Caravanistan

I spent two weeks in the North Caucasus last month (Daghestan, Chechnya, and North Ossetia) and can honestly say it was one of the best experiences of my life. Security did not seem to be an issue -- I did read in the news about two shootouts between police and "gangsters" in mountain villages in Da...

I can confirm that there are no more scheduled flights between Dushanbe and Khorog. I was told that "the plane got too old". I suggested to my Ismaili colleagues in Khorog that they should ask the Aga Khan to donate a plane for this route. After all, he is spending $95 million to build a new univers...

I think not. Things are quite peaceful and normal here but people are tut-tutting about news from across the border.

I am in Khorog right now and word is the Taliban are steadily advancing on the other side of the river. Not a good time to be crossing into Afghanistan from here.

Ha! And here I am with my suitcase full of scholarly books ready to bring to my colleagues in Dushanbe!

Just received a phone call from the Afghanistan embassy in Ottawa, Canada where I recently submitted a visa request, saying they now require a letter of invitation. I pointed out that this requirement is not stipulated on their website. They acknowledged this, and said they are in the process of upd...

I applied for one yesterday and received the visa by e-mail today, but they put the wrong passport number on it. I have written to ask them to correct it and send another visa.

Hello/Bonjour/سلام/Салом, I've been traveling to Central Asia and Iran since 1990 and have written books and articles about the region. Am currently writing a History of the Tajiks and planning a trip to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and -- if I can work out the logistics -- the I...