Khiva

Fly to Tashkent via Istanbul, then a domestic flight to Urgench and a trolleybus — yes, a trolleybus — to the walled city.

A guesthouse inside the Ichan-Kala walls, where you wake to minarets and mud brick.

A complete, intact Silk Road slave-trading city: turquoise tilework, a squat unfinished minaret, and desert light that makes everything look like a memory.

Climb the Islam Khodja minaret at opening, then walk the walls at sunset when the day-trippers have gone and the city is yours.

April to May, September to October

Rahmat — thank you, in Uzbek.

The Great Game by Peter Hopkirk — the imperial chess match these walls watched.

The Elliq Qala desert fortresses of ancient Khorezm, en route to Nukus.