 Places to visit |
 TASHKENT |
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and it was once recognised as the fourth largest city in the former USSR. The 2000-year history of the city has gradually vanished, on one hand due to the earthquake of 1966, and on the other hand due to the subsequent enthusiasm of Soviet planners. Tashkent seems to be the most Soviet city in Central Asia and many of the region's Slavs who can not return to the Motherland are moving to this city.
Nevertheless, the lovers of ancient mosques, medressas and mudbrick houses are delighted because they can still see them in the old town which has been spared by the Soviets. Kukeldash Medressa, an Islamic academy is a grand 16th century academy undergoing restoration, whose plaza overflows with worshippers on warm Friday mornings. Another point of attraction is the Chorsu Bazaar, which is a huge open market beside Kukeldash, and attracts crowds of people from the countryside many in traditional dress.
Tashkent is also a city that has a lot of museums. The Museum of Fine Arts has a fine collection of pre-Russian art, including Buddhist statues and Sogdian murals. The ground floor often has exhibitions by local artists. The Museum of Applied Arts opened in 1937 as a showcase for turn-of-the-century applied arts. The Amir Temur Museum is Tashkent's newest museum and has quite an impressive structure with a brilliant blue ribbed dome and a rich decorated interior. Navoi Literary Museum is also attractive to tourists because it has replica manuscripts, Persian calligraphy and 15th and 16th century miniatures.
Restaurants
| Restaurants | location | Tel | | Ragu ( Indien) | Amir Temur ul. | 1858545 | | Taj (Indian) | 5, Chekhov ul. | 133 53 92 | | Café-Bistro | 1, Toy-Tepa ul. | 1320608 | | Bistro | 20, Movaraunnahr ul. | 56 80 10 | | Regina (Uzbek Russian) | 34, Nukuskaya ul. | 557940 | | Ariston (Uzbek-Russian) | metro Khamid Olimjon | | | Aristokrat (Uzbek-Russian) | 4, Abaya ul. | 41 01 09 | | Napoleon (Uzbek-Russian) | 11, Muminova ul. | 169 00 69 | | Gruziya (Georgian) | Pushkin ul. | 136 35 37 | | Tbilisi (Georgian) | Zerafshan shopping complex | 33 43 76 | | Peking (Chinese) | Zerafshan shopping complex | 33 43 76 | | Shanghai (Chinese) | 4, Babur ul. | |
Bar & Discos
The Lucky Strike Bar is popular with expats and western minded young Uzbeks; it has draught beer, MTV, and a less seedy atmosphere than most. It is in the basement of a massive apartment building, lined with shops on the ground floor, north-east of Khamid Olimjon Metro; the entrance is along the street next to a large corner store.
.... On The Silk Road
| SAMARKAND |
"Everything I have heard about Marakanda (Samarkand to the Greeks) is true, except that it is more beautiful than I ever expected"
This is how Samarkand was described by Alexander the Great when he took this capital of the Sogdian empire in 329 BC. Dating back to the 5th century BC Samarkand represents one of the oldest cities in the whole Central Asia. Before the great Uzbek hero Amir Temur took the city over in 1370, Samarkand had been ruled by many different rulers like Alexander the Great, Genghiz Khan, Western Turks, Mongolians and Arabs. The following Temur years brought the new capital into its economically blossom, culturally and architecturally, and it was continued by the intellectual and scientific development during Temur's grandson Ulugbek's reign. In 1868 Russian took over Samarkand and at the economic boom of the late 19th century it became a city along the Trans-Caspian railway. In 1924 Samarkand for the last time was granted a status of a capital when it was declared the Uzbek Soviet Socialist capital for next six years before Tashkent took over.
For the visitors, Samarkand presents its attractions as if it was never touched since the Middle-Age, except for the 18th century earthquakes and seasonal sand storms that have left their marks in the city. It is the closest Silk Road city to Tashkent, only 3 hours away and that's why it is the most popular tourist destination. For an English speaking tourist guide with a car based in Tashkent , contact Mr. Rafael Babadjanov mobile 998-71-186 2307 home 998-712-792 678. For tour groups the ideal place to stay is the Hotel Afrosiab (telephone 998-662-312 080 from abroad, 83662-312 080 from inside Uzbekistan), but for individual and more adventurous travellers there are many cosy B&B type of home stays for less money. Note also, that most people in Samarkand don't speak Uzbek, but a Tajik flavored by Uzbek.
Unlike Bukhara and Khiva, Samarkand's sites are spread around the city.
The Registan, a complex of stunning colourful medressas with amazing mosaic work, was once the centre of the city. It hosted Ulughbek's lectures on theology, astronomy and philosophy, was used as a dormitory for students and gathered traders at its bazaar. All the medressas were built between the early 15th century and the early 17th century.
Guri Amir Mausoleum (Amir Temur's tomb): it is actually a kind of a mistake that this is where Temur is buried. He and his family had built a crypt in
Shakhrisabz, but when his day came, he was in Kazakstan and the way to Shakhrisabz was blocked with snow and he was taken to Samarkand instead. The mausoleum is a fascinating place covered with gold and a curse, according to which a great enemy will appear to whoever opens this grave.
Bibi-Khanym, named after the Chinese wife of Temur, was once the biggest mosque in the Islamic world and a playground of jealousy. Temur's wife ordered this mosque to be built while he was away, but unfortunately the architect in love with her refused to complete this without a kiss. Instead of a kiss he ended up being executed by Temur and the mosque itself collapsed by its own architectural and constructural impossibilities. Currently it is being rebuilt and renovated by UNESCO, but one can still enter the mosque for glimpses of this sad story.
Shahr-I-Zindah, a street of tombs, is a place of pilgrimage and a graveyard for a cousin of the Prophet Mohammed and the relatives of Temur and Ulughbek. A beautiful site with probably the most stunning tile work in the whole Central-Asia.
Ulughbek Observatory dates back to 1420, and it is where Ulughbek practised and developed his astronomic skills. The tomb of the Old Testament prophet Daniel is a tiny building with a sarcophagus of 18 meters long, because the legend says his body will continue growing by half an inch per year.
The main Bazaar next to Bibi-Khanym is also a must for its colours, spices and faces representing the diversity of Uzbekistan ethnic groups.
| BUKHARA |
"While elsewhere light radiates from heaven onto the land, in holy Bukhara it radiates upward to illuminate heaven"
Over 2500 years old Bukhara was once the holiest city in the whole Central Asia being ruled by the Arabs, the Samanids, Genghiz Khan and Amir Temur until the 16th century, when it became the Bukhara khanate. Over the centuries, it also provided a home to many philosophers and scientists, namely Ibn Sina, Firdausi and Rudaki -Persian Newtons and Shakespeares. However, the decline of the Silk Road pushed Bukhara aside a bit, but until the bolsheviks came it continued to play an important role as one of feudal city-states along with Khiva and Kokand. At the end of this emirs' period Russian troops occupied Bukhara turning it into a tsar's protectorate with emirs in charge of the khanate. These two worlds revealed their different mentalities in a funny way in 1888 when the Trans-Caspian Railway was built in Bukhara, but due to the suspicion of the emir who considered trains evil, the train station eventually appeared 15 km outside the city centre. In 1920 Bukhara was nominated as the Bukhara People's Republic, which four years later was replaced by the integration into the Uzbek SSR.
Today, Bukhara is the liveliest city on the Silk
Road and gives fascination to a tourist for days.
There are excellent little bazaars around the old
town where one can buy various souvenirs from extremely
friendly locals and discover the mosques, medressas,
mausoleums and palaces. Moreover, the city offers
a good small travel agency (ask for Noela who speaks
very good English and will organise anything you
need, call from abroad 998-65-224 3853 / 224 1404
/ 228 2012 or from inside Uzbekistan 8365-224 3852
/ 224 1404 / 228 2012). For staying a night over,
there is a rapidly increasing number of B&B
places, homes of locals with traditional cooking.
Probably the most beautiful of these is the highly
recommended B&B called Lyabi Hauz (contact
998-65-224 2484 or www.lyabihouse.com.uz)
right in the heart of the old town. A few steps
away from there is the old hammam, turned into a
beautifully cosy renovated restaurant with blue,
turquoise, golden and green tiles and large cushions.
Three course meals cost around 5 usd per person.
For other places to eat and observe the life go
by, especially during the summer, head towards the
Labi-Hauz plaza. |
Bukhara town can be easily discovered by following three main bazaar centres, where the everyday life, souvenirs, architectural highlights and history meet.
Taqi-Sarrafon area is actually the oldest surviving mosque in Central-Asia and probably also the most holy place in the town. It used to be a herb and spice market but is nowadays better for carpets and prayer mats.
Taqi-Telpak area has a men's bathhouse hammam and a more general bazaar.
Taqi-Zargaron area has the Central-Asia oldest medressa and two others, built by Ulughbek the grandson of Amir Temur. One of the medressas still has the original frescoes inside.
Labi-Hauz is a centre of the Jewish quarter in the town where people gather together around this pool. The name itself means in Tajik "around the pool". Around it there are many medressas to be seen.
Kalon Minaret means "great" in Tajik. It was built in 1127 and was once most likely the tallest building in Central Asia. It has been used as a beacon, watchtower as well as criminals were punished by being thrown away from the top of this minaret.
The Ark is a town inside a town. It might go back even 2000 years and is still well preserved even if it suffered a lot from the Red Army bombings. Nowadays there are museums inside and souvenir shops, and one can take a tour around the rooms of the emir, the reception and coronation court as well as the protocol court. Registan right in front of the fortress was a place for executions and Zindon was a jail with torture rooms etc.
A bit outside Bukhara there is the summer palace of an emir which consist of very different architectural styles some being very kitch. It is definitely worth of a visit.
An interesting restaurant is an old hammam near by Taqi-Sarrafon, which has beautiful tile work and is being reconstructed into a big restaurant.
| KHIVA |
Khiva is a museum by itself. Compared to Bukhara it is like walking in a city museum, as it is even more packed with architectural pieces and history -to the extent that it is almost as silent as in a real museum! It has some unique architectural features deriving from the Persian invasion in the 18th century. Legend also says that the town was discovered by Shem, the son of Noah. However, it became more famous as a Khorezm state in the 16th century and for its slave trade. In the 19th century it also played an important role in the Great Game between Russia and England surrounding finally to Russia in 1873. In 1920 it was given a privilege of Khorezm People's Republic which however ceased as due to the fears of Russian leaders that these people could be more inclined towards Pan-Turkism rather than socialism. In 1924 Khiva and Khorezm state were absorbed into the new Uzbek SSR.
Ichon-Qala Gates and Walls are pictorial and 2.5 km long surrounding the whole town.
Kukhna Ark is the fortress and home for Khiva rulers. It has a harem, throne room, jail, and even an old mint where money was printed on silk!
Mohammed Rakhim Khan Medressa was once a palace square. On one side of this medressa one can ride a camel called "Mikhail".
Sayid Alauddin Mausoleum dates back to the Golden Horde, Mongolian empire period.
Juma mosque hosts a typical Arabian architectural concept; 218 wooden columns holding the roof.
Alloqulihon bazar and caravanserai used to be a travellers' inn where they could sell goods gathered from different spots of the Silk Road.
Tosh-Khovli Palace has probably the town's most beautiful pieces of tiles and decorations. One can also see the old harem rooms although some of them might hold exhibitions nowadays.
East Gate is where the slave market used to be held.
Islom-Huja Medressa holds the best museum in town.
Pahlavon Mohammed Mausoleum is where the famous poet and philosopher of the same name is buried. Remember when entering the tomb to leave the shoes outside.
| THE ARAL SEA |
The Aral Sea cannot really be described as a typical tourist attraction these days, even though it was once a famous destination for families who used to go and enjoy clean water and seaside. Today, it is a rather sad place, but definitely worth seeing by anyone interested in the Soviet Era and its consequences on environmental issues or simply as a matter of curiosity. We decided to list the Aral Sea here, because it is necessary to attract attention to this trans-boundary problem. Money and assistance is certainly welcomed by many NGO’s working on that issue.
The Aral Sea, is situated in the centre of the Central Asian deserts. In the past, the sea used to contribute to the improvement of hydrothermal conditions of geosystems. Before 1960's the coverage area of the sea was 66,000 square kilometers. The balance between surface evaporation, and water inflow from Amu-darya and Syr-darya rivers, along with the precipitation, helped maintained the stable water level. The development of the irrigation network in 1960-1980's especially for cotton growing, has started to take off considerable quantities of water to irrigated fields from the 2 rivers.
The major part of the water did not return to the rivers because of evaporation, outflow to ground water, or discharge of irrigation and drainage waters into lower courses of the deserts. Consequently, inflow of water to the Aral Sea has dropped to 30% of the initial volume. At present the area of the Aral Sea equals almost half of its original size and is divided into parts. One of it is replenished by the Amu-darya in the South, and the other one by Syr-darya in the north. Even with an increased inflow of water into the Aral, according to estimates its level continues to drop by 2-3 cm annually.
The increased sea water salinity and the appearance of salinised desert with an area of 20,000 square kilometers in the place of the sea ground are direct results of the Aral Sea drying. Only four kinds of fish out of 24 have survived, the natural vegetation is dying. Moreover, the climate has become more aggressive with increased summer temperatures and colder winters. Saline dust storms negatively affect human and animal health.
An insufficient water supply and its inferior quality adversely affect the health of the population in the Aral Sea. The environmental crisis in the Aral Sea region is a transboundary problem which has attracted the attention of the world public. The government of Uzbekistan and the republics of Central Asia are directing their efforts to decrease the negative influence of ecological factors to the health of the population. The World Bank, the UNDP and UNEP have worked out a joint program of the Aral Sea directed towards the alleviation of the environmental calamity's influence on human health.
| OTHER PLACES OF INTEREST |
-Always visit a local bazaar; not only for food but also for taking photos of different ethnic groups living in Uzbekistan and for sensing the real life at its most colourful form
-Kyzylkum Desert for camel rides
-Fergana Valley to see old Kokand khanate of the 18-19th century. Other cities Fergana, Namangan, Margilan, Rishdon and Andijan are also worth visiting as they host ceramic makers, and silk factories. This whole region is the most religious area in Uzbekistan and also most densely settled. The road to here from Tashkent is beautiful as it climbs over the mountains before arriving in this vast valley.
-Shahkrisabz is famous for being a home of Amir Temur. Located 130 km away from Samarkand, one should look at the crypt for Amir Temur, which was never used as he was taken to Samarkand to be buried. This town has a lot of architectural pieces left, most of them however not fully preserved as for example Temur's summer palace. One can still sense the old times and be astonished of the skillfull works and the majesty of that period in history.
-Shakhimardan is one of the bizarre Uzbek territories left from redrawing borders by Stalin. It s located in the Alps-like mountainous area in the territory of Kirgistan. It can be easily accessed from Fergana and even if one needs to drive through Kirgistan territory it is not a problem with valid Uzbek papers. This is a sports centre and a place to rest before taking off to trekking.
-Fan Mountains is another trekking area in the border area of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. A traveller needs valid Tajik papers but once those are fixed, one of the most beautiful mountains in the world are waiting for you. |
