Termez

Termez is the southernmost town in Uzbekistan, on the Amu Darya with Afghanistan on the far bank, and its interest is that it was Buddhist for centuries before it was Muslim. The stupa at Zurmala, the monastery at Fayaz Tepa and the cave complex at Kara Tepa are what remains of that, and the finds from them fill the archaeological museum, which is the best in the country outside the capital. The bridge downstream is the one the Soviet army withdrew across in 1989. Summer here is the hottest in Uzbekistan and shuts the season down entirely from June to September.