Uzbekistan travel guide

Shimmering silks, carpets, and carved wooden goods aching to be bought in timeless bazaars; thousand year old tiles decorating the exotic mosques, madrassahs, and minarets of the cities of the Silk Road; and staying in a nomad’s yurt on the steppes of Central Asia. Travellers experience great variety when in Uzbekistan. Walking through the bazaars of Uzbekistan colourful silks vie for your attention with fragrant spices and chattering stall-holders. Some bazaars sell everything from shoes, and leather to goods imported from India and Pakistan – but others such as the Farkhatsky bazaar in the nation’s capital Tashkent sell only one product in this case melons. Uzbekistan’s most famous city Samarkand, along with Bukhara and Khiva, lies on the ancient Silk Road to China. 2750-year old Samarkand possesses many outstanding sights such as Registan Square the heart of the city, an ensemble of three Madrassahs the Ulugbek Madrassah (15th century), the Sher – Dor Madrassah (17th century) and the Tilla-Kari Madrassah (17th century). Another outstanding building in Samarkand is the Gur-Emir – the mausoleum of the conqueror Tamerlane. Visitors should see the Po-i-Kalyan complex and the Ark Citadel in Bukhara and the intact citadel of Ichan Kala in Khiva. Travellers can stay in a sturdy felt tent called a yurt and get a feel of life as experienced by Central Asian nomads for thousands of years. Rugs and carpets cover the floor and the smoke from the central fire escapes through a hole in the roof. East of Tashkent hikers head for the pastures and mountain passes of the foothills of the Tien-Shan mountains. Fishermen catch rainbow trout in the Kok-su river. Nature lovers and birdwatchers see desert fauna and migrating birds at the Kyzyl Kun reserve south of Bukhara.