Ghaznavid relationships with Termez are often considered from a military and strategic point of view, as the city was a valuable bridgehead in Transoxiana against the Qarakhanids. On the other hand, the question of leisure activities is less often analysed by historians. We will be looking at two activities popular with the Ghaznavids at Termez, namely hunting and the organisation of festivities. We will ask why Mas'ūd (r. 1030-1040) sometimes came from far away to hunt or drink wine in the region: what environmental factors might explain these habits? How were the festivities organised and what was at stake? What role does the Amu Darya play in these events? We will be drawing on textual data (medieval sources, accounts by 19th-century travellers) and archaeological data, as well as on the natural sciences (archaeozoology, archaeobotany, ecology).