Although modern historians debate the exact route Marco Polo took through Central Asia, he is said to have traversed the 'Pamier' Range, as noted in The Travels of Marco Polo: "The region is so lofty and cold that you do not even see any birds flying. And I must notice also that because of this great cold, fire does not burn so brightly, nor give out so much heat as usual, nor does it cook food so effectually."
The eastern Pamir Range is a world unto itself, bearing little resemblance to its western half. The high plateau hovers around 4,000 meters, its scenery altogether desolate, not unlike the Tibetan plateau. Heading east from Khorog, I rode a jeep to the grim outpost of Murgab, whose most prominent feature is a dilapidated Soviet military base. Relics from Murgab's more prosperous communist days amount to a living museum, the rusting tanks, hangars, and training yards having been adapted as playground fixtures by the town's youth. The former main street, once improved with a landscaped median and decorative iron fencing, is totally deserted; instead, the bazaar of today's Murgab occupies a somber row of reclaimed steel shipping containers laid out on a pitch of dirt.
discouragingly quiet, and experiencing a petrol shortage. Upon completing a brief survey of Murgab, I elected to exploit the earliest opportunity for departure. The next day, I chartered a jeep with four other travelers – an American, a German, a Singaporean, a South Korean – and we passed but one other vehicle en route 240 km to Sary Tash, Kyrgyzstan.
