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Uzbekistan Travel Blogs

Russia conquered Uzbekistan in the late 19th century. Stiff resistance to the Red Army after World War I was eventually suppressed and a socialist republic set up in 1924. During the Soviet era, intensive production of "white gold" (cotton) and grain led to overuse of agrochemicals and the depletion of water supplies, which have left the land poisoned and the Aral Sea and certain rivers half dry. Independent since 1991, the country seeks to gradually lessen its dependence on agriculture while developing its mineral and petroleum reserves. Current concerns include terrorism by Islamic militants, economic stagnation, and the curtailment of human rights and democratization.To be updated

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By Ben Jones
February 2nd 2009

Badger Stew and Pepski: A Toast to the World's Newest Nation Asia » Uzbekistan » The Kingdom of Tatarwalistan » Bolgalvret

Tatarwalistan Badger kebabs

The Global Financial Crisis was dominating the news as I left for Central Asia in January, so it isn't surprising that not many column inches were given to the birth of a new country. But an old university friend from Uzbekistan emailed me the news that the province of Tatarwalistan had separated from Tashkent, and invited me to take part in the month of celebration that followed its independence. I adjusted my itinerary and made it the first leg of my Silk Route trip. A valid Uzbek visa was all that was needed to allow me to go to Tatarwalistan, but [View Full Entry]

By Ben Jones
January 30th 2009

Safely arrived in Uzbekistan Asia » Uzbekistan » Tashkent

Just a short note as my time in the internet cafe is running out. I arrived safely in Tashkent this morning and found my hotel (after getting lost several times). Tomorrow I set off for Timur's house in Tatarwalistan, where the adventure will really begin. [View Full Entry]

By meghanvesey
October 4th 2008

Strolling through the Stans... Asia » Uzbekistan

Hello! Minor Internet difficulties have kept us from updating our blog.... But, here we are in Tehran with a reasonable computer and Internet connection! Here's what we have been up to since Kyrgyzstan: Uzbekistan Farghana Tashkent Samarkand Yurt Camp Bukhara Khiva We really enjoyed Uzbekistan. All of the monuments (mosques, madrasases etc) were all covered in beautiful blue tiles. Meghan, especially, loved every second! Uzbekistan could not be captured on a postcard and Kwesi's [View Full Entry]

By TomandLucy
September 29th 2008

On the Old Silk Road, Bukhara & Samarkand Asia » Uzbekistan » Bukhara

Hats for Sale

After an afternoon of waiting patiently for our passports at the Kazakh embassy we dashed across Tashkent and booked ourselves on the next train west, the night train to Bukhara. The bar was full of drunk russians, with the police keeping a tight watch on all passengers(particularly the man who fell asleep on the table!) Bukhara is the an old spiritual city, once very important on the Old Silk Road until the 16th Century. We spent our time wandering through the charming old town, with its winding roads and old bazaars and mosques. The Kalon Minaret and mosque was spectacular, although [View Full Entry]

By michaelpaddo
September 27th 2008

Silk Road Shenanigans: Fun & Games in Uzbekistan Asia » Uzbekistan » Bukhara

Ulugbek Medressa in the very early morning

“He follows us for long time now”, M whispered nervously, eyes flickering over the crowd around us. “Very bad man. You know CNG?” Not personally so far, thankfully, but I’d heard a bit about them. The Uzbek branch of the KGB, which had apparently survived more or less intact after the collapse of the Soviet Union. While they don’t inspire quite the same level of fear as back in their Soviet heyday, these are still not guys you want to exchange pleasantries with if you can avoid it. Keeping her head down, and barely looking at me at all, M outlined [View Full Entry]

Mir-i-Arab Medressa in the early morning

By TomandLucy
September 24th 2008

The Tashkent Games Asia » Uzbekistan » Tashkent

Sunset around Parliment

We arrived into Tashkent after a pretty hectic day crossing the Kazakh/Uzbek border by foot. The border gaurds were seemingly pleasant on the outside, laughing and joking with us but were less amused when they looked through my bag for "guns and "narcotics"( or more likely some petty cash which they could pilfer for their own added tax) and all they found were postcards of Nantwich and Newark. I proceeded to tell them these were pictures our home towns and they could keep them as a gift if they liked, a momento of our impromtu meeting, unsurprisingly they didn't keep them [View Full Entry]

By kirstent
September 22nd 2008

Bukhara Asia » Uzbekistan

Carpets in the Ark

We are now in Bukhara.... another awesome place in Uzbekistan. We had city tour yesterday and cruised around the sites. Visited the Ismail Samanid Mausoleum a 10th C Mausoleum for Ismail Samani who both the Uzbeks and the Turkmen hold in high esteem as hereos of their country. The terracotta brickwork has features from Zorastrian, Buddhism as well as Islam. The Turkmen want to relocate the tomb to Ashgabat. . . according to our Uzbek guide! The tomb was buried under sand to protect it from the Mongols and later the Russians. We also visited the Ark = 5th C to [View Full Entry]

By kirstent
September 20th 2008

Holy Fish! Asia » Uzbekistan » Bukhara

Holy Fish

We had a free day in Samarkand - it was a bit of a lazy day for me . The next morning we headed out on our way to Bukhara. We had a Yurt stay planned and then a visit to Nurota and the Holy Fish! The Yurt stay was quite surreal. Most Yurts/Gers we have come across in the past were in the middle of nomad pastures … this one was smack bang in the Uzbek desert. After around 6hrs of driving on main roads we left the bitumen and headed along desert tracks. It was flat boring desert but [View Full Entry]

By kirstent
September 17th 2008

In the middle of the middle of the world Asia » Uzbekistan » Samarkand

Dave and I sitting on Tamerlane's knee

b]After Tashkent we travelled to Samarkand . The actual countryside in Uzbekstan is quite boring - lots of cotton fields and not much else. The irrigation of the cotton is putting pressure on the water supply in rural Uzbekistan and they are also going through a long drought. The extra problem for the Uzbekis is that it is a country rich in natural gas but the source of the major waterways is in the neighbouring countries. Back to the journey - we had a 6hr drive from Tashken to Samarkand. We arrived in Samarkand late in the afternoon and got our [View Full Entry]

By kirstent
September 15th 2008

Just watching a Lada flip in Tashkent Asia » Uzbekistan » Tashkent

After Arslanbob we headed to Osh. We had time there to have a look around. We went up King Soloman's mountain and just generally took in the city. Osh is Kyrgyzstan's second largest city. It was a lot prettier than Bishkek and I enjoyed kicking around. The weather also has turned warm again as we are starting to head towards Uzbekistan. The border crossing was relatively pain free - it was only about 2hrs ... which was a lot better than the Chinese border. We made our way into Fergana for one night and now we are in the capital of [View Full Entry]

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