The Rejistan, Samarkand, Uzbekistan— Photo: K. David Bishop

Uzbekistan was a rich region of ancient cities and cultures based along the Great Silk Route to China, the crossroads between east and west. Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, and Attila the Hun all passed through, fought, or lived here.

Based in fabled Tashkent, Samarkand, and Bukhara, we'll be walking distance to superbly intact, extravagant, and beautiful ancient architecture—a phenomenal array of turquoise-tiled minarets, mosques, medrassahs, and mausoleums within aged city walls. A very special birdlist includes local and Asian species: Pygmy Cormorant; Long-tailed Shrike; Pied Bushchat; White-tailed Lapwing; Eastern Olivaceous, Asian Desert, Clamorous Reed, and Menetrie's warblers; Blue-cheeked Bee-eater; Rufous-tailed Bush-Robin; White-throated Robin; Finsch's and Variable wheatears; Hume's Lark; Asian Paradise Flycatcher; Persian Nuthatch; and Yellow-breasted and White-crowned Penduline tits. Topping our "want-list" is the enigmatic Turkestan Ground Jay, easily found in the stony deserts of Kyzyl-Kum.