Following the Silk Road in Uzbekistan

General information about Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is about 25 times the size of Slovenia, but has a population of more than 35 million. As an interesting fact, in addition to Liechtenstein, Uzbekistan is one of the two countries with no access to the sea, which at the same time borders on countries that also have no access to the sea. It is mostly an arid landscape, as four-fifths of the territory covers desert areas where rare oases with fresh water springs can be found. We can only imagine what relief the caravans travelling along the Silk Road felt when they saw green oases after days of walking through the desert. It is therefore not surprising that the most powerful cities of the time developed here.

Many famous conquerors passed through the leading cities of the Silk Road, such as the Macedonian warlord Alexander the Great, the Mongol ruler Genghis Khan, as well as the local Timurlenk, who was born on the territory of present-day Uzbekistan and created a mighty empire. The Arabs brought the Muslim faith to these places, resulting in the majority of the population still being of the Islamic faith today. Trade along the Silk Road enriched the towns, and the impressive architecture of the period can still be seen today. At the same time, they became important centres of learning and science, as not only goods from the East and the West were exchanged, but also different ideas, beliefs and cultures, which meant that there was both a commercial and a cultural exchange that turned the cities along the Silk Road into true cosmopolitan centres.

In the second half of the 19th century, the area came under the control of Imperial Russia. Many Russians and Ukrainians have mixed in with the local Uzbeks and Tajiks. Thus, in addition to Uzbek, which is the country's official language, Russian is also spoken in the country and is mastered by everyone there. Of course, some English is spoken in tourist places, but Slovenes have the advantage that Russian is a Slavic language, so it is still possible for us to understand a few words.

A trip around Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a relatively vast country, so the distances between places are accordingly large. The national airline has an extensive network of flights, but most travellers choose to travel by train due to the low prices. Modern high-speed trains run between the capital Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara at speeds of up to 230 km/h, and it is worth booking a night train between Bukhara and Khiva. There is also no shortage of different accommodation possibilities. Hostels are cheap, even hotels are not expensive, as you can get a room with a bathroom and breakfast for as little as 20 euros. Speaking of money, I should mention that the currency of Uzbekistan is the sum, which is the currency of large numbers, because for 1 euro we get approximately 13,000 sum. Thus, by exchanging 100 euros, we become millionaires. However, they are not too picky, as they are happy to take even other currencies. This is quite practical, as in certain places money is not easy to exchange.

Tashkent

The capital and largest city of Uzbekistan with more than 2.5 million inhabitants is Tashkent. It is a modern capital with wide avenues, green spaces and open squares, which is the result of reconstruction after the 1966 earthquake that destroyed most of the city. Today, very few old buildings are preserved in this largest urban centre of Central Asia. Tashkent's main attraction is its metro, which is often compared to the famous Moscow Metro in the Russian capital for its architecturally sophisticated stations. The underground is a tourist attraction in itself, but it also offers fast and cheap public transport (a ticket costs just under 10 cents). This takes you from the centre to the Chorsu district, where you will find the city's largest market, which no visitor to Tashkent can leave off their itinerary.

Fruit, many watermelons in September, and vegetables, as well as clothes and shoes, are sold in the outer open area, while under the mighty dome of this true Central Asian bazaar you will find meat, dairy products, pickled vegetables, soup noodles, dried fruit, spices and nuts. Basically, you can find everything there. There is also the famous Uzbek round bread called nan. You can satisfy your hunger with shashlik or skewers, or rice with meat and vegetables, called pilav, which is the national dish of Uzbekistan, but can also be found in other Central Asian countries. The food is not too great for my taste, but it is relatively cheap. The menus are particularly impressive for the large number of salads, up to 30 different types, which are served as appetizers. An important part of Uzbek cuisine is the oven, called a tandoor, which is used to make samsa, a pastry with various fillings. Being a Muslim country, there is no pork, but alcohol is still available, although tea remains the most popular drink.

Despite the devastating earthquake in the Chorsu district, there are some old buildings to contrast with the modern glass train stations, from where we can take a train for less than 10 euros to Samarkand, Uzbekistan's second-largest city.

Samarkand

The city I associate most with the Silk Road is Samarkand. Its location in an oasis, which allowed the caravans to rest and, above all, to get water in these arid places, made it extremely wealthy. Considered one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in Central Asia, the name of the city has a touch of the exotic. During the reign of the aforementioned ruler Timurlenko, Samarkand was the capital of his empire, as he was born near the city. His family mausoleum called Gur-e Amir, which means "tomb of the king" in Persian, is still preserved today, and by far the biggest landmark of the place is Registan, the most famous square of Samarkand, Uzbekistan and the entire Silk Road.

In the past, it was the main city square with lively activity, but today it is primarily a tourist attraction that every visitor wants to see. The wide open space is surrounded by three impressive madrasas covered with interlocking mosaics and patterns of geometric and vegetative forms. These are former educational institutions, as the word madrasa means school in Arabic. You have to pay to visit the Registan, but the entrance fee is not excessive. For 4 euros, you can see a beautiful architectural complex, probably the most beautiful on the entire Silk Road route, which is illuminated at night and offers an otherwise very flashy presentation of light and sound. Nearby, the Bibi Hanum, once the largest mosque in the Islamic world, has not been fully preserved, and the 14th-century Shah-i Zinda tomb complex, with its blue and green facades, is a popular location among influencers and often appears on Instagram. Samarkand is located in Uzbekistan, but the majority of the population is from Tajikistan, similar to Bukhara, the next city of the Silk Road that we will visit.

Bukhara

After a few hours by train from Samarkand you can arrive in Bukhara. The other option is a slightly longer journey by car as part of a two-day trip to the artificial lake of Ajdarkul, staying in yurts in the Kizilkum desert, which is the one I chose. Yurts are round tents, the habitations of some Asian nomads, and more typical of neighbouring Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as Mongolia, than of Uzbekistan. Along the way, I was able to observe the many white cotton fields that are important to Uzbekistan's agriculture, but intensive cultivation causes many problems, as cotton needs a lot of water to grow, which is lacking in arid Uzbekistan. However, there are two-humped camels adapted to life in the desert that I could ride during my stay there. Camels have played an important role in carrying cargo over long distances through the dry desert landscape, as they are resistant to heat, cold and altitude.

Let's go back to Bukhara. When you arrive in the city, you realise you are in an oriental place, as the signs show the distance from the capitals of neighbouring Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. Bukhara is considered one of the best preserved medieval cities, with an architectural design that has remained intact throughout history. Mosques, madrasas, minarets, bazaars with numerous stalls and caravanserais, where caravans have stayed in the past, accompany tourists at every step. The trademark of the city is the almost 50-meter-tall 12th-century Kalyan minaret, which is said to have survived the invasion of the Mongol Genghis Khan about 100 years after its completion. He saw the minaret, from which not only worshippers were called to prayer but also criminals were thrown, from a distance as he drove across the vast plains of Central Asia towards the city, and was so impressed by it that he decided not to let it suffer the fate of all the other buildings in the cities he had demolished. The minaret is part of the Po-i Kalyan complex, which also includes a mosque and a madrasa. It is pleasant to stroll around the landscaped city, whose buildings were mostly built between the 9th and 17th centuries, when Bukhara was an important centre of trade, education, culture and religion.

Khiva

After a night train ride that cost less than 15 euros, I arrived in Khiva, which impressed me the most of all the cities I visited. The importance of Khiva is reflected in the fact that it was the first place in Uzbekistan to be inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991. It is more or less a city that is a museum within 10 metres high and 2 kilometres long walls, but it is not officially free to visit. A ticket for the old part of the city, called Itchan Kala, costs just under 15 euros, but you can get a 50% discount with a PRESS card for the purpose of writing an article. It is possible to enter two of the four city gates, north and south, without buying a ticket, but you cannot see the interior of the buildings without it, however you can still walk around freely.

The town, which is around 1500 years old, is mostly made up of low-rise buildings, dating mainly from the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the oldest structures is the congregational mosque, which was built in the 10th century but later renovated. It boasts more than 200 carved wooden columns supporting the ceiling of this flat-roofed, single-storey brick building. The 45-meter-high minaret of Islam Khodja has a special entrance fee, offering the most beautiful view of Khiva and the surrounding desert that sorrounds it. The unfinished Kalta Minor minaret, which would have been the tallest of its time if it had been completed, attracts attention for its beautiful turquoise colour, but is not open to the public.

Once the main residence of the khan rulers of Khiva, the Konya Ark is a popular spot to watch spectacular sunsets. Especially in the evening, many locals mingle among the travellers and are happy to pose with tourists when they are not sitting on a special piece of furniture called a "tapchan". It is a kind of wooden armchair (reminiscent of a bed) lined with pillows, three times two meters in size, on which there is a coffee table. Despite the many tourists, there are spots in Khiva where there is not a soul to be found, just waiting for the camel caravan to come around the corner. In the city, especially when the streets are empty, you get the feeling that you are in a fairy tale about one thousand and one nights. Once a camel caravan, today the town is besieged by tourists and souvenir sellers, and haggling is compulsory, even if the prices are not high.

Uzbekistan with its rich history is definitely worth a visit. Even thanks to the low-cost airline, which connects Europe with Samarkand via Abu Dhabi, it is becoming more affordable. So far, moderate prices, combined with a different culture and hospitable locals, are attracting tourists from all over the world and putting the country back on the world map, where it already was during the times of the Silk Road.