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OXUS

Three Women, One River

OXUS

Three Women, One River

OXUS

Three Women, One River

OXUS

Three Women, One River

OXUS

Three Women, One River

ABOUT THE EXPEDITION

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Where is the source of the Oxus? This was the essential question of the Great Game. The river’s source was designated as the official border between the Russian Empire and British India, but no one knew where it lay. Countless expeditions were dispatched by both sides to Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, the imperial no man’s land, in a bid to find it. They were led by an eclectic line up of military officers, politicians, diplomats, and spies. Famous names like Sir Francis Younghusband and Lord Curzon were amongst them. These colonial explorers identified multiple sources for the river, but they were unable to agree which one was the true source.

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In summer 2024, our all female team with links to Afghanistan, Tajikistan, and the UK will return to the Wakhan Corridor to finally answer the question. Using modern technology, we will pinpoint the known sources and measure their respective volumes of water flow; and also trek into the Nikolai Range to find the ultimate source of the Chelab Stream, which geographers have hypothesised splits and flows into both Lake Chaqmaqtin and the Little Pamir, but have thus far been unable to prove.

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Once we have confirmed the true source of the Oxus, we will follow the river 2,540 km across Central Asia to the Aral Sea. Passing through Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and back into Uzbekistan, we will explore issues such as water conflict, border security, the sustainability of agriculture, and environmental degradation, all of which are closely tied to the story and geography of the river.

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In spite of being Central Asia’s longest river, the Oxus (known locally as the Amu Darya) now peters out in the desert before reaching the Aral Sea. The last part of the expedition will cross the former sea bed, a place plagued with dust storms and littered with the rusty skeletons of ships. Soviet-era mismanagement of the water supply resulted in one of the most serious environmental disaster of the 20th century, and the Aral Sea is still shrinking. The sea is a poignant place for our journey to end, even though it’s now cut off from the river which created it, because it’s a reminder of the importance of not only understanding, but protecting the water resources on which we all depend.

OUR PLANNED ROUTE

The Oxus Expedition will travel 2,540km from the source of the Oxus River in Afghanistan’s Wakhan Corridor, across Central Asia to the Aral Sea.

Meet The Team

Sophie Ibbotson

Expedition leader Sophie Ibbotson is a researcher, consultant, and writer specialising in Afghanistan and Central Asia. She is Chairman of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs, and a 2023/24 Visiting Fellow at the Changing Character of War Centre at Oxford University, where she is researching water conflict. Sophie is an advisor to the World Bank’s Rural Economy Development Project in Tajikistan and has led four previous expeditions to the Wakhan Corridor.

Sophia NINA Burna-Asefi

Sophia Nina Burna-Asefi is an Associate at The Risk Advisory Group, where she specialises in Russia, Afghanistan, and Central Asia. She has a particular interest in infrastructure, and writes regularly for The Diplomat on topics such as rail and air corridors and the energy sector. Educated in Uzbekistan and the UK, Sophia speaks English, Dari, Russian, and Uzbek, and has travelled extensively in Afghanistan and Central Asia.

MISKOLA ABDULLOEVA

Miskola Abdulloeva is an entrepreneur from Tajikistan. She co-founded Yeti Hostel in Dushanbe and Orom Travel, a leading tour operator; and is also a Representation Manager for The Adventure Connection. Miskola was Tajikistan’s first member of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) and was a 2020/21 Chevening Scholar at the University of Greenwich, where she received her MA in Travel and Tourism.

LATEST FROM THE BLOG

First stop: Lake District!

June 27, 2021

Find out about the Oxus Expedition team’s first training and equipment testing trip in the UK’s Lake District National Park.

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Historic Maps of the Wakhan

March 27, 2021

An introduction to some of the historical maps of the Wakhan Corridor which are held in the archives of the Royal Society for Asian Affairs.

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Into the Room of Requirement

March 4, 2021

The Oxus Expedition was born in 2020 in London. Or was it? Arguably it has been more than 100 years in the making.

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Partners & Sponsors

IN THE MEDIA

The woman using tourism to fight for female empowerment in Tajikistan

January 18, 2024

Journalist Dani Redd profiled Oxus Expedition’s team member Miskola Abdulloeva for Much Better Adventures.

COVERAGE COMING SOON!

June 27, 2021

The Oxus Expedition has agreed several exciting media partnerships which we’ll reveal as the journey unfolds. For interviews, photos, and other media info, please contact