Unique Uzbekistan
melting pot of architecture, natural beauty and supreme hospitality
Uzbekistan, the jewel of Central Asia, is not a destination that tops the lists of many travelers. However, it is impossible to remain untouched by its ancient beauty
You’re in a desert city in a Muslim country and it’s the holy month of Ramadan. You are also exhausted after a 300-odd kilometer drive on the wonky suspension of an ancient Lada. And that’s not all: this country is one of the poorest in the world and once belonged to the empire of the old USSR. Sound like hell… or the very last on your list of “places-to-see”? You’re probably not alone in thinking so, but you’re also utterly, surprisingly, wonderfully wrong.
At first glance, modern-day Uzbekistan may not offer the traveler a great deal. Apart from its poverty, it hardly has a good human rights or governance reputation. Dissent is not tolerated and in 2005 an anti-government protest met with suppression so violent that hundreds died when police fired into a crowd of protestors.
But there is a different side to Uzbekistan, and you don’t need to look far to find it. Did you know, for instance, that Samarkand, one of the country’s major cities, is as old Rome and Babylon? Urban settlement can be traced back to the 6th century BC. Furthermore, Samarkand was a key crossroads on the Silk Road and evidence of the sophistication and artistry of this ancient civilization is still to be found just about everywhere in the dusty city.
The "Sandy Place"
One of the most spectacular sights you will ever see, no matter where you go, is located in the heart of Samarkand. The Registan (aptly meaning “sandy place”) is a complex of three madrasah (Muslim universities) built around a vast public square. Ulug Beg, grandson of the famous 14th century ruler Tamerlane, started work on the first madrasah around 1417, and a century later two more were added. It is entirely impossible to grasp the size, detail and magnificence of these incredible structures, and equally unlikely that you will remain untouched by their beauty. Mosaics, floral patterns, and calligraphy in blues and greens stretch as far as you can see. From the doorways of the original students’ cells, traders flash their golden-toothed smiles in efforts to draw in visitors.
Ulug Beg, an eternal student, didn’t stop with the Registan and also constructed, among other things, an observatory showcasing the biggest 90° quadrant the ancient world had ever seen. For a long time no one knew the location of the observatory, but in 1908 it was finally rediscovered. Miraculously, part of the arc survived and can still be seen today. Any visitor still in doubt about the superiority of this civilization needs only consider that Ulug Beg and his advisers calculated the stellar year to within one minute of modern electronic calculations.
An open, inviting people
Apart from the obvious (and multitudinous) sights – various mosques, a fascinating necropolis and the city’s vibrant bazaar - there is something else about this place and its people. It has to do with the well-spoken younger generation trying to carve out a life for themselves in their impoverished country; the respected grey beards in their skull caps, eternally drinking tea at their local chaikanas; the food, hospitality and friendliness; and the landscape with its barren, haunting beauty. But ultimately it is more than the sum of these parts.
When you stop in the mountains to gaze at the hills rolling away towards Afghanistan, you can hear the wind in the trees and smell the dust in the air. Unexpectedly you become very quiet, as if you’re waiting for the gentle touch of this country to press its finger on your heart. And when that happens, you discover what you've probably known since your arrival: the certainty that one day you’ll be back.
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