Uzbekistan The Tyrant of Tashkent On 25 April 1966, Tashkent was flattened by an earthquake. The city that stands today is largely the creation of the Soviets, who rebuilt the Uzbek capital as a model socialist metropolis; this
Uzbekistan Samarkand: Timur's town If you’ve only ever heard of one place in Central Asia, it’s probably Samarkand. This ancient city, one of the most important stops on the old Silk Road, once shared the
Uzbekistan Crossing the Kyzylkum Desert The Kyzylkum Desert is the Central Asia you imagine when you look at a map: vast, inhospitable, empty. Yet a lot of history fills the barren land between the Amu Darya and Syr
Uzbekistan Bukhara: The holiest city you've never heard of I’m not usually superstitious, but I’m pretty sure that the ghost of a tenth century Persian emir cured me of diarrhoea. My stomach had been suffering for a couple of days,
Uzbekistan Khiva: In the court of the khan The sun-baked city of Khiva sits between two bleak and inhospitable deserts, the Kyzylkum and the Karakum. As you approach the city limits the rusty brown sand begins to sprout unlikely patches of
Uzbekistan How to apply for an Uzbekistan visa (UK citizens) I recently had to apply for a visa for my upcoming trip to Uzbekistan, which was not the most straightforward task, so I thought I would put together my own ‘how to’ guide