A 2,500-kilometer road trip by Anzor Bukharsky, one of Central Asia’s most beloved photographers and cultural commentators, offers a rare glimpse into everyday life on the backstreets and byways of Uzbekistan. Two local girls walk near a 900-year-old minaret in the southern town of Minor, near the border with Afghanistan. A man rests during a scorching-hot day in the courtyard …

The exchange of shipments between Pakistan and Uzbekistan via Afghanistan are part of five planned trial runs aimed at testing the viability of various routes in the region, where trade has been hampered by the decades-old conflict in Afghanistan and longstanding diplomatic tensions between Kabul and Islamabad.