Richard AmmonUzbekistan: The eastward drive from the capital of Tashkent to the city of Andijan, near the Chinese border, passes along a rugged highway that is smooth in places and torn up in others. It is heavily trafficked with tanker trucks carrying oil and natural gas. There are police checks that slow down traffic and police guards with machine guns at both ends of all tunnels and bridges. The trip is worth doing once for the beautiful mountainous scenery and for reaching the historic cities of Kokand, Fergana and Andijan. The latter city was the scene of a government crackdown (massacre) against demonstrators that killed–some say–hundreds of people.
