient Silk Road to the modern skylines of Baku and Astana.
I traveled through these regions for four months in 2013, and in this short travel documentary I share with you my personal top 10 places to visit. The countries included in the video are Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia.
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Copyright of all footage: Hoffer Media
Here’s a brief overview of the content in this video:
We begin this journey in Samarkand, one of the most iconic cities along the ancient Silk Road. Located in Uzbekistan, it’s full of remarkable monuments but also provides a good introduction into daily life, especially in the lively farmers markets and bazaars. After Samarkand, we go to the Caucasus, to visit the fast developing capital city of Azerbaijan, Baku. Visiting the modern shopping malls and vibrant streets gives an interesting contrast with the narrow alleys of the old town here, and the wide promenade facing the Caspian Sea.
The Pamir Highway in Tajikistan is one of the most challenging, but also rewarding, travel destinations in Central Asia. It requires solid preparation, and many tourists decide to hire experienced travelers and guides for their trips. Back in Uzbekistan, the Fergana Valley takes you back in time, with charming villages, and an opportunity to view a traditional silk weaving factory.
Astana, now known as Nur-Sultan, is the modern capital city of Kazakhstan, and sometimes nicknamed as ‘Dubai of the Steppe’. It’s an interesting place to visit, and attracts people from across the country to work, study, and live. Back in the Caucasus, Tbilisi is steeped in history, and full of culture and charisma. The stunning Tsminda Sameba Cathedral is an important place of worship in the Georgia’s Orthodox Christian religion.
In Kyrgyzstan you will find some of the region’s most traditional ways of life, as nomadic shepherd families still move from villages to classic yurts. Traveling across the green pastures is a great way to experience a lifestyle that seems unusual in many societies these days. The capital city of Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, is a peculiar place on the list. Regarded as a secretive dictatorship, Turkmenistan is also one of the most mysterious and closed countries in the world. Keep in mind that people here face severe limitations in their daily lives.
Armenia is a beautiful destination in the Caucasus, and includes the friendly capital Armenia, and several stunning medieval monasteries. We finish this journey in Bukhara, another important stop on the historic Silk Road. There are many mosques and other landmarks to visit, but it’s also just a friendly town where you can eat some delicious food and soak up the relaxed atmosphere.
Did you visit Central Asia or the Caucasus? What is your favorite place?
The Pamir highway seem amazing :)
Tajikistan white marble city
Samarkand😍
Tashkent visit
왜 타지키스탄 두샨베시 없어
Samarkand is beautiful. Love Uzbekistan 🇺🇿
Loving Samarqand Buhara Margilan Xiva Tashkent👍
The way you caputred central Asia is like a peacefully flowing river....muscics... everything was overwhelming.....it was a feeling...great experience in life.....thank you🙏
Thanks a lot for your kind words Deepak, best wishes :)
Very informative and beautiful video. Loved seeing my city Samarqand and your video making me miss there so much ❤️
Thanks a lot for your kind words Zarifa. Wish you can visit again soon :)
❤️
Where from you
Whole video is Extremely beautiful. I recently visited Kyerghystan , weather is awesome.
Thank you, it's a beautiful region.
Wow, amazing video Stef! That’s amazing you’ve been to all of these countries! Such fascinating places!
Thanks a lot Ryan, they are such great places! You should consider them in the future :)
What a great video again !
I am always surprised how you show us not only beautiful images but also how people live and work in their daily life in all those different countries !
Thank you.
Thank you for watching again! It's such a beautiful and interesting region to visit, and a lot of daily life takes place on the street :)
Asallamu alaykum ! Our greatest place is Samarkand ! Known as a Registan !!
I like 🌺 Georgia,Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan 🌹🥀🌷
One word for this video, stunning.
Thank you for your kind words, it's also a stunning area to visit :)
Superb and fantastic documentary l really enjoyed it 👍
Thanks Nargis, I'm glad you liked it :)
Those are beautiful places! Love watching videos like this! Perfect travel spots to use my new bento bag from Nomad Lane. Such a great bag!
Assalomaleykum. Turkiy xalqlar o'z ona tilida Kommentar yozishsa ham, tarjimonsiz tushunamiz bir birimizni. To'g'rimi mani Turkiyam, Qozog'istonim, Ozarbayjonim, Qizg'izistonim, Uyg'uristonim! O'zbekistondan salomlar.
Hello, Stef Hoffer. I am from Tajikistan, l am interested in the most nature. I liked teaching geography. I know English, German, Russian, Tajik and Finnish languages. Thank you for telling me about the country.
Thank you for watching! Best wishes :)
There are so many beautiful places and experiences that we have not been. Thx for sharing !
Thanks for watching!
I want to visit the central Asia. After watching your video, Got a boost up.
Thank you, hope you can in the future. Safe travels.
Thanks for sharing mate. Hope to visit Samarkand, Bukhara and Kyrgyzstan one day.
Thanks for watching, they are beautiful areas, I hope you can too :)
Awesome work. Wonderful and beautiful!!!
Thanks Arnaud!
Absolutely fascinating! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for watching!
The most beautiful place in central Asia it's Samarkand ❤
It's truly a remarkable place.
Your videos are absolutely fantastics…💕💫
Thank you!
,,amazing place to visit
Great to watch this video.i am your new subscriber.
so spectacular video, good job. But you used an Indian music for Samarqand and Bukhara, next time pay more attention and use appropriate music.
Thank you, I thought the instrument was also used in Uzbekistan. Sorry for the confusion!
Beautiful sharing.
Thanks. Hi from Azerbaijan
I am fascinated to watch such video which gave a full of inspiration. My profound thanks to you and hope to watch new videos in future on different screens.
Thanks a lot for your kind words, I'm happy you enjoyed the video.
Beautiful place
Great content and good taste
Thank you
Wonderful video!
You did a great job!
Thank you!
Hoffer , nice
Really got a lot of information about Centeral Asia, countries n culture.
truly wonderful video
Thank you :)
Stef you did wonderful work !! I enjoyed the video so much ! :)
Thank you very much, I'm happy to hear that :)
Thanks for sharing, now i realise the places shown in some movies mostly americans are worth nothing compared to the old central asian cities you shown in this video, again thanks for sharing i'll keep coming to this video of yours from time to time.
Thanks a lot for watching, it's such an interesting region with a lot of history and culture.
Hllo
Marvelous video
very interesting- i would love to see the different places on a map when you introduce them!
Thank you, that would have been a good idea :)
Good day! You have very interesting videos. Shoot some more. It works very well. Are you from USA?
Thank you, I'm trying. No, from the Netherlands :)
Bonito reportaje
Thank you Antonio!
Great job
Wonderful 💝
Thanks . You are one of the best !
Thanks for your kind words :)
❤❤❤❤❤❤ مشاءالله
Xlent video coverage Sir🙏🙏
Very Nice
LOL..You Play The Music Of India On A Video That Has Nothing To Do With India?
I think it may be because India was ruled by central Asians for over 1000 years. Mughals (Mongols) Babur, Akbar until 1857.
@@MM-cz8bt still its like turkish music in algerian video
Background music in Sitar is Indian.
I think they're using this instrument in Uzbekistan as well, but maybe I'm wrong.
I'm able to fund my vacation and travel to all the beautiful places of the world. After getting involved in trading cryptocurrency during lockdown. Then i also get to know the importance of multiple streams of income.
I totally agree with you, it’s been an eye opening experience for a lot of people.l ventured into crypto market during the pandemic and it have been the best decision i ever made.
I don't think anybody should be left out when going for digital assets
@Victor Whaley Yes! I used to trade some stocks but I couldn't understand how it works kept on getting bad stocks.
I wanted to trade Crypto but got confused by the fluctuations in price
Cryptocurrency is an incredibly speculative and volatile buy. That's why I work with Mr Lucas Naved
Mashallah so beautiful ❤️🇵🇰🇵🇰🇵🇰
Welcome to the Roof of the World-Pamirs
Amazing 👌
Beautiful!
I think Kyrgyzstan best place, their people have something what make me feel comfortable, they don't really care about money，when Ive been in Uzbekistan lots of people come to us and ask money， in Kazakhstan everything rude，Azerbaijan good place, beautiful， but Kyrgyzstan I'm my heart, their food like in Iceland。 I want trevel 😭😭😭😭
I'm glad that you enjoyed Kyrgyzstan so much!
interesting.
I prefer to see other city and provide of central asia
Who said the heaven of the earth is Switzerland ? It is the Central Asia is the heaven of the earth
I agree, it's such a beautiful area in the world.
What camera you used to making video
NICE VIDEO. BUT THE MUSIC A BIT TOO LOUD, CANT HEAR YOUR EXPLANATION VERY WELL SOMETIMES. GOOD LUCK
Cantal Asia gujjar King
hello dear, how can I contact with you?
tajisquistão out
😚😚😚
When its came to Bukhara, its personally mean a lot to Muslim Community. Its remind us to our honoured Imam Bukhari RA. He was born here💜 Salam from🇲🇾
and he is buried near Samarkand. His tomb was neglected during the Soviet period but has been renovated and expanded, recently, and includes a museum housing some of his original Hadiths' books.
Hmmm... life is where you make it...yup
Married, Raising family, and making a living... hmmm.. yet borders, cultures, languages and religions always an obstacles to our species of humanity movement and choices.. hmmm...
I want to abolish all of those obstacles...
And creating a new cognitive direction for our species of humanity...yup
@@amiral-bukhariy3270 i want a round table... in the middle of it writing must be say ... our species of humanity....
With a new universal verbal language that is not invented yet...
For talk........
@@amiral-bukhariy3270 ba ha ha ha.. hmmm... my beautiful wife just keep it in your self and teaches our kids a very definition of our species of humanity...
I love you... 😊
@@amiral-bukhariy3270 hmmm no I don't.. I only do comments on UA-cam that is all I don't have anything else.. you're a boy..?
Hmmm.. well I am sorry I call everyone as my beautiful wives... yeah it is just how I like to chat.. fair well my good sir have a nice day...😁😅
Uzbeks is a big branch of turkic. Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Urganch was built ancient uzbek peoples.
Uighurs and Tajiks -made a huge contribution ,after came Uzbeks
10 out of 3 cities situated in Uzbekistan. Making me proud to be a uzbek. All the cities in video worth to visit. Nice chose author.
They are old Persian cities and culture.
Thanks a lot for your kind comment Alisher.
@@farzinfrank2553 nope all the buildings in these cities built by Uzbeks but it doesn’t make it persian cities 😂 the buildings are combination of uzbek+islamic+persian architecture. Just because we didn’t rename the city names doesn’t make it persian lol just persian language was dominant language that time to communicate with other countries from middle to east asia but it’s doesn’t make our cities persian in terms of tajiks living there, they are refugees who escaped tajik civil war in 1992 over 1 million tajiks espaced the war and permanently residents in samarkand and bukhara oh well but you don’t care right you are just robot
@@stefhoffer unfortunately i didn't recommend Khiva why...... It's one of the ancient city of whole asia,
😂😂😂@@bekzodismoilov281
Just been to khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent and can not agree more! Central Asia is a gem!!! Awaiting the winters to pass quickly so that i resume my remaining journey…. Ur video is very nice and gives the exact info needed :)
Safe travels, glad you enjoyed the video :)
I'm from Uzbekistan. I love my country
It's a really beautiful place.
@@stefhoffer thank you very much
I want come in Usbekistan,
I am form Herat Afghanistan
Why indian music 🙄🙄🤦🤦🤦😡😡 I am in Uzbekistan. Samarkand music's has 3000 years history
I thought the instruments were also used in Uzbekistan.
My top 3 are:
- Uzbekistan for it’s rich history
- Georgia for it’s unique culture
- Kyrgyzstan for it’s breathtaking nature
The rest countries can be found in these 3 countries in case if you are short in time
I thoriughly enjoyed it. It is good to see that the Persian architecture has survived in Central Asia. Most of the Persians were uprooted after the Mongul invasion 800 years ago, but some of the culture still remains. Just wondering why you were playing Indian musisc when there was no indian influence here?
I thought the sitar was also used in Uzbekistan, but maybe this wasn't the best music to pick. Thanks for watching and your comment :)
@@stefhoffer I not only see Persian but the architecture of the Turkic people who are there
I not only see Persian but the architecture of the Turkic people who are there
@@erz2479 Yes, Turkic architecture entered in the area after the Mongol invasion in 13th century.
@@stefhoffer yes, but where did they get it from? Let's not forget that before the Mongol invasion the entire central area was home to the Persians before they were salughtered by the Mongols. However, many aspects of the culture remained. Why do you think all those countries have "stan" at the end?
Uzbekistan is my favourite Central Asian country ❤️ Uzbeks are friendly and Uzbekistan has a big part of Islamic history
Definitely agree, a very friendly country :)
Nice video. I am eager to visit Samarkand, Bukhara and drive through Pamir Highway. Thanks for growing my interest for a geography I was less aware of.
Thanks a lot for your comment Amit. It's really a remarkable region in the world. Hope you can visit in the future, good luck :)
I love it, been to Uzbekistan, Kyrgystan, Mongolia, 3 x Georgia, Armenia. Maybe next time again?!
Good luck, it's a fascinating region!
I had a chance to visit Uzbekistan in 2019. It was a marvelous week visiting Tashkent, Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand. Uzbeks are absolutely delightful.
I hope to go again as I really loved all the cities, especially Khiva. Next time, I want to see Fergana and the disappearing Sea.
Absolutely agree, it's a wonderful region with great people.
@@karolinapek4461 hi I'm from Uzbekistan. it is actually called Aral Sea ( Orol dengizi) 😂😂 But if you think logically not Aral but disappearing sea😭
@@karolinapek4461 Very sad picture.
j'ai aussi visité l'Ouzbekistan en 2018, c'est la traversée du désert kizilkoum de Xiva à Boukhara qui m'a marqué
Marvelous Uzbekistan: Samarkand, Ferganá, Buhará… Khiva is also one top destinations. Congrats for this great video.
Thank you for your kind words, it's truly a beautiful region.
I'm from Samarkand,but living in UK,Wales now.Thank you so much for wonderful video! I miss so much my city Samarkand !
Thanks a lot for watching, hope you can visit Samarkand again soon. Best wishes!
@@stefhoffer Thanks!
@@fotimaslife3863, Are you a Tajik?
@@fotimaslife3863Are you a Tajik?
I visited Samarkand about 32 times since 2006 I love this city and peoples.
It really is a beautiful city, are you from Uzbekistan?
@@stefhoffer hello,my place of birth is Pakistan but iam living in Tallinn Estonia since 1992and have Estonian citizenship.
@@rihathassan3582 Nice, so you really traveled a lot. Where in Pakistan if I may ask?
@@stefhoffer last month in April I was also in Samarkand and Bukhara,in Pakistan I belong to historic city multan.my real name is tahir hussain.
@@rihathassan3582 Very nice, I hope to visit Pakistan again soon! Take care Tahir, nice to meet you :)
I'm from Bukhara. Bukhara is very beautiful and quite city. I love my hometown. Thanks a lot for this video.
Thank you, I really enjoyed Bukhara, a beautiful city indeed.
Great video. Just please pay attention to the background music, you’ve used Indian music with Central Asian scenes.
Do you happen to know the BG music from 1:30 to 2:25? Where can I get it? It is simply heavenly!
That’s what I was referring to as Indian Music. This is the ‘classic Indian sitar’ and you can find lots of it on UA-cam.
It was difficult to find local music, but I thought the sitar was also used in Uzbekistan. Thanks for your comment :)
@@stefhoffer Here's a link to Tajik folklore music ua-cam.com/video/twDNZ7crTYg/v-deo.html
Love Kazakhstan 🇰🇿
And why put a sound that is completely foreign to Uzbeks in Uzbek cities?
After all, Uzbekistan is not India!
From what I understood, the musical instrument in the song is popular in Uzbekistan as well. Not 100% sure though!
@@stefhoffer Absolutely NO!
First of all, it's not popular.
Secondly, there is a dissonance in the viewer's mind.
- With the same logic, you could do an episode about Hawaii with an overlay of the sound of a Scottish bagpipe...
Excellent and Stunning V log ...
I love Bukhara, one day must vist..
Appreciations, from UK
Thank you!
Muslim religion 👍👍👍👍
В мире нет лучше той страны, чем солнечный чудесный, прекрасный и любимый всеми Қазақстан!!! Это, конечно, нужно посмотреть и повидать!
Его нельзя сравнить ни с чем и ни с кем! Единственная страна, где проживают самые лучшие и самые красивые девушки в мире, и самые воинственные, храбрые, симпатичные, к тому же добрые сердцем джигиты в мире! Одних боксеров чемпионов в мире не сошчитать и не сравнить ни с кем!
Жаса түріктер! Жаса сүйікті Қазақстан Республикасы!
Im from fergana .❤❤❤
01:35 Why use Indian music when you talk about Usbekistan? WTF
Beautiful video. You could have captured more of Afghanistan, other than Wakhan corridor. Afghanistan has extremely stunning nature.
Completely agree, thanks for watching!
Thanks a lot for this enchanting travel to marvelous Central Asian continent. Enjoyed your fabelous description of this wonderful world which has Centuries of Heritage and peaceful co existence. May Allahapak protect them forever Aameen
Thanks a lot for watching and your kind comment. Completely agree.
awesome places , very beautiful. central asia is full of history.
Watching from Cambodia 🥰🇰🇭
Hope you liked it Run :)
I haven' gone such fascinating places. How I wish I can go there someday.
Simply incredible. I learned so much from this video, my next destination will be Central Asia!
Thanks a lot Bilal, safe travels!
My dream 1 time going uzebkistan form 🇮🇳india
Khiva must exist in this list. Actually Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Ferghana and Tashkent are worth to be in the list of top 10 places.
You are right, but there was no place left in the 'top 10'.
Fascinating, reminds me of my history lessons. Dying to visit the old Silk Road and much more
Hope you can soon :)
What a spectacular video and amazing area! Seems to be one of the most interesting places to visit.
thanks for sharing!
Thank you for watching Adi, it's really a unique area to visit :)
It has almost reminded me of "Rick Steves' Europe" for some reason.
Same 😂😂
@nivea man ?? I was once delegate that's why it's showing unfccc Cameroon 😅😅
Rick needs to do a video tour of Central Asia. He's been branching out of Europe in recent years.
@@casper-z9rkls6gl yeah it should be RICK STEVES WORLD LOL
Thanks a lot! I love Rick's documentaries.
I love u uzebkistan 👈👉form india 🇮🇳
Awesome. These places are very nice and worth visiting in Central Asia. Thank you for sharing this great video! :)
My dream destination would be Central Asia....I am just fascinated with the region and its people...
The background tune from 1:30 to 2:25 (and 19:56 to 21:20) made my day! Anyone knows the tune name, where it can be found?
Masha allah