North of Bukhara, the green irrigated oasis of the Zarafshan river spreads out in a patchwork of cotton fields, orchards, mulberry trees and villages, and the point named Chasma-i Ayub Khazira lies in this landscape, near the village of Khazara, between Vobkent and Gijduvon. Chashma-i Ayub, the spring of Job, is a name given to several holy springs in Central Asia, linked to the legend that the prophet Job struck the ground with his staff and water gushed forth in a time of drought. The most famous is in Bukhara itself, a mausoleum over a spring, and this site near Khazara may be another shrine of the same tradition, listed as part of the Silk Roads corridor of the Zarafshan valley.
The area was on the main caravan route between Bukhara and Samarkand, and the towns along it, such as Vobkent and Gijduvon, have their own monuments. Vobkent is known for a tall minaret from the late twelfth century, decorated with bands of patterned brickwork, a smaller cousin of the great Kalyan minaret in Bukhara. Gijduvon is famous for its pottery, with a tradition of ceramics in rich browns, yellows and greens, and a family workshop and museum where you can see how it is made.
The riding here is flat and hot, with straight roads across the oasis, lined with poplars and irrigation channels, and villages of mud-brick houses. Traffic includes cars, minibuses, donkey carts and bicycles, and road surfaces vary from good to poor. Police checkpoints are common, so keep your documents ready. Summer temperatures can exceed forty degrees, so spring and autumn, with mild temperatures and harvests, are much better times to ride.
Vobkent, about twelve kilometres away, has fuel, shops and simple restaurants, though petrol supply in Uzbekistan can be unreliable, as many vehicles run on gas, so fill up when you can. Bukhara, about forty kilometres away, has full services and one of the most beautiful old towns in Central Asia. Local food includes plov, the national rice dish cooked with meat, carrots and onions, samsa pastries baked in clay ovens, and green tea served everywhere.