Whats that, you say? A 3rd Century B.C.(E.) fortress? And its across a small valley from a 4th Century Mausoleum Complex? Of course I’m in!

I’d not really intended to check out Mizdakhan while I was in Nukus, but I’d agreed to rent a car to visit a bunch of mid-desert sandcastles on the way to the town of Urgench and the folks I was sharing with were insistent on the Mizdakhan complex.

I’m a pretty solid fan of historical cemeteries anyways, especially in Central Asia. The ruined fortress here was just a bonus, though I’d already unknowingly passed it on the way from the border with Turkmenistan.

Wandering the old graveyard and even older fortress was interesting. Especially nice were the insides of the open mausoleums, pilgrimage sites that have remained holy even since the 14th century destruction of the city itself by Timur.

On a side note, as Vince Vaughan suggests, wandering across a random funeral isn’t nearly as exciting as an impromptu invite to a wedding.

Mizdakhan is only about 13k west of Nukus (its just past the village of Hojeli), and makes for an easy daytrip or even better detour on the way to the castles of the Elliq Qala.

You could rent a taxi from Nukus either for the trip out to the mizdakhan mausoleum complex or as part of a ride from Nukus to Khiva. Alternatively, if you have your own ride on a trip driving across Asia it would be extremely easy to head out yourself. Though the roads are not of the highest caliber, there isn’t a lot of traffic around here to have to deal with. Just make sure not to go too far, as beyond Mizdakhan is a border post for crossing into Turkmenistan. I doubt they’d be too happy about lost travelers rolling up to their doors to ask for directions!