ARTICLES

Look around any theme park and you’ll notice two kinds of kids: the daredevils who ride every roller coaster, waving their hands in the air and screaming their heads off. And the timid ones, like I was, secretly praying they’ll fail the “you must be this tall to ride” test.

Kids are fascinated by sharks . . .

Squinting, leaning back, then leaning forward again, I traced my fingers against the faint edges of the 19th-century engravings. “In memory of D…? R…?” I called out to my 16-year-old daughter: “Hey, Sarah, I need your help again!”

“Two eagles sitting in a tree!” exclaims Jean Shoemaker, our 80-year-old spotter. “Look for the dead tree in the river, then go straight up the mountain and you’ll see them.” Everyone aboard the train swings to the windows to peer at a pair of bald eagles casually yet majestically looking out over the South Branch of the Potomac River.

With historic cities like Samarkand and Bukhara, Uzbekistan has emerged as a top destination for tourists wanting to explore Central Asia—including me during a recent trip. Strolling through these foreign cities with the scent of spices, sight of handwoven rugs, and sound of unfamiliar languages around me . . .