Uzbekistan

Nowhere captures the magic and mystery of the ancient silk road better than Uzbekistan. Whereas the Kazakhs, Kyrgyz and Tajiks remained nomadic herdsmen (even until today), those who inhabited old Uzbekistan build cities. This coupled with some of the "greatest" regional generals, including Timur, who brought finances and artisans to the area, the cities were some of the most magnificent in the Muslim world. They were centres of education, religious studies and, of course, trade. Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva still stand to this day welcoming a new kind of visitor, tourists. Uzbekistan has a larger tourism industry than all the other 'Stans combined. Still it's worth fighting trough the hordes of French and German tour group to see Uzbekistan.

The first place in Uzbekistan the majority of visitors will see in Uzbekistan is Tashkent. The largest city in Central Asia is also the Uzbek capital. The city itself lacks any major attractions. It is better appreciated as a whole rather than for its parts. There is the Chorsu market. It's the sort of place that "if it grows, it's here". But for the most part it's just socks and underwear, very little in the way of handy crafts. You'll certainly see better markets in your travels. Closer to the centre is a park containing a couple of monuments. One to the catastrophic earthquake which struck the area in 1966. The other monument (which has a copy in every Uzbek city) is the weeping mother, a tribute to those who died in battle.

The best way around the city is the metro system. The only one in Central Asia. It is, in itself, and attraction. Similar to the one in Moscow, it was designed as a bomb shelter, so photos are strictly prohibited. But i took one anyway. Notice my leg in the right of the shot. Rather James Bond if i do say so myself. Other than that there is an "old town". It is a great place to wander and get lost. But considering any traveller will visit the ancient capitals, this may pale in comparison. Due to the fact my Turkmen visa started 3 weeks later i found myself with too much time in Tashkent. And staying at a B&B with free flowing vodka didn't help much. While Tashkent is not a bad city, it is barely better than sliced bread. So it was off to Samarkand to see what all the buzz was about.

Samarkand is the second largest city in Uzbekistan, and some experts state it is as old as, if not older than, Rome, Athens and Babylon. It was the capital of various regional empires but it was under Timur the Lame's rule in the 1400's, that Samarkand truly shone. It was the centre of learning, trade and religion for the Islamic world. And with an influx of money and artisans from an expanding empire, was able to build magnificent structure. The greatest of which is the Registan (pictured above), probably Central Asia's single most visited tourist attraction. Made of three buildings around a central square it was a mosque and medressa all rolled into one. It's also the most expensive single attraction, 6500 som ($5). Personally I'd only recommend paying the ticket if you plan to climb it's minaret. Indubitably, a guard will approach you for the "illegal" climb. I paid 3,000 som, but i met others who were taken for much more. Scattered throughout the city are various other mosques, medressas and other such places plying for the tourist dollar. One of my personal favourites was the Bibi-khunam Mosque. With noticeable earthquake damage, it has a more genuine feel. And if you're the sort of person who likes the ruins really ruined check out the Ishkatkhona Mausoleum. It's a bit out of town, but easy to reach by 300 Som matshrutka. There's nobody there and you get a real "Indiana Jones" sensation. Right up my alley. But once you've had enough of "big doors", be sure to check out the actual town. Though rather Russified, it has a pleasant pedestrian area which is great for watching modern day Samarkand-ians go about there daily lives.


The next logical place on the tourist trail is certainly Bukhara (title photo). (take the train from Samarkand it's cheap and fast) Much like Samarkand, it saw it's peak during Timur's reign. But it was more of a religious centre with some of the oldest Medressas in Central Asia. What really sets it apart now, though, is the layout. Whereas Samarakand has the more impressive buildings, they are scattered around a modern city. Bukhara is more under stated, but all neatly packaged into a navigable Old Town. The Kalon Minaret is at the centre of it all. With accompanying mosque and functioning medressa, I like it more than anything in Samarkand. And at 4,500 Som to climb the minaret, it's well worth it. Try to eat at the nearby restaurant "Best Photo View", great views, average prices and generous proportions. Salads are a steal at 1,500. Other than that Bukhara is just a great place to wander around a soak up the history. Try to meander through the back alleys to see life in action, or inaction as is usually the case. While i am not a shopper, it seems that Bukhara is the best place to pick up souvenirs. You can check out carpet weavers, blacksmiths and various other artisans at work. Bargain Hard.

The third of the great ancient cities is Khiva. It is the only of the three to have a fully intact old town, spared by various invading armies. But recent political moves to clean up the country's landmarks have made Khiva a museum city. I found it lacked and atmosphere, although it was certainly picturesque. Everything is well preserved, and the artistry is impressive. But the 11,000 Som ticket price is a little much. It's actually free to walk around the city, but each medressa/mosque/mausoleum has a fee. The market just outside the North gate was by far the coolest thing. Stay at the Meros B&B ($15) and try to get one of the rooms with little private staircase, preferably on the right.


Even all those beautiful building can grow tiresome. So my next stop took me beyond the reach of the tourist buses. I stopped in the town of Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakistan region, easily the poorest region in the country. The town is propped up by money from the central government to try to keep up appearances, but it's a typical russified city and not worth a stop. Except for the fact that it has the greatest collection of Gulag Era artwork anywhere in the world. During the Stalin purges, free thinking was condemned, including art. But art survived. It was brought to the town of Nukus, far from the watchful eyes of Moscow. The museum is modern, well label and totally worth the trip here. There's decent and cheap B&B a block behind the museum.

But for me, the real reason to come this far was to go further. My destination, the village of Moynaq. The town has nothing to see, because it doesn't have a sea. But it used to. Like Aralsk in Kazakstan, Moynaq was once a bustling fishing port on the coast of the Aral Sea. But Soviet era irrigation plans blocked off the crucial rivers feeding the river, causing it to dry up and disappear. It now over 200km from the old port. The coolest thing is to see the old fishing boats rusting away in the now desertified steppe. There easy to find now. They have collected them into a sort of "ship graveyard". Once off the bus just head up THE street 15 minutes or so to the KinoTeatre, then turn right. There's a small monument showing the disappearance of the sea and about a dozen boats. There are other scattered in the steppe, but they have been stripped bare of anything useful by the locals.

Once the done with Moynaq, I tried to visit some of the old forts scattered around area. However plans were soon cancelled once the only hotel i could find in the town of Urgench was $50 and with no other travellers in sight to share transport costs, it just wasn't possible. So i headed back to Bukhara to cross into Turkmenistan, but that's another story...

TIPS: The largest bill in Uzbekistan is 1000 Som, which is equal to $.70. So don't change too much money unless you have a massive wallet.

Try to wake up early a stroll around the old cities before the tour groups get up.

If you are on a budget, and don't mind the bad Karma, instead of paying for entry tickets, just wait for a group and follow them in. Security never checks their tickets at the door, the tour leader has no idea who's actually in the group and once inside no one asks to see your ticket (very useful in Khiva)

My View: Some people are turned off by the mass tourism in Uzbekistan. I, however, do believe that it's worth it. These are some of the most beautiful buildings in some of the most important cities in history. The food, while not world class, is filling and cheap. So rubbing elbows with a few retired French tourist is a small price to pay.

The Uzbek people are surprisingly friendly. After living in Kyrgyzstan for a while I was expecting rude, dirty people (the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz don't get along). On the contrary I found most people quite helpful. In the tourist cities they clearly try to rip you off by asking for ridiculously high prices. But patience and a smile (and a little Russian) go a long way. With so much extra time on my hands I found myself playing daily chess and backgammon games with no strings attached (i got my ass kicked by the way). There were no sales pitches, no alternative agendas, just genuine curiosity and hospitality.

And they live in a difficult place. The dictatorship-type government has created a bit of a police state. Many freedoms we take for granted in the West are simply dreams to Uzbeks. But as long as they keep to a non-disruptive daily life, they say it's no problem. And foreigners have little to worry about in any of the touristy places. I was never stopped by the police in my 3 weeks there.
Overall i give Uzbekistan an A. great sights to see, decent food, nice people, relatively low costs and apparently beautiful nature (though i didn't see any on this trip).