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order between Tajikistan on this side
and Afghanistan on the other. Even from
afar, you can see thatz a different world
starts on the opposite bank where the
mountains rise up vertically right next to
the river, squalid villages clinging to their
rock faces.
We spend the night in Khorugh and on
the morning depart for a meeting with
Marx and Engels. For 120 kilometres we
travel across scree and through gorges;
The trail surface constantly changes
under our tyres. Sometimes it is
comfortably flat, then disturbed and
bumpy again.
We make it just in time to stand face to
face with the 6,723 metre-high "Karl
Marx" and the 6,507 metre-high
"Friedrich Engels" before the last light of
day. They are by far the highest
mountains for a long way around. The
Hindu Kush lies just beyond them. The
same route leads back to Khorugh. We
are now in front of the Pamir Highway,
which will take us to the roof of the
world. The road climbs slowly but
steadily to somewhere between 3,500
and 4,500 metres of altitude. We will
remain at this altitude until we get to
Sary-Tash in Kyrgyzstan, 600
kilometres away. Just about 150
kilometres later we reach the first
4,000 metre pass, where the air is thin
and a cold wind blows across the
barren plateau. The far distant peaks
of the Hindu Kush can be seen through
the haze.
Shortly after passing the village of
Alichur, we encounter a mechanical
disaster, or at least that's what we think:
On the roadside lies an old Izh with its
innards next to it. The engine cover has
been taken off; oil is on the road.
Something is wrong with the clutch. In
front of it kneels a young man who is
spurred on by the comments of a
policeman. I ask if there is a problem,
but the policeman responds "nyet
problem", while the young man doesn't
even notice me. Instead, the
policeman senses an opportunity to
pass the time with my presence. The
law enforcement officer inspects the F
650 and acquaints himself with the
safety equipment by putting on my