3 historic cities of Uzbekistan in 10 days

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Hello!

Today I take you with me to Central Asia to discover the 3 famous historic cities of Uzbekistan: Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand. Follow me during 10 days on the Silk Road!

Khiva

I flew from Europe to Uzbekistan via Dubai and I landed in the capital of Uzbekistan: Tashkent. The next day, I took a domestic flight from Tashkent to Urgench and finally a taxi for the last 40km between the airport and Khiva.

The historic part of Khiva is called Itchan Kala and it's encircled by high and thick fortification walls. The Inner city is quite small, but it's really interesting with many beautiful monuments to visit. What I liked about Khiva is that it's much less touristic than Bukhara and Samarkand. You can wander in the city at your own pace and it's very quiet. Kalta minor is the highlight of Khiva. It is a beautiful large blue tower which is actually an uncompleted minaret. In Khiva, I stayed in a small guesthouse called Meros B&B. It's quite simple but owner is very friendly and it's located inside the inner city so it's very convenient.

Bukhara

It takes one full day to drive from Khiva to Bukhara and it's worth visiting the ancient desert castles (Khorezm fortresses) on the way. You can easily arrange a taxi from Khiva. In my case, it asked the my guesthouse to arrange the taxi for me.

Bukhara has really a special atmosphere, like if we were back to the time of the Old Silk Road. Small streets, markets, and there are beautiful mosques and madrassah at every corner. Kalon Minor is an impressive minaret which is finely decorated. I spent 3 days in Bukhara and I never got bored. I just feels so good to wander in this city.

In Bukhara, I stayed in a nice hotel called Komil Bukhara Boutique. It is in a old house which used to belong to a rich family in Bukhara. This is a very nice place and the dining room is like a museum.

Samarkand

Last stop of my trip in Uzbekistan was Samarkand. It takes half day to drive from Bukhara to Samarkand.
Samarkand is very famous. Therefore it's more touristic and I also felt it was less authentic. Nevertheless, there are wonderful monuments in Samarkand such as the famous Registan, the ancient center of the city. I spent 2 days and half in Samarkand and I felt that it was more than enough. I finally went back to Tashkent by train. It takes 4 hours and that's a comfortable option.

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