Uzbekistan is the heart of Central Asia and where all major branches of the Silk Road have intersected over 1,500 years. Civilizations have emerged from here and then virtually disappeared, while some have maintained their striking Islamic architecture, highlighted by dazzling turquoise-tiled domes, minarets and arches.
About 80% of the country is desert or semi-arid, although some is irrigated for farming. The remaining 20% consists of a few lush valleys, mountains and cities. The latter is often situated either on river deltas and oases or at the base of mountains.
The Uzbeks are renowned for their hospitality. The common greeting of Assalamu Alaikum (peace be upon you) is not just a custom but reflective of the cultural respect of family, friends and strangers.
Traveling through the country is an unique experience of marveling at beautiful edifices, learning about a storied past and meeting welcoming local people.
Be sure to see the Uzbekistan Photo Gallery associated with this post.
Why Did We Go to Uzbekistan?
My wife Khadija and I had finally secured visas for Turkmenistan, at that time a difficult process, and while arranging to go there, we realized we could include Uzbekistan. We made it there in September 2023 after visiting Tajikistan. In May 2024, we also visited Tashkent and the Fergana Valley while attending a NomadMania conference.
My first trip was in 1999, when relatively few tourists visited. See my photo gallery from then, which includes this early morning photo of the Registan in Samarkand.
This was a new country for Khadija, #131, as she states with authority and humor in front of the Registan.
Where is Uzbekistan?
Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. In fact, it’s one of the two double-landlocked countries in the world (all surrounding countries are also landlocked), the other being Liechtenstein. It lies between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. It’s slightly larger than California and almost exactly the same area as Sweden.
While its shape looks like an eastward, leaping cat (albeit with a stunted head), the official national animal of Uzbekistan is the small Turkestan sand cat.
How Long to Spend in Uzbekistan?
From Samarkand to Kiva/Nukas/Aral Sea, we spent a week. We stayed six days in Tashkent and the Fergana Valley. To see all parts of the country and the most notable attractions, it would take at least four weeks.
When is the Best Time to Visit Uzbekistan?
The typical advice is to visit Uzbekistan in the spring (April to May) or autumn (September to October). For the winter, it can be freezing cold and not all hotels are open but has the advantage of many fewer tourists. In the summer, it’s very hot.
How to Get Around Uzbekistan?
Probably the easiest and cost-efficient way to travel is taking Oʻzbekiston Temir Yoʻllari (Uzbekistan Railways) cross country and taking taxis locally. However, for some destinations, it’s important to buy tickets on its app weeks ahead of time so to be sure to have a seat. When we traveled overnight from Bukhara to Nukas, we reserved our own cabin. When traveling during the day, we shared a cabin with others. We traveled between Tashkent and Margilan in the Fergana Valley with Uzbek passengers Nick, a college math student in Cincinnati and Gayabdulla, a 72-year-old, former university wrestling coach.
We were required by the government to use a tour company to travel in Turkmenistan. We also used them for Samarkand to Khiva. It made our trip easier but for us it wasn’t necessary. There’s a lot of information online about the attractions and it’s easy to find local guides (if you want them) in major tourist places. There are also free walking tours or inexpensive ones, such as the one we took in the center of Tashkent.
In Tashkent, we took the metro which was easy to navigate and buses which weren’t so easy but fun.
Renting a car is an option, but most of the country is desert or farmland, so not many do this. For remote areas, it might be best to hire a driver with a car, depending on your budget.
Of note, perhaps a majority of cars in the country are white Chevrolets. Almost all of the cars are made by UzAuto, a government monopoly, which has arrangements with several auto manufacturers but about 80% of its production are Chevys. They are white, as most cars in the country, because this color best reflects the searing heat in the summer.
Here’s a map of the attractions in the country.
Our first trip in 2023 was #1 to #5, the other visit in 2025 was #6 to #11. The rest are locales we haven’t been to.
What are the Ethnic Groups and Religions of Uzbekistan
There are around 130 ethnic groups in the country, with Uzbeks constituting about 85% of the population. The rest of the groups are almost all Turkic, as are the Uzbeks, except Tajiks (an eastern Iranian group) who are about 5% and Slavs (Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian) perhaps 3%
There are a few Bukhara Jews left, who have lived in current-day Uzbekistan and Tajikistan for over 2500 years but most have migrated, mostly to Israel and the U.S. My barber in Manhattan is Jewish and born in Uzbekistan but grew up in New York City.
Uzbekistan’s constitution guarantees religious freedom for its diverse ethnic groups and the country is proud of its diversity. The government promotes this philosophy, as indicated in this sign in the Samarkand Museum of Peoples’ Friendship and Religious Tolerance
While the country is over 90% Sunni Muslim, the authorities strictly regulate religious organizations, especially certain mosques and madrasahs. No doubt this is done to ensure religious leaders do not venture into overt politics.
What Languages Are Spoken in Uzbekistan?
Uzbek is the sole official state language of Uzbekistan. It’s a Turkic language spoken by roughly 85% of the population. The country started using Latin letters in the 1990s but many signs are in Cyrillic as older people are more comfortable with it.
Russian is often used between ethnic groups and for business and academic purposes.
Other Turkic languages include Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen and Tatar, while Tajik is spoken by Tajiks.
Is Uzbekistan Safe?
Uzbekistan is a safe country where we were able to walk in the cities at night without hesitation. However, like everywhere a visitor should use common sense especially in deserted places in off hours.
Is Uzbekistan Expensive?
Uzbekistan is an affordable country, especially in local restaurants and with taxis and public transportation, perhaps one-third of the cost of visiting New York City.
The som (or sum, ISO code: UZS) is the official currency of Uzbekistan which replaced the ruble in 1994.
ATMs are widespread across major cities and tourist spots, much less so elsewhere.
What to Eat in Uzbekistan?
The most popular dishes in Uzbekistan center around a few core ingredients: beef, lamb, rice, onions and wheat flour.
Plov is the undisputed national dish. It is a rice dish cooked in a cast-iron pot with meat, onions, carrots, and spices like cumin, coriander, and black pepper.
Samsa is a flaky, savory pastry with meat or vegetables, similar to a South Asian samosa or Central American empanada, but baked vertically against the clay walls of a traditional tandoor oven.
Shashlik is skewered meat grilled over hot coals.
What we remember the most is the food was always fresh and served with tea.
Where to Stay in Uzbekistan?
In the large cities, there are heritage boutique hotels and modern international ones. We stayed in more modest ones which were comfortable and a good value but not memorable. There is a wide selection on Booking.com and Hotel.com.
What are Important Events in Uzbekistan’s History?
Knowing some of the country’s long history is quite helpful when visiting, especially in historic cities such as Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva. Some of Uzbekistan’s history is shared with neighboring countries, especially current-day Tajikistan, as these countries didn’t exist until the Soviets made them Republics.
Over 3,000 years ago, Uzbekistan was one of the crossroads of the Silk Road branches. The region was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire, followed by Alexander the Great in 329 BC. Many city states became wealthy by trading with China, India and the Mediterranean.
In the early 8th century, Arab armies conquered Central Asia and eventually the region became an intellectual powerhouse in medicine, mathematics, astronomy and other fields. In the 14th century, Timur built an immense empire spanning from Turkey to India. He made Samarkand his capital and built the iconic blue-tiled, monumental Islamic architecture that tourists go gaga over, as shown in this photo of the Shaki Zinda complex.
Persian was the most widely spoken language in Samarkand. However, Timur, the ruling elite and the military spoke Chagatai, an extinct Turkic language and a predecessor of modern Uzbek.
In the early 1600s, nomadic Turkic tribes from the northern steppes moved south and integrated with the settled populations and Uzbek became the dominant language and identity. The region evolved into several city states including Bukhara, Khiva and Kokand. During the 19th-century “Great Game”, a struggle between Britain and Russia, the latter captured Tashkent and forced the Uzbek city states into submission.
Following the Bolshevik Revolution, the Red Army overthrew the remaining nominally independent rulers and created the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR) with Tashkent as its capital. The now-named Soviet Union diverted the rivers feeding the Aral Sea to irrigate cotton fields, drying up the sea almost entirely. Now where the lake is desert, there are sunken ships which sit in the sand.
When the Soviet Union collapsed, Uzbekistan declared independence in 1991. Islam Karimov, the former Soviet communist boss, became president and ruled with an iron fist for 25 years and kept the country isolated. Following Karimov’s death in 2016, Shavkat Mirziyoyev became president and made many reforms which have paid off economically, including privatizing state industries, floating the currency, allowing the textile industry to export to Western countries, simplifying the tax system and encouraging tourism with visa-free entry for 90+ countries.
Samarkand
The legendary Timur (1336 to 1405), military genius and ruthless general, built the numerous monuments and mosques in Samarkand. They still enthrall visitors by their architectural splendor, mammoth size and the sheer number of them.
When I first visited in 1999, there were few tourists and I saw none that weren’t speaking Russian. Returning in 2023 was quite a shock. On any given day you could hear English, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Arabic, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin and more. There were so many tourists from so many countries that it reminded me of the hoards in Europe during the summer.
Registan
This is the heart of Samarkand and its name means “sandy place” or “desert” in Persian.
Registan is a public square framed by three madrasahs (Islamic schools) of distinctive Central Asia / Persian architectural style of turquoise and azure tiles, monumental arched entrances, giant ribbed domes, masterful mosaics, geometric patterns, and Islamic calligraphy.
This basic architectural formula is applied throughout the city.
Ulugh Beg Observatory and Museum
The eponymous Ulugh Beg Observatory in Samarkand was built in the 1420s by the groundbreaking astronomer, grandson of Timur. He was ousted and killed by his son who then destroyed the observatory with only the ruins rediscovered in 1908.
The observatory primarily used a huge, stone meridian arc (aka sextant) to measure the distance of over 1,000 celestial objects in the sky. The astronomers calculated the height of the star in the sky by identifying where light from it fell on the arc.
The beams of light from objects in the sky would enter through a small window and reflect on the calibrated arc.
The accuracy of the measurements was astonishing. In fact, the astronomers were able to measure the duration of the year, as shown in a display in the adjacent museum.
To calculate the length of the year, Samarkand astronomers in the 15th century knew the world was round and the size of the earth.
This is not relevant to this post, but it’s a myth that most Europeans thought the world was flat before Columbus sailed in 1492. Rather there were different estimates of how big the world was, as at a certain point a ship couldn’t sail with enough food to reach Asia. Columbus thought it was much smaller but was saved by land mass he unexpectedly encountered.
Between the 8th and 15th centuries, Islamic scholars advanced global science by pioneering empirical research and the modern scientific method. They revolutionized fields like mathematics by founding algebra, medicine through foundational textbooks, and optics by proving how light travels. This immense body of knowledge was preserved and translated, ultimately laying vital groundwork for the European Renaissance.
The museum displays explain common astrometric procedures and provides profiles on prior astronomers in other eras and civilizations.
Mausoleum of Daniel
An unexpected discovery in Samarkand was a mausoleum of Daniel, of the “lion den” fame.
He is revered in world religions under different names. Muslims call him Daniyar, the Jews Dānīyyēʾl, and the Christians Daniel.
According to legend, Timur unsuccessfully tried to conquer Syria for many years, but was unsuccessful. One of his ministers suggested the remains of Daniel were there and protected them. Timur sent his army back to Syria, and after a fierce fight, was able to take some of his remains back to Uzbekistan and place them inside an unusually long tomb, extending 18m / 60m.
Various locations in Iran, Iraq, Turkey and Morocco claim to have the tomb of Daniel but the one in Susa, Iran is the most widely accepted site.
Gur-e-Amir
Timur is buried in Gur-e-Amir (Persian for “Tomb of the King”), a magnificent mausoleum.
Timur had planned to be laid to rest in his hometown of Shahrisabz, south of Samarkand. However, he died unexpectedly during a campaign to invade China and the mountain passes to Shahrisabz were blocked by the snow of a brutal winter. It was decided that he should be placed in this complex built for his grandson and heir-apparent, Muhammad Sultan. Muhammad died from battle injuries about two years before Timur and his tomb is in front of his grandfather’s.
In the complex, was a display of the descendants of Timur, which included the Mughals, an Islamic dynasty that ruled over most modern-day India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan from 1526 until the mid-19th century.
Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur, who founded the Mughal Empire in 1526, was Timur’s great-great-great-grandson. The Mughals were from the Chagatai Turkish tribe and spoke a Turkic language but adopted Persian culture. They used the Persian language as the exclusive language for all royal decrees and legal proceedings. As generations passed, the emperors became thoroughly Indianized and became fluent in Hindustani (the local language of the Delhi region) and eventually developed Urdu.
Mausoleum in the Shah-i-Zinda
This complex of mausoleums and other ritual buildings were built over 800 years (11th to 19th centuries). It now includes more than twenty buildings with a walkway through the middle.
The name translates to “The Living King,” stemming from a 7th-century legend about a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, who is believed to be buried somewhere here.
Afrasiab Cemetery
When I first visited Uzbekistan in 1999, it was the first time I saw engraved, photo-realistic images of the deceased on tombstones. This practice originated in the former Soviet Union and has since spread worldwide.
Afrasiab Cemetery is a good choice to see a panoply of engraved tombs, as it is large and adjacent to Shah-i-Zinda. It has a Muslim Sector and the Bukharan Jewish Cemetery.
The portraits on tombstones were initially created by manual hand-etching using diamond-tipped needles. The resident engravers showed us how they now employ automated scanning technology which was developed in the late 20th Century.
Russian Quarter
This neighborhood is also known as the European Town and the buildings were constructed after Russia captured Samarkand in 1868. The streets are wide and tree-lined, the parks green and pleasant and colonial buildings are brick and in classical and other styles.
A visitor here should definitely take a stroll on Lenin Pathway and explore the interior of the Church of St. Alexius Metropolitan of Moscow.
El Merosi Theatre
We watched dance performances at El Merosi Theatre in Samarkand with great interest and enjoyment, as they were in the styles of a number of Central Asian historical civilizations.
While traditional, the recorded music had modern electronic flourishes and the costumes were beautiful and elegant. Also, the theatre has an excellent café with specialty coffees.
Other Attractions
We went to the following places, all which I recommend if you have time:
- Bibi-Khanym Mosque and the adjacent Siab Market
- Hazrat Khizr Mosque and Mausoleum of Islam Karimov
- Seated Statue of Amir Temur
- Boqiy Shahar Ethnographic Park (aka Eternal City Shopping Complex)
- Friendship of People and Religious Tolerance Museum
There are plenty more places we didn’t see but we gained a good feel for this magnificent city. However, visitors should be sure to chat with locals who don’t mind taking photos with tourists.
Bukhara
Bukhara is 140 miles / 225 km west of Samarkand and was founded sometime between 400 BC & 100 AD. It was conquered by Timur in 1370 but his successors built the historic center (unlike Samarkand). In the mid-1500s it became known as the khanate of Bukhara. The absolute highlight is the well preserved, walkable Old Town which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
We took a high-speed train from Samarkand to Bukhara, taking almost two hours.
Ark of Bukhara
This is a fortress with incredibly thick walls, initially built in the 5th century AD.
Despite its stoutness, it wasn’t impenetrable. Genghis Khan in 1220 was able to ransack the fortress.
The Ark held military forces, homes, commercial establishments and the royal court. It was overrun by Russia in 1920 and now has museums / historical rooms. As a bibliophile, I noticed the 125-year-old copy of Thousand and One Arabian Nights in the collection.
Kalayn Mosque
This is one of the oldest mosques in Central Asia and can accommodate 10,000 worshipers.
It’s part of the complex of Po-i-Kalyan (Persian for “At the Foot of the Great One”) which also includes Kalyan Minaret and Mir-i-Arab Madrasah.
Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa Palace
Located four kilometers north of the city center, this was the summer palace of the last Emir of Bukhara, Mir Sayyid Muhammad Alim Khan. The name Sitorai Mokhi-Khosa translates from Persian as “Palace of Moon-like Stars”. The palace built on the site was dedicated by a former Emir to his beloved wife, whose astonishing beauty he compared to a star in the night.
Built in the early 20th century, it’s famous for fusing European architecture with traditional Central Asian motifs.
It was designed by Russian architects except for the interior mirror rooms which were crafted by local Uzbek masters.
Ismail Samani Mausoleum
Located in Samani Park, this is Bukhara’s oldest Muslim monument.
It’s globally renowned for its masterful, intricate baked-brick geometric patterns that shine differently in the shifting sun.
Chor Minor
Chor Minor is a historic gatehouse for a now-destroyed madrasah.
The name unsurprisingly means “four minarets.”
Nasruddin Statue
This Don Quixote-like figure is said to have once lived in Bukhara and was famous all along the Silk Road.
His tales combine seeming foolishness with a twist that conveys a wise message. Rubbing the statue is said to bring good luck.
Trading Domes
Built in the 16th century, this building protected the bazaar merchants from the desert heat by building thick walls to keep the heat out, vents in the domes for ventilation and avoiding a flat roof which absorbs more direct heat. Under each dome is a separate market, such as one offering fresh vegetables and fruits.
Other Notable Places
Other places we saw, all worth visiting:
- Bolo Haouz Mosque with 20 intricately carved wooden pillars, across from the Ark of Bukhara
- The Iman Al Bukhari Museum with a modern design was established in 2001, commemorating the Iman who wrote “Al-Jome as Sahih” after studying more than 600,000 hadiths (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad).
- Magoki Attori Mosque and Carpet Museum
- Uzbek Puppet Workshop and Museum
- Old Jewish House And Gallery
- Water Museum in the Chashma-Ayub Mausoleum
- Bukhara Water Tower, a steel-latticed industrial water tower built during the USSR era, now defunct.
- The Lyabi-Hauz Ensemble is a historic public square in Bukhara centered around a peaceful 17th-century pool
- Stores selling Soviet medals
Nukus Museum of Art
We took an overnight train which was reasonably comfortable from Bukhara to Nukas, the capital of the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan,
Karakalpaks, who are closer to Kazakhs, have facial features and traditional clothes that are different from the majority of Uzbeks. They come from a more nomadic culture, while Uzbeks have traditionally been more settled.
We came here for one reason: to see the fantastic Nukus Museum of Art. It possesses the world’s second largest collection of Russian avant-garde art, next to the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. Russian avant-garde refers to a large, influential wave of artists that flourished in the Russian Empire / USSR from around 1890 to 1930, including works from Central Asia.
The museum was established in 1966 by art secretly collected by artist and eventual curator Igor Savitsky. The Soviets wanted the work destroyed but he cleverly saved it. It was not until after his death in 1984 that his collection was put on display.
I’ve studied art history for decades but was not aware of this incredible collection until recently. It was like stepping into an alternative universe.
This is an example of “degenerate” art which caused many of the artists to be purged by Stalin because their work clashed with Soviet policies and propaganda.
Some (but certainly not all) of the work was influenced by the styles of the time, including cubism, surrealism, primitivism and expressionism. For more images of the art, go to the October 13, 2023 post of Exploring Ed Travel on Instagram.
Aral Sea
From Nukus, we drove north and first stopped at the interesting Mizdahkan Cemetery.
The Aral Sea is one of humanity’s worst environmental disasters. Formerly the fourth largest lake (after the Caspian Sea which is a lake, Lake Superior and Victoria Lake), before it began shrinking in the 1960s after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation, particularly for cotton. Now it’s less than 10% of its original size, splitting into four lakes.
We drove from Mizdahkan to the city of Muynak. It once had a prosperous fishing industry but now mass unemployment reigns. The Aral Sea here is only a desert now.
There were about 300 vessels on the former seabed, almost all were abandoned and scrapped. Near Muynak, about fifteen ships were gathered in one spot in the euphemistically named “Open Air Museum Complex of Ships.” Sounds better than a graveyard.
On the Kazakh-Uzbek border, is the former island of Vozrozhdeniya which had a vibrant fishing village of 1,500 people. It also had a secret Soviet research station experimenting with anthrax, smallpox and the plague, all of which have seeped into the desert sands to varying degrees along with deadly pesticides. This toxic mix has caused the rate of infants being born with abnormalities being five times higher than in European countries.
Khiva
We rolled into Khiva in the late afternoon and walked through the walled, 1500-year-old historic part of the city at night. While it has the appearance of a museum, it’s inhabited by many families who have owned their homes for generations.
Khiva was established around 1500 years ago by Aryans who spoke an Iranian language called Khwarezmian. After the Turks became rulers in the 900s, eventually the population spoke a Turkish language. Russia annexed the Khanate of Khiva in the 1800s but allowed a great deal of autonomy. The last khan was deposed in 1919 by the newly empowered Soviets.
Itchan Kala
The amazingly intact and restored walled old town named Itchan Kala has so many of the seven M’s: (mosques, madrasahs, minarets, mausoleums, monuments, museums and markets) that it was Uzbekistan’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Kalta Minor
The highlight for me was Kalta Minor, an unfinished minaret. It was commissioned in 1851 by the Khan of Khiva and planned to be over 70 m / 230 ft. However, he died in 1855 and afterwards construction stopped at “only” 29 m / 95 ft tall.
Besides the massive size and wide proportions, it’s a marvel of mostly blue-green tiles, geometric patterns and Arabic calligraphy.
People of Khiva
As we were soon leaving the country, we made an extra effort to meet more Uzbeks.
We became friendly with our driver to Nukus, Behruz, and he invited us to dinner with his family when we returned to Khiva in his home in Itchan Kala.
While walking through the old town, we saw and met many people, including these children playing football / soccer.
A number of tourists are Uzbeks, such as this man with a white beard.
Other Notable Places
We saw so many attractions; I could not include them all in this post but here are some.
- Islam Khodja Minaret, standing at 57m / 187 ft tall
- Kuhna Ark / Old Citadel
- Juma Mosque, peaceful and intimate with incredible woodwork
- Muhammad Amin Khan Madrasah, once the largest in Central Asia
- Tomb of Sayid Allauddin, One of the oldest surviving structures in the city
- Anushakhan Baths
- Chilpik Dakhma / Zoroastrian Tower of Silence, two and half-hour drive north
Tashkent
We returned in May 2025 to Uzbekistan. We started in the capital Tashkent and had just one day to wander around.
Tashkent has a population of a little over three million, making it the most populous city in Central Asia. Tashkent remains less popular than the famous Silk Road cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva because it functions primarily as a modernized, industrial capital rather than an open-air heritage site. An earthquake in 1966 leveled much of Tashkent’s historic core, leading the Soviet government to rebuild it with wide boulevards, public parks, and concrete structures.
Amir Timur Statue
The Amir Timur Statue stands on the site where there once was a statue of Marx, which in turn replaced one of Stalin.
As mentioned before, Timur was the founder of the Timurid Empire which included large parts of Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia. He was one of the greatest military leaders in history but also incredibly brutal and merciless. He was also a great patron of art and architecture. He shared a common ancestor with Genghis Khan on his father’s side and one of his descendants was Babar, founder of the Mughal Empire.
Kosmonavtlar
The Tashkent Metro is globally renowned as a masterpiece of metro systems, noted for several pioneering, structural, and artistic achievements.
Kosmonavtlar, which honors Soviet Cosmonauts, is my favorite station in the system.
The Soviets were a leader in early space exploration with many “firsts” including launching a satellite (Sputnik), an animal in orbit (Laika the dog) and a human in orbit (Yuri Gagarin).
Other stations worth visiting are Alisher Navoi (Mosque Station), Paxtakor (Mosaic Station) and Mustaqillik Maydoni (Marble Palace).
Photography was once forbidden in the Metro but is now permitted.
Other Notable Places
Other attractions; we walked by the first three:
- Hotel Uzbekistan, opened in 1974, a good example of Soviet architecture from that era.
- Tashkent Congress Hall, opened in 2019 and has a geometric and quite modern style
- State Museum of the History of Uzbekistan, open in 1970, a shining example of Soviet Modernist architecture
- Hazrati Imam complex pssessing a 7th-century Koran, widely considered the oldest surviving one in the world.
- Chorsu Bazaar which houses an array of markets
Fergana Valley
The Fergana Valley, in the most eastern part of Uzbekistan, is situated between the Tian Shan and Alay mountain ranges. While most of the rest of the country is arid and sandy, this is a lush region and fertile basin. It’s known as the breadbasket of Central Asia. About eleven million live here, which is over a quarter of the country’s population.
The region has been periodically restricted to travelers, especially from 1999 to 2016 under the Karimov government. However, it’s now open to tourism but relatively few from outside the country go there, which makes it appealing to travel in.
From Tashkent, we took the 5:50am train to Margilan in the Fergana Valley. It left an hour late (apparently not common) and was a five hour journey. We stayed in the city of Fergana while attending a NomadMania conference.
Fergana City
Fergana City is relatively young. It was founded in 1876 as a Russian imperial military outpost called New Margilan.
Akhmad Al-Fergani is a sizable public park with numerous plane and oak trees. Next to an amusement park, there’s a bronze statue of 9th-century astronomer Al-Fergani.
The Fergana Regional Museum of History and Culture is of a modest size but holds a collection of over 80,000 artifacts reflecting the many cultures who lived and passed through the Fergana Valley. This topographical map of the Fergana Valley helped me understand the geography of the region.
Margilan
Margilan is known as Uzbekistan’s epicenter for traditional silk production and excels in other handicrafts.
We visited the Margilan Crafts Development Center, located inside the Said Akhmad-Khoja Madrasah. The school converted 26 student rooms into artist workshops.
Andijan City
Andijan is one of the oldest cities and most eastern one in the Fergana Valley and historically has been a gateway of trading to Kashgar, a Uighur city that today is part of China.
The Zahiriddin Muhammad Babur Memorial Museum is located on Bogishamol Hill, outside of the city Andijan. Babur was the founder of the Mughal Empire and born in Andijan City. The complex’s architectural highlight is a stunning, symbolic tomb with soil from Agra and Kabul, rare manuscripts, miniatures, and artifacts detailing the Baburid dynasty (1526 to 1807).
The Jami Complex was built between 1883 and 1890 and its prodigious mudbrick and wood structures survived the devastating 1902 earthquake. It has a large madrasah, a mosque with an intricately carved wood ceiling and white plastered walls, and a towering minaret that is 32 m / 105 ft high.
Sunday and Thursdays are the busiest days for the Jahon bazaar which offers fresh food, textiles and general merchandise. On the outer fringes are blacksmiths, knife makers and carpenters.
Close to the city is the Andijan which stretches 1,900 m / 1.2 mi in length. The facility is not open to visitors but it’s still impressive to see. The reservoir’s sovereignty was disputed between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan but a treaty signed in 2022 formally transferred the territory entirely to Uzbekistan. In exchange, Kyrgyzstan received mainly agricultural land elsewhere along the border.
Kokand
From 1709 to 1876, this city served as the capital of the powerful Kokand Khanate, which became a Islamic cultural center with over 300 mosques. The independent state collapsed following its annexation by Russia.
The Khudayar Khan Palace is an expansive fortress with multicolored tiles and a history museum.
Of note, some fortresses are called an ark, but Kokand is an urda. An ark is a heavily fortified citadel-town designed to withstand long military sieges. An urda is a ground-level, walled complex featuring architectural opulence and royal quarters.
Rishtan
This city is the “Ceramics Capital” of Central Asia, having produced it for over a thousand years. We went to the International Ceramics Center, a two-floor building with a courtyard that is packed with ceramics on the walls, tables, floors and anywhere else where space was available.
As we have so many items bought while traveling, we hardly buy anything anymore on our trips. However, we couldn’t resist buying these bird and floral coasters.
NomadMania Conference
Every year or two NomadMania has a conference which discusses topics important to extreme travelers. The theme of the conference was fixers (local travel experts and guides) and the participants debated whether it is better to travel with or without them. The question of whether reputable agencies are better than fixers was also addressed.
NomadMania has over 50,000 members and divides the world into 1381 regions as travel destinations. It’s full of information on each one and has member recommendations on guides and drivers. Signup is free which gives access to tips about world travel.
This was the second time we attended a NomadMania conference and we were happy to meet many of our friends in the extreme travel community.
Final Thoughts
Uzbekistanis, as most Central Asians, are generally happy to meet visitors, part of their culture of hospitality. We found this true everywhere we went in the country with all ages.
However, women particularly liked meeting Khadija and having photos taken with her. Perhaps it was because she was different from many of the visitors.
Or maybe it was her warm personality and big smile.
In any case, because of the people, architecture and history (just to name a few factors), we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Uzbekistan and are eagerly looking forward to returning and exploring other parts of the country!
