Uzbekistan: I went to Central Asian country on the verge of a tourism boom - now is the perfect time to go

Today, the Central Asian country is considered an unusual, “off the beaten road” holiday destination for westerners, but for hundreds of years it was a major player on one of the most important roads in the world – the Silk Road.

Now Uzbekistan hopes to capitalise on its history with wide-scale investment in its tourism infrastructure, including high-speed rail, new hotels and more internal flights. In other words, it’s easier than ever to travel to and around Uzbekistan – and it’s only going to get easier. 

But that still begs the questions: Why Uzbekistan? I went on a week-long tour of the country with tour operator Jules Verne, travelling in the footsteps of the ancient Silk Road merchants, learning more about the people, places and experiences that are fuelling the country’s tourism boom. 

Tashkent

Before the trip, my knowledge of Uzbekistan was limited but not zero. As a British-Ukrainian, who has lived in both Ukraine and (regrettably) Russia, I am more than comfortable in a formerly Soviet city. I also speak Russian, which is still spoken throughout Uzbekistan today, and am a big fan of the cuisine, which is very popular throughout the former USSR – more on that later. 

This is why the first stop on my tour, the capital city Tashkent, felt very familiar. There are roads wide enough for military parades, dated department stores and imposing municipal buildings. There is also an underground metro dotted with surprisingly ornate stations dedicated to cosmonauts, Red Army generals and Pushkin, as well as Uzbek national heroes.

Most of the city is relatively new, as we found out at the first stop of our tour, the Monument of Courage. This socialist realist installation was built on the epicentre of an earthquake that reduced 80% of the city to rubble in April 1966. Our guide for the week, Murat, explained that despite the destruction to most of the adobe clay homes in the city, there were relatively few casualties as most people are accustomed to sleeping outside this time of year, usually on large square benches. 

Around 80% of the country is desert, which is why the amount of greenery in Tashkent is startling. “It takes a lot of effort to keep this city green,” Murat explained, pointing out the sprinklers and complex irrigation systems keeping the grass and park areas like the impressive Independence Square refreshed in the thick August heat. The water comes from the artificial canal, which is the unofficial border between the new and old parts of the city. 

It’s in the remaining parts of the old town that you will find the Hazrati Imam Complex, home to one of the oldest Qurans in the world, and the domed indoor market Chorsu Bazaar. As soon as you walk in you are greeted with traders inviting you to sample their products, such as vegetables, nuts, dried fruits and spices, the smells of which lure you further into the circular market and beyond. We also got to sample fresh crusty bread, fresh out of the ovens. Several of these loaves also made it back to the UK with one of our group members, who returned to this market on the final day of the trip especially. It’s safe to say that the traditional bread became something we looked forward to every meal. 

Khiva

The next stop on the tour required a very early start and an internal flight to Urgench, which was a 40-minute drive in an almost perfectly straight line to the ancient walled city of Khiva. The drive was our first real glimpse at what life is like for Uzbek people outside of the big cities. Again, the amount of greenery is astounding. At the side of the road, we could see locals selling watermelons from their allotments or loading fruit – Uzbekistan grows everything but citrus fruits, according to Murat – into the adorable but notoriously unsafe Chevrolet Damas vans everyone seems to drive.

It’s a miracle Hollywood has not yet discovered Khiva, with its winding alleys, palaces and blue-tiled mosques. It’s something I only ever thought existed today in movies. Once an embattled fortress city that rose to prominence in the 16th century, most of the buildings inside the city walls have now been converted to accommodate tourists – for example, we visited a former madrassa (Imam school) that is now a hotel and there were several Caravanserais (hotels for travelling Silk Road merchants) that are now home to souvenir emporiums. I was glad that I had restrained myself in Tashkent on the souvenir front because several purchases were made in Khiva, including a matching trouser and waistcoat set, which was tailored to my size on the street as I waited. Ready in 10 minutes, the silk outfit only cost me 15 dollars.

Bukhara

Bukhara is a city of crafters, many of whom work on the street for passing tourists to admire. One metalworker and his son demonstrated a pair of stork-shaped scissors he’d made by cutting snowflakes out of paper. We were invited into another shop to watch a weaver producing traditional Ikat material on a complex loom that requires all four limbs to operate. 

The craft that Bukhara is most famous for, however, is miniature painting. We were lucky enough to meet Uzbekistan’s most famous miniaturist, the charismatic Toshev Davron. Regarded as one of the country’s leading cultural figures, he runs an art school on the outskirts of Bukhara, built thanks to the patronage of the Uzbek president. The school is set among sprawling vineyards and orchards, where they also hand make all their paper using mulberry bark. If you are not fortunate enough to visit the school, there are other masters at work all over the old town – including the fifth century Ark of Bukhara fortress. 

Elsewhere in Bukhara, we also visited the Ismail Samani Mausoleum, a 10th century structure which now stands in the middle of Soviet-era park, Poi Kalyan Square, a mosque complex home to the famous Kalyan Minaret, so beautiful it was spared by Genghis Khan when he ransacked the city, and the 19th century Summer Palace of the last Emir Bukhara. Today, it’s a bit shabby and rough around the edges, but this beautiful estate was built originally to host Tsar Nicholas II, who was killed by the Bolsheviks before he could visit. 

Samarkand

The final city on our week-long Uzbek adventure was Samarkand, one of the oldest cities in Uzbekistan and former capital under Amir Timur, unfairly nicknamed in western history books as Timur the Lame. We happened to visit the city as it was gearing up for its biannual Sharq Taronalari international musical festival, which meant the majestic Registan Square – perhaps the city’s most famous attraction – was mostly closed off in preparation. If you’ve only ever seen one image of Uzbekistan before, it is probably this square and its three madrassas. My favourite among them was the Sher-Dor Madrassah, which has two golden lions and sun symbols, a nod to the Zoroastrian religion that existed here before Islam. 

We travelled around the city to check out a few more historical sites, including the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum, the final resting place of Timur, and the Ulugbek Observatory, built by his grandson Ulug Bek, a ruler in his own right and pioneering 15th century astronomer. Another attraction that is well worth a visit is the Konigil Meros Paper Mill, a tranquil spot where you can see the traditional paper-making methods in action. 

The highlight of my time in Samarkand, and possibly even the trip as a whole, was a visit to a Tajik-Uzbek family home, organised by Jules Verne, where we got to see how plov, the much-loved national dish of Uzbekistan, was made. This is a simple meat and rice dish, subtly spiced with cumin and barberries, eaten both every day and on special occasions like weddings. I had ordered plov at almost every opportunity during the whole week as each city has its own way of making it. In some places they use raisins to make it sweeter, in others they separate the meat and rice in layers. 

The women of the family had set up a banquet to accompany the plov, with a selection of salads, a staple of any Uzbek meal, as well as fruit and pastries, both savoury and sweet. Uzbek family homes are arranged in a way that several generations live together, united by an open courtyard, where the family eat and relax on large outdoor day beds. We were made to feel so welcome, our hosts talked us through the plov-making process and traditions, and we were even treated to a traditional dance by the youngest daughters. Safe to say my love of plov that started years ago in a Soviet-style canteen in Kyiv continues – and I may even try making my own one day. 

Back to Tashkent

After a week of early mornings, delicious food, desert drives on bumpy roads, guided tours of mediaeval mosques, mausoleums and museums, it was time to return home. We had a quick and comfortable train ride back to Tashkent on one of their new high-speed trains, and with one brief evening left in Uzbekistan, I went to meet up with an old friend and colleague, Sevara, who is a Tashkent native, and her British partner Simon.  

It’s no surprise to Sevara that people want to visit Uzbekistan. The history, culture and cuisine speaks for itself. She only hopes that all the changes the government is making to the country to accommodate foreign tourists will not change the character of cities like Tashkent. She said: “It would be great if the country could keep its unique spirit and not turn into something like a business city – like any other city and nothing special. I hope measures will be taken to keep the history, and the culture.”

Simon added: “Uzbekistan is a very young country that is growing fast. There’s lots of possibility, there’s some dangers, but there’s all kinds of possibilities as well, and there’s a real energy for change. At the same time, you can feel a lot of tradition and culture, so it’s a very interesting place.”

Visiting Uzbekistan at such a pivotal time is fascinating. It’s only a matter of time before more people start discovering its treasures, therefore now is a perfect time to go. Getting to see the history of the Silk Road up close and personal, experiencing the culture, cuisine and beautiful national landscapes first hand is all part of the reason I wanted to go in the first place and would definitely go again. So to answer my original question: Why wouldn’t you?!

We travelled to Uzbekistan by invitation of Jules Verne. They offer two tour packages that cover Uzbekistan:

Highlights of Uzbekistan | 7 nights

Overview: Flight (1 night) – Tashkent (1 night) – Bukhara (2 nights) – Samarkand (2 nights) – Tashkent (1 night)

The Golden Road to Samarkand | 11 nights

Overview: Flight (1 night) – Tashkent (1 night) – Khiva (2 nights) – Bukhara (3 nights) – Samarkand (3 nights) – Tashkent (1 night)

More information can be found on the Jules Verne website.