Uzbekistan – Highlights

Uzbekistan Travel Photos – Top 50

I travelled for three weeks in Uzbekistan. The country is full of ancient relics, old cities, and UNESCO world heritage sites. Travelling in Uzbekistan was comfortable and convenient – being mostly flat, there are very good rail connections including overnight trains and superfast trains. The tourist industry is also better established here in comparison with other central Asian countries.

Here is a tour of Uzbekistan through pictures.

Inside a restored old building in Itchan Qala, Khiva

A market street in Ichan Kala, outside the Islom Xoja Madrasasi

Sherdar Madrasa, on the east side of the Registan

Registan - meaning "sandy place"

Gur-e Amir complex

Striking similarity for Mughal architecture in India, such as the Humayun's Tomb in Delhi and the Taj Mahal in Agra

Inside Temur's tomb

Crescent Eid moon rising behind the tomb complex

Inside the Bibi Khanam mosque (view from the priests/mullah's courtyard)

Shah-i-Zinda (meaning "Living king") Ensemble

Shah-i-Zinda is a necropolis that includes tombs mostly from 9-14th centuries but some more recent ones as well

Tombs on the lower levels

Remaining walls of the Ak-Saray Palace, planned to be the most grandiose of all Temur (Tamerlene)'s constructions

Most of the rooms inside these historical structures are now tourist stores

Tilya-Kori Madrasah, the grand mosque

Each building in Registan has a large courtyard with little rooms flanking it's external edges

The Sher-Dor madrasa building glowing in the night

The Registan was a public square, where people gathered to hear royal proclamations, and also a place of public executions.

Numerous major centers from the Silk Road era are located in Uzbekistan. Prominent among these are Bukhara, Khiva, Samarkand, and Tashkand, and each of these are indeed immensely beautiful, with old city centers and archaeological sites. Most of the old cities on the erstwhile silk route were destroyed by the Mongols; whatever was spared has been reconstructed by kings since Genghis Khan, or creatively restored by recent governments.

The Ark of Bukhara - a massive fortress located in the old city

Tomb of Taimur/Temur the conqurer/barbarian (depending on who you are talking to!)

Bibi Khanum was one of the largest and most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world in the 15th century

Tour groups and groups of pilgrims

Only parts of its gigantic 65 m gate-towers of the Ak Saray palace survive, with blue, white and gold mosaics.

Kok Gumbaz (Green domes) mausoleum complex

Travelling in Uzbekistan was very simple. Uzbek, Tajik, and Kyrgyz, in that order, are the biggest nationalities in the country, and everyone we met was immensely friendly and helpful. Knowledge of Russian definitely helps, but we also spoke a bit of Turkish and therefore Uzbek, which came in handy to impress the locals and make interactions more fun.

Khiva's stubby minaret is actually an abandoned pet project of this king who wanted to build a tower so high, it could see all the way to Bukhara (450km)

Mohammed Rakhim Khan Medressa

Walking outside the walls of the Registan

Shah-i-Zinda complex, one of the most impressive places of Silk Road architecture

Beautiful entrance doors to buildings on the upper level

Approaching the inner scantum

Being a weekend, there were many visitors to this holy site

Ak-Saray Palace, Amir Timur's summer palace also known as the "white palace" Above the entry are big letters saying: "If you challenge our power – look at our buildings!"

Three weeks is the absolutely least I recommend spending in the country if you wanted to thoroughly enjoy it, although a whirlwind tour in two days would let you hit the key tourist cities stated above with relative ease.