According to the travel journals of 19th century explorers of the Central Asia region, getting here is fraught with peril, uncertainty and difficulty. For us it was no different. The first flight, for example, from Heathrow to Istanbul, afforded the passengers the opportunity to see the classic 1960s remake of Mutiny on the Bounty, with Marlon Brando as the humane Fletcher Christian, who finally overthrows the tyrannical Blythe. However, with Blythe adrift in the...