Uzbekistan

Most visitors who come to Uzbekistan visit the mosques, minarets and medressas of the big three – Bukhara, Samarkand and Khiva. If you are short of time then these are probably the highlights, but if time is not a problem then Uzbekistan has many areas which do not see many visitors and are well worth visiting.

Tashkent is the country’s capital and is a pleasant enough place to wile away the time waiting for visas or organizing onward travel. It is Central Asia’s largest city and has a good range of museums and galleries to introduce the culture of Uzbekistan. The old town around Chorsu market is a great place to see a traditional Uzbek community, with children playing in the narrow lanes which meander between the windowless mud and straw-walled houses . The TV tower is a fantastic slice of unreconstructed Soviet kitsch, featuring a revolving restaurant with views over the sprawl of Tashkent and a set-menu that has not changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, complete with each serving of food carefully weighed out to the last gramme.

Of the big three, Bukhara has the most authentic feel. The old town is pretty much in tact and survived the worst ravages of central planning. The centrepiece of Bukhara is Labi Hauz, a large pool surrounded by medrassas, cafes and shady trees. This is a great spot to lie on a topchan, a raised dining area, and watch the world go by whilst drinking green tea or something stronger.

Samarkand is the final resting place of Amir Timur, better known to us as Tamerlane, the Uzbek national hero. Statues of him on horseback are found all over the country in the places where Lenin and Marx once stood. His ornate tomb is located in the town along with the imposing mosque built by his wife, Bibi Khanm, as a surprise while he was away conquering and killing.
The Registan square is an awe-inspiring construction with medrassas decorated with dazzling blue tiles on three of its sides. The inside bits have been given over to mass commercialism with all manner of souvenirs on sale. Samarkand is more spread out than Bukhara and does not have the same feel of timelessness.

khiva uzbekistanKhiva is the most painstakingly reconstructed of the three, with mud walls surrounding the old town. It feels like you are walking around a film set at times. The town has an artificial, museumish feel about it despite it having people living within its walls.

To the west of Uzbekistan is the autonomous region of Karakalpakstan. The capital city, Nukus, is unremarkable except for the Savitsky museum, a world class collection of art that was forbidden by the authorities in the Soviet times. It was able to survive here due to its extreme distance from the gaze of Moscow. In the desert around Karakalpakstan, but most easily accessible from the town of Urgench, are several crumbling forts that can be easily reached in a daytrip.

Moving north from Nukus across the scrubby desert you come to the town of Moynaq. 30 years ago it was a thriving fishing port but then the waters of the Aral Sea receded as a result of the madcap scheme to irrigate the desert and grow cotton. Now it is famous for the abandoned hulks of old fishing vessels lying in the sand. It is one of the saddest and most desolate places imaginable.

To the east of the Uzbekistan is a fertile area of land called the the Fergana valley. It is the most religious and conservative region of the country. It is seen by the authorities as a hotbed of fundamentalism and is under tight scrutiny; they may not be too keen on travelers snooping around Andijon, scene of the massacre in May 2005, so be careful when travelling in this part of the country.

Two hours or so outside Tashkent is Charvak reservoir which provides a summer playground with beaches and watersports. In the winter, the nearby Mount Chimgan provides downhill skiing and snowboarding. Accommodation is expensive in these two places, but it is possible to visit them on a daytrip from Tashkent.

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