Uzbekistan And The Silk Road

The capital, Tashkent

Tashkent has wide European style boulevards edged with plane trees and some rather spectacular buildings. Museums, parks and concert halls, top international hotels and government buildings are all quite grand. This is not a crowded city so there is much space and light, and everything is super clean.

Tashkent was largely destroyed by being at the epicentre of an earthquake in 1966, and so the newer buildings reflect the occupation of the USSR. Russian architecture has its own concrete character and is very uniform, utilitarian and monochrome. Some of what were grand Soviet hotels, are now rather sad and shabby inside but would have been state of the art thirty years ago.

While you are here, don’t miss the art in the metro stations. The Tashkent Metro was the first underground transport in central Asia, built in the late seventies in honour of the USSR. Each station has its own unique architectural features, created with the best materials. Marble, granite, glass and decorative tiling. The lighting in each station is a work of art in itself; nineteen thirties style chandeliers at one stop, recessed space age honeycombs at another, and vaulted, beautifully decorated domes and columns at another. These wonderful features give a romantic and somewhat surreal air to this unique public transport system.

The metro is super cheap — about 1 USD (8,069.72 UZS) — and has retro Soviet carriages and efficient air conditioning.

There are guards everywhere here. Uzbekistan is a police state and everything is very official and bureaucratic. You have to show your passport to buy a train ticket, stay at any hotel and even to get on the metro.

The city of Samarkand

The first stop on our Silk Road trip after Tashkent was Samarkand, an exotic destination.

It is 290 km or 180 miles from Tashkent to Samarkand and it takes four and a half hours in a taxi. In Samarkand I stayed at the Jahongir Hotel, which is in great central location only yards away from the famous Registan Square. This charming little hotel has simple rooms colourfully furnished in Uzbek textiles and hangings, and very helpful staff. Outside, there are comfortable topchans to lounge on and you are surrounded by grapevines. Topchans are like great big sofas with a table in the middle for relaxing, eating and even sleeping on!

Almost completely destroyed by the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan, Samarkand rose to prominence once more in the 14th century when Timur or Tamerlane made Samarkand the capital of his empire. Today, its most famous architectural site, Registan Square, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The square is a stunning monument of Oriental architecture. From three sides it is surrounded with grand madrassah portals covered in fabulous blue and patterned tiles. Inside, walls and ceilings with rich gold and blue decoration stun the senses. This would have been a centre for commerce, royal announcements, celebrations and executions.

Beautiful Bukhara

The next stop on your tour of Uzbekistan should be Bukhara. You can take a SHARQ train from Samarkand to Bukhara. The SHARQ train is a bit like a big living room on wheels. It has a carpet, tables, TVs showing an Uzbek film, and a boiler if you want to make your own tea. Train fares are very cheap in Uzbekistan as is just about everything else — your dollars will go a very long way here.

Bukhara is a like a living museum in a city with about 140 architectural monuments and is the fifth largest city in Uzbekistan. Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia and the city has existed for at least half that time. An important city on the Silk Road, Bukhara has long served as a centre of trade, learning, culture and religion. Bukhara has numerous colourful bazaars where souvenirs can be haggled for. Carpets pottery, beautiful cotton and silk clothing, bags, and jewellery are all great buys.

It is definitely worth spending a few days in Bukhara as there is a lot to see here.
The best budget accommodation to be found is the Rumi Hostel, a short walk from the centre of Bukhara. Staying in hostels like this one are a great way to meet other travelers too.

More about Bukhara

Another good place to stay is Hotel Malika in Bukhara, which lies at the heart of the old city. The building is on two floors built in the style of an ancient madrassah, around a shady courtyard where you can have a drink at the bar or relax with a pot of tea on a topchan. The hotel is a great place for business or leisure travelers and is only 15 minutes from the airport. The thirty clean elegant rooms all have air conditioning, TVs, new bathrooms, fridges and Wi-Fi.

A good day visit from here is a trip to the Emir’s Summer Palace, known as the Palace of Moon-like Stars. At the entrance to the grounds you are greeted by a large flock of peacocks — which feature everywhere in royal history and are quite important in influencing patterns and design too — they were known as the birds of paradise. Somewhat over the top, and boldly lavish in its decoration and tiling, this eccentric palace is fascinating. The clash of European, Russian and Asian styles, colours and designs are stunningly beautiful, and the colours and patterns still dazzling in the brightest sunlight hundreds of years later.