Uzbekistan Off The Beaten Path

  Citadel from outside
by Nuclei
 
  • Citadel from outside
      Citadel from outside
    by Nuclei
  • Armory
      Armory
    by Nuclei
  • Historical artifacts
      Historical artifacts
    by Nuclei
  • Mud walls and hollows
      Mud walls and hollows
    by TheWanderingCamel
  • Dynasties
      Dynasties
    by TheWanderingCamel
 
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Day trip to Tajikistan

by TheWanderingCamel

70km from Samarkand, the ancient Sogdian city of Bunjikant, a once thriving and cultured city of the Silk Road, sits high above the Zerafshan River that flows from the high Pamirs, through modern Penjikent and on to Samarkand and Bukhara before finally joining the Amu Darya - the fabled Oxus of Alexander (who married a Sogdian princess), Ghengis Khan and Timur. All traces of the Sogdians disappeared when Bunjikant fell to the invading Arabs in the 8th century CE, leaving the city's baked mud walls to slowly melt into mysterious mounds covered in the grasses and wildflowers of the valley's southern slopes. 1200 years were to pass before the mud mounds began to reveal their secrets - a large city complete with citadel, Zoroastrian and Buddhist temples, Nestorian and Manichean churches, two- and three-storied houses built for rich merchants. The invaders had left the city in ruins and...

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The colour of Heaven

by TheWanderingCamel

Like virtually all the wonderful domes in Uzbekistan, those in Shahrisabz are as vivdly blue as the day they were built. Blue, the colour of water and the colour of heaven, symbolic of life on earth and paradise, is the universal choice, in every hue and shade from purest sky to almost jade green. Here in Shahrisabz, the tiles that cover the domes of the 15th century complex of mosque, madrassa and mausolea known as the Dorut Tilovat - Seat of Respect and Consideration - are clear, bright turquoise. In fact, the mosque is called the Kok Gumbaz - the Blue Mosque.The colours on glazed ceramic tiling are incredibly durable but the skills and secrets of the 15th and 16th century have been lost and the purity and clarity of the colour of the glazes coloured with natural materials cannot be replicated by modern chemicals and, sadly, salinity and other problems associated with cotton's...

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Bread and roses

by TheWanderingCamel

Delicious bread is not the only thing sold in the Shahrisabz bazaar. Gaily painted traditional cradles, a neat line in pressed and pierced tin bathroom fittings, a witch's brew of fermenting yoghurt, whole vegetables and fruit , padded coats wide enough to cover a family of four were some of the more unusual things we saw as well as the usual array of spices, nuts, fruit, honeycomb and all the other goods that a Central Asian bazaar has to offer. Not as crowded as some but, like all bazaars in Uzbekistan, this one is wonderfully untouristy, the sellers are (for the most part) friendly and welcoming without being at all pushy and you can spend a great hour or so wandering up and down the aisles of the covered bazaar, out in the open-air section and strolling along the shady main street as you make your way from the palace to the other historic buildings you have come to see here.2009...

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Temur's birthplace

by TheWanderingCamel

The small town of Shahrisabz sits at the foothills of the Zerafshan mountains about 100km from Samarkand. The shorter mountain pass route takes you over the spectacular Tashtakaracha pass but this is often closed and is unsuitable for buses so it is possible you will have to go via the longer, lowland route - a journey of some 3 hours by car. Whichever way you go, the town is well worth a visit. Once known as Kesh, and renamed Shahrisabz (Green Town) by Temur whose birthplace it was, there are several important buildings here that date from his time. Two massive towers, part of the entrance, are all that remains of the great palace he built here but their size and scale are enough to give an idea of how vast the palace must have been, and the scraps of tiling that remain speak of a splendour that must have been quite dazzling in its opulence. An enormous statue of Temur stands in what...

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Drawn in stone

by TheWanderingCamel

Mediaeval architects and masons were not the first master craftsmen to leave their mark on Uzbekistan. Thousands of years before the Silk Road was even thought or heard of in a continuum that lasted well into the early Middle Ages, the gorge at Sarmysh saw the shaley surface being used as a canvas for some astonishing works of art. Stretching over some 10 kilometres, the walls of the gorge are covered in thousands of petroglyphs of men and beasts in a parade that is remarkable both for its vitality and skilful representations of rituals and hunts as well as a veritable zoo of the animals that were to be found here. Getting here is not easy, and not something you can decide to do at the last minute. The gorge is situated some distance from the town of Navoi and as well as there being no public transport within reasonable reach, arrangements have to be made to enter the locked and...

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Stay in a yurt

by toonsarah

One of the highlights of our tour was our overnight visit to the desert area near Aidarkul Lake. I’ll describe this experience in full on my Nurata page (under construction) but I include an overview here as it may be a factor in whether you choose an organised tour or to travel independently (I’m fairly sure you could build it into an independent trip however).We left our comfortable bus at the small village of Yangigazgan (giving us a great opportunity for a close-up glimpse at village life) and rode the short distance to the camp in an old Soviet bus. We were allocated our yurts (four or five to a yurt, so you need to be prepared to share, as we did with the only other couple in our group). I would say this is medium-level camping – very basic toilet and shower facilities, but on the other hand you don’t have to erect a tent or join in the tasks around the camp. While we were there we...

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Chirchik River

by johnsakura

Chirchik River comes all the way down the Chirchik Valley passing the Charvak Water Reservoir until reaches Tashkent and keeps down southeast. Irrigation canals on the Chirchik River supply power for several hydroelectric plants. A big part of the scenery of the Valley is full of power plants and chemical facilities which give a porr image to this amazing site just a couple of hours from the capital. Right now, almost all the factories are closed to danger is no longer there and you can take bath but just aside a big factory or something. The water from the river runs from the mountains and its colour can tell its from pure spring.

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Charvak water reservoir

by johnsakura

Charvak is located in the Chirchik Valley on the surroundings of Tashkent. This is exactly located where the 2 rivers Ugam and Chirchik get together. This is a very relaxing place although I have to say the surounding landscape isnt that inspiring due to the nearest moribund chemical factory... either the way it makes a perfect day out escapnig the great turbulence and agitation of the capital Tashkent.

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Old town-Bukhara

by johnsakura

You should go out of the normal streets of Bukhara and enjoy the old part of it, far from big monuments close to streets often used by tourists. This sould be a different aproach of the city's architecture and youl have a whole different view of the building and how do local people live.

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Memorial Complex of Hazrat Bakhouddin Nakshband

by johnsakura

This memorial complex is located 12km from Bukhara. This is a non-Muslims off limit zone unless you can actually get a guide. This way you can easily go inside but not to all the different buildings.Bakhouddin Nakshband was buried here in 1389. He was the ofunder of "Nakshbandis" studies and revived again sunats of Muammad s.a.w.

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Unique Places in Uzbekistan

Top 3 Hotels in Uzbekistan

Lyabi-House Hotel  Bukhara

 5 Reviews and 16 Opinions  This is where we thought we were staying on our first visit to Bukhara - a charmingly restored old... 

 Hotels in Bukhara

Best Eastern Orient Star  Samarkand

 4 Opinions

 Hotels in Samarkand

InterContinental Tashkent  Tashkent

 2 Reviews and 68 Opinions  As I know, the InterContinental Hotel is less that Europian standart, but it really good one. There... 

 Hotels in Tashkent

31 Hotels in Uzbekistan
 
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Reviews and photos of Uzbekistan attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Uzbekistan sightseeing.

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Off The Beaten Path: Cities in Uzbekistan
  1. Tashkent Off The Beaten Path
  2. Samarkand Off The Beaten Path
  3. Bukhara Off The Beaten Path
  4. Khiva Off The Beaten Path
  5. Nurata Off The Beaten Path
  6. Shahrisabz Off The Beaten Path
  7. Qarshi Off The Beaten Path
  8. Termiz Off The Beaten Path

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Questions and Answers

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Q:  Myself and my wife are considering combining Uzbekistan and Kyrgystan in a two week plus trip in the summer of 2012. We are well... 

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A: It would help if you had more info, as opposed to none, in your profile, so that we would know your country of residence. However, I hazard a guess that it is Canada? ... 

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