North of Bukhara the irrigated land eventually runs into the sand, and on that edge lies Vardanze, the ruins of an ancient city that was once the capital of a local principality in the Bukhara oasis. Its mound of collapsed mud-brick walls and citadel rises above the fields near Shofirkon, and archaeologists have traced its history back more than two thousand years. It flourished as a trading post on the Silk Road and later declined, partly because the desert advanced and the water supply failed, and its ruins are part of the Zarafshan-Karakum corridor listed by UNESCO in 2023.
The story of Vardanze is the story of the oasis itself: a constant battle between the river and the sand. Canals dug over centuries brought water from the Zarafshan to the fields, and when they were neglected or the river shifted, settlements were abandoned to the desert. Today the Kyzylkum stretches away to the north, a sea of dunes and scrub, and in the evening the wind whispers over the ruins. Nearby Gijduvan is famous for its ceramics, with brown and green glazed plates and bowls made by families of potters.
Riding in this part of Uzbekistan is mostly flat and straightforward, along roads that cut through fields and villages and out into the desert. The surfaces vary, with good tarmac on the main roads and potholes or gravel on the side roads, and the traffic is a mix of cars, trucks, carts and donkeys. The heat in summer is intense, so March to May and late September into November are the windows to aim for. Watch out for police checkpoints, and carry your documents at all times.
Shofirkon, seven kilometres off, has a filling station and a bazaar, and Bukhara, with its madrasas, domed trading halls and the great Kalon minaret, is about an hour south. Octane is the recurring headache in rural Uzbekistan, where most cars burn gas, so take good petrol wherever it is offered. In Gijduvan, potter families still turn out the ochre and green ceramics the town is known for, and their workshops welcome visitors. Roadside sellers in late summer offer melons and grapes of absurd sweetness, and the round bread from the clay tandyr ovens tastes best still warm.