Taklamakan Desert of water, accounts for the somewhat wide diurnal temperature variation. The Taklamakan Desert has very little water, therefore it is hazardous to cross. Merchant caravans on the Silk Road would stop for relief at the thriving oasis towns. It was in close proximity to many of the ancient civilizations — to the Northwest is the Amu Darya basin, to the southwest the Afghanistan mountain passes lead to Iran and India, to the east is China, and even to the north ancient towns such as Almaty can be found. The key oasis towns, watered by rainfall from the mountains, were Kashgar,
Lost in the Desert shot in two versions, one in Afrikaans and the other in English. The Afrikaans version appeared in 1969 under the title "Dirkie", and the English version appeared in either 1969 or 1970 (possibly varying according to country) under the title "Dirkie Lost in the Desert", which was sometimes referred to and marketed as "Lost in the Desert", which is possibly an alternative official title for the English version. The film was released on DVD in 2005 (copyright 1999), and this disc contains both versions of the film, selectable from the front menu. The English version is about 70 minutes long,