The world is huge and there are so many places to visit ... If we leave America, Europe and the best known of Asia we can search destinations in Central Asia, rarer, more exotic, less frequent. For example, Uzbekistan.
This country has a strategic position and that makes its history very rich, but we really know little, right? So, today we have to learn about Uzbekistan and the possibilities of that offers.
Uzbekistan
As we said, is in central asia and it has no outlet to the sea. It is surrounded by Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Turkmenistan. Today is a secular state divided into twelve provinces and you may not know it, but it is one of the world's largest cotton exporters. In addition, it has large reserves of natural gas and today it is the largest energy producer power of this part of Asia.
Its history and human presence is millenary. It has been part of empires, but since the XNUMXth century the main presence has been the Russian and of course, in the end, it has shaped the Soviet Union. Hand in hand with its disintegration, in 1991, the republic gained its independence. Since then it has implemented economic and political changes, with more or less luck, but neither Russia nor the United States have lost sight of the fact that it is a great source of natural resources.
Visit Uzbekistan
The capital is Tashkent so it is your front door. In addition, it is the largest and most inhabited city not only in the country but also in Central Asia. This near the border with Kazakhstan, only 13 kilometers. It is a city that was destroyed by the famous Genghis Khan in 1219 and that it was part of the Silk Road.
It was also conquered by the Russians and suffered much destruction in the terrible earthquake that it experienced in 1966. The subsequent reconstruction has given it a very Soviet physiognomy and it was thus the largest city in the Soviet Union after Moscow, Leningrad and Kiev. It has more than 2200 years of history. How is your weather? Well, Mediterranean, it has cold winters and sometimes with snow, and intense summers.
What is Tashkent like today? Since the 90's it has changed and some of the Soviet icons are gone, like the huge statue of Lenin. Many of the old buildings have been renovated or replaced by new ones and there is even a modern district that is where international companies and hotels are concentrated. What is there to visit?
The truth is that the Russian Revolution of 1917 first, and the earthquake later, destroyed a large part of the oldest and most historic buildings in the city, so there is really little left at the heritage level. Although, historically, what is attractive today is also part of a lost world: the Soviet Union.
On one side is the Palace of Prince Romanov, a XNUMXth century building built by Tsar Alexander III's cousin when he was expelled to Tashkent. It has survived and although it was a museum today it is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
There is also the Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theater, built by the same architect as Lenin's tomb in Moscow, Aleksey Shchusev. This building was built by Japanese prisoners from WWII. They were brought from the forced labor camp to work on the construction site ...
In terms of museums there is the State Historical Museum, the largest in the city, the Amir Timur Museum, with a beautiful blue dome and beautiful gardens and fountains, the Museum of Applied Arts, operating in a traditional mansion that is an attraction in itself.
There is also the Fine Arts Museum, with works from the pre-Russian period and some works of art on loan from the Hermitage that used to decorate the palace of the Grand Duke Romanov in the city.
La Telyashayakh Mosque che has a treasure: the Oldest Quran in the world, a text that dates from the year 655 and that is stained with the blood of the caliph Uthman. Add the Chorsu Bazaar, open air, huge, in the center of the historic center of the city with everything for sale, and the Yunus Khan Mausoleum, XNUMXth century, with the tomb of Yunus Khan, the grandfather of the founder of the Mughal Empire, Babur.
In addition to these attractions, Tashkent has wide avenues, beautiful and very green parks, mosques with colorful minarets, in short, it is a city to walk and take great memories and taste great flavors.
Yes, the Uzbek cuisine It is one of the richest and tastiest in Central Asia and you cannot leave without trying some of the most popular dishes: boin gusht kabob (lamb neck stew), shivit osh (green noodles, somewhat sour, with vegetables), kebabs, manti (dumplings), samsa (stuffed buns), and of course, pilaf
La UNESCO has declared to pilaf, fall, you are told around here, a World Intangible Asset: rice, meat, onions, carrots and various spices. It is a common dish in everyday life, at weddings, funerals or births. And a very, very old dish. You cannot visit Uzbekistan without trying pilaf, at least one of its hundred possible recipes.
But does Uzbekistan offer more than Tashknet, its capital? Of course. If you want to always move there are other possible destinations: Samarkand is a known destination because it has a great cultural heritage as a city center of the Silk Road that connected the Mediterranean with China.
Since the beginning of the XNUMXst century, UNESCO has renamed it Samarkanda, Crossroads of Cultures. This city has its museums, madrasah or mosques. A city with the name of legend, of a story. It is surrounded by steppes and high mountains and although not much of its old town has remained, at least what is there is not homogeneous, it is still worth a visit.
Another tourist destination in the country is Bukhara, a historical city that is protected by UNESCO and it has more than 2500 years of history. There are masadrasas, minarets, mosques, ancient citadels, tombs and mausoleums. Muynak is a fishing town with incredible beaches and rivers. Once he was at the edge of a sea the Aral Sea, but today it is getting drier and there is even a ship graveyard.
To dive into the past is Khiva, 2500 years of Turkish history, embodied in ancient walls, mud buildings, mosques, mausoleums, minarets, royal palaces and baths. All this, luckily, is protected by UNESCO. Shakhrisabz is also a city antigua contained within the List of World Heritage, a green city wherever you look.
Here you have to see the ruins of the Ak-Saray Palace, the Kok-Gumbaz Mosque, the Dor-ut Tilovat memorial complex and if you rent a car, you can even go up the largest route in the country and follow in the footsteps of Marco Polo. How about?
Of course these are not the only cities in Uzbekistan, there is also Zaamin, Termez, Gulistan, Nukus, Karshi and others, but basically Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Shakrisabz are those that were part of the Great Silk Road.
When this health crisis passes it may be a good idea go on a trip to Uzbekistan and open up to other territories. You need a visa, but it is processed online very easily and there are even 86 nations that do not need it at all. Remember, here you can do outdoor tourism, sports tourism, ethnographic tourism or youth tourism, with friends, because it is a cheap destination, with many camps and youth hostels, ski resorts ...
Looking for exotic destinations? Are you looking to get to know other cultures? Then Uzbekistan is waiting for you.