Waking up after a night's sleep in an actual bed for the first time in four days was a really refreshing experience. After grabbing breakfast, the group (including our last companion who had not been granted a visa for Turkmenistan, and therefore joined us in Khiva) headed off for a walking tour of the Itchan Kala - the Old City.

Although relatively small, it was brimming with activity and therefore it was a nice place to soak up the Silk Road. We began by starting at the Western Gate before heading to the Kalta Minor - the short fat blue minaret outside the old madrassah.

After taking a look inside the old madrassah, which has now been converted into a hotel, we headed into the Friday Mosque, with it's wooden pillars and greenhouse feel, before continuing into one of the Emir's palaces.

Viewing one of the mosques we were then given free time to explore the city at our own pace, and so I went with a group of others to the Islam Khoja Minaret for views over the city. As this is Uzbekistan however, climbing the minaret wasn't the easiest - steep spiral steps with a lack of light, and so after grabbing my torch I climbed to the top to find stunning views over the Itchan Kala and beyond, as well as a rather steep drop to the staircase itself (no barriers here!) - which became a challenge when a dozen German tourists also ascended the tower.

Heading back down I went off for a walk with Abdo and Jim to the market, before heading back to the restaurant for lunch. With fresh handmade bread from the stove in the courtyard, we were treated to a four course meal, consisting of salad, kebab meat, soup and dumplings.

After a last walk through the city, we headed back to our hotel at the South Gate, before boarding the coach for the long drive through Uzbekistan to our next destination - Bukhara.