DESTINATIONS UZBEKISTAN ESCORTED TOURS


served alongside Czech craft beer. Likewise, the hotels range from the offbeat grandeur of the five-star Registan Plaza – inspiration surely for The Grand Budapest Hotel – to a cosy homestay where, for $50, you can sleep in a traditionally appointed room and learn ancient crafts. Summers are very hot, and winters


very cold, but year-round blue skies mean the best times to visit are between March and June, and September and November.


TAKE TWO IN TASHKENT Tashkent is Uzbekistan’s capital city, at first glance clean and modern, and made up of glass and concrete skyscrapers. Reflecting its desire for a lighter, brighter future, water fountains dance in Independence Square, which earned its name in 1992 after Russia released its grip on the country. But on second glance, you can’t help but notice Tashkent’s past life as a Soviet stronghold. It’s evident everywhere, from the 375-metre TV tower to the dazzling metro stations


LEFT: ‘Non’ breads


BELOW: Tashkent metro


The walls fade from blue to black, imitating the earth’s atmosphere, punctuated by dreamlike portraits of cosmonauts


beneath the city. The mosaics at Paxtakor station reflect the country’s main industry: cotton. But Kosmonavtlar station is my favourite. The walls fade from blue to black in imitation of the earth’s atmosphere, punctuated by dreamlike portraits of cosmonauts including Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space. And then there’s the part of the


SAMPLE PRODUCT


Explore


offers a 12-day Golden Road to Samarkand tour, which starts at £1,799 including flights, transfers, 11 nights’ B&B accommodation, and the services of local guides and an Explore tour leader. explore.co.uk


Uzbekistan Airways has two direct flights


from Heathrow each week, with return fares starting at about £550 in April. uzairways.com


52travelweekly.co.uk21 February 2019


city that hasn’t been modernised. An afternoon spent weaving through the stalls and laneways of the vast Chorsu Bazaar is an eye-popping experience. Try ‘non’ – Uzbekistan’s signature crisp-yet-fluffy flatbread – straight from the oven, while watching richly dressed women peddling piles of pomegranates and butch boys selling glistening nuts and dried fruits. It’s an authentic glimpse into a life that’s been lived the same way for centuries.


ON THE SILK ROAD TRAIL The city has its fair share of ancient monuments, and is also home to the world’s oldest Koran, but to really get to grips with the pre-Soviet history of Uzbekistan, head to the 1,000-year-old Unesco-listed city of Bukhara. When the Mongols came raiding in the 10th century, it was one of the wealthiest and most important cities in the Islamic world, rivalling Cairo, Córdoba and Baghdad. They razed the city, sparing little bar


the Kalyan Minaret, saved by Ghengis Khan as a reminder that he must bow to God. In reality, at 47 metres high, it was an important landmark on the Silk Road. Part of the Poi Kalan mosque complex, it’s a serene place to spend a morning chatting with the locals,


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