I went on a part holiday, part work trip to Central Asia in August 2025. I've already been to all five Central Asian countries but this time I wanted to go to some places I hadn't been before: Dushanbe amd Khorog in Tajikistan, Astana in Kazakhstan and Khiva in Uzbekistan. The obvious choice to fly from Europe to Central Asia is Turkish Airlines. I live in Iceland but Turkish does not fly there. The cheapest business class from Europe to Dushanbe was from Budapest, so I first booked a Wizz flight from Iceland to Budapest.
Here's my full itinerary:
Keflavík to Budapest, Wizz, economy - no flight report
Budapest to Istanbul, Turkish Airlines, business
Istanbul to Dushanbe, Turkish Airlines, business – you’re here
Khorog to Dushanbe, Tajik Air, economy
Dushanbe to Astana, Somon Air, economy
Astana to Tashkent, Uzbekistan Airways, business
Tashkent to Khiva, Uzbekistan Airways, economy
Khiva to Tashkent, Uzbekistan Airways, economy
Tashkent to Istanbul, Turkish Airlines, business
Istanbul to Warsaw, Turkish Airlines, business
Warsaw to Keflavík, Wizz, economy
Although I had over one hour between the arrival from Budapest and boarding to my flight to Dushanbe, I arrived at gate A5 and departed from gate E3, and this is one of the biggest distances you can walk at Istanbul Airport (the distance between Westray and Papa Westray, the shortest scheduled flight in the world, is not much longer). I didn't have time to go to the lounge. Anyway it was not a problem as I had lunch on my previous flight, I was planning to have dinner on my next flight, and I've been to the lounge many times before. Here are some photos from one of my previous visits to the lounge:
There’s an impressive choice of food. There’s also Turkish tea and plenty of soft drinks. Alcohol is available; although the choice is not that big.
There are plenty of options to spend time at the lounge, both for adults and children.
The airport was very busy.
Departure was from gate E3.
Priority boarding was available for business class passengers.
The plane on this flight was an A321neo, registration number TC-LSO, built in 2019.
This plane has the newer narrowbody business cabin with five rows in a 2+2 configuration with a total capacity of 20 seats. Load was only 5/20 on this flight.
The cabin looks really nice.
I had selected seat 3E but as the window seat next to it was available I moved to 3F.
Legroom is excellent for a narrowbody.
There are built-in in screens in the seats.
An expected flight time of 4 hours was announced.
A welcome drink was offered after boarding had been completed. The menu was distributed immediately after.
Meal orders were taken before departure. A very grumpy and unfriendly passenger in the business cabin refused to order and was just repeating: "I want my champagne now". He got it but didn't bother to say "thank you".
Push-back was at 18.47 for a scheduled departure time of 18.35.
The view after push-back:
We took off at 19.01 from runway 36.
The view after take-off:
Dinner was served 20 minutes after take-off. The appetizer, the salad, the cheese and the dessert was served on a tray.
Mediterranean Prawn Salad. It was not the best appetizer I’ve ever had.
I selected Adana kebab as my main course. It’s a very reliable choice on Turkish.
I had some Turkish wine with my meal. It was quite good.
I asked for some headphones – they had not been placed at the seats before the flight.
There is a total of 967 movies, 2236 TV Programs and a choice of 2393 different music.
We had well over two hours left from the flight when I started to watch a movie.
The amenity kit was only distributed towards the end of the flight.
Some chocolates were offered before landing.
We landed at 00.55 and were at the gate at 01.02 for a scheduled arrival time of 01.20. Most European passport holders don't need a visa; I was through immigration in a few minutes
Tajikistan is a double landlocked, mountainous country. Unlike their Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, and Uzbek neighbours who are Turkic, Tajiks are ethnically and linguistically of Persian origin. Tajikistan used to be the poorest republic in the Soviet Union, is still the poorest country of the post-Soviet area, and the average wage is just above 200 € per month, yet development is obvious: there are many new buildings in Dushanbe, all taxis are new electric cars, and the infrastructure has never been as good as today. Nevertheless, there’s a sharp contrast the numerous luxury cars in Dushanbe and how most people live in the countryside.
Let's have a look Inside the National Museum.
Some interesting statues around the museum.
There's a nice park nearby.
Hisor, not far from Dushanbe, has a historical fortress.
My absolute favourite was the local market in Hisor.
I went with a local driver from Dushanbe to Khorog in two days on the Pamir Highway. This road runs for hundreds of kilometres along the narrow Panj river that separates Tajikistan and Afghanistan through some truly spectacular mountains, and you can easily see the Afghan side across the river.
The road is very good until Kalai Khum (also spelled Qal’ai Khumb), 350 km from Dushanbe. It's a nice small town with mountains around it.
I spent the night here; there's a modern, comfortable hotel.
I saw these Afghan trademen at the Afghan Market on the Pamir Highway near Kalai Khum, a few meters from the Afghan-Tajik Friendship Bridge. The bridge is usually closed but it opens once a week for the market, and Afghans are allowed to cross without a visa for a few hours, and they must remain at the market. There's otherwise close to zero traffic between the two countries.
The Pamir Highway becomes a dirt road with heavy traffic after Kulai Khan. The distance between Kalai Khum and Khorog is 244 km. A lot of works are going on the road such as asphalting and construction of tunnels. Current driving time from Dushanbe to Khorog is about 13 hours; it's expected to about one hour less when the current roadworks will be completed.
There are beautiful views of the mountains on both the Tajik and Afghan side of the river for hundreds of kilometers.
A spring by the road.
Khorog, population 30,000, is the main town of the Badakhshan Mountainous Autonomous Region which has about 45% of Tajikistan's area but only 2% of its population. Most people who live in the area are ethnically not Tajik but Pamiris, and they speak various Pamiri dialects.
The Khorog Botanical Garden is 2320 meters above sea level and is the second highest in the world. Some of the mountains around Khorog are around 5000 meters high, and the highest peak in the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan is 7495 meters.
I stayed at Hotel Zariya in Khorog. Despite the name, it’s just a humble but comfortable, six-room guesthouse by the river. I had some good conversations about tourism with the very friendly owner.
I spent an almost full day just looking at the river and the mountains.
My return journey to Dushanbe was one of my most interesting and spectacular flights I’ve ever had; see my next flight report.
My final thoughts about this trip? Going along the Pamir Highway is one of the greatest journeys on Earth. Don't miss it.
