Tashkent, Uzbekistan. It’s not a city that’s front and centre on every travellers wish-list, but it’s a fascinating place with a lot to uncover. And with travel there getting easier all the time, as the country rapidly opens up to tourists, there’s never been a better time to visit. Following my recent trip, I’ve rounded up some of the best things to do in Tashkent to help get your planning started! A fascinating mish-mash of brutalist Soviet buildings, neatly restored Islamic sites, and classical Russian architecture, Tashkent is like no other city I’ve visited. The centre is incredibly green, full of leafy squares and pretty parks, and every street seems to be lined with trees. Neat, clean, and well-laid-out, at first glimpse it feels as if Tashkent is lacking in personality. But delve a little deeper and you’ll uncover all sorts of hidden gems and interesting quirks. There are pockets of colour, amazing crafts, and dazzling architecture in … [Read more...] about 11 Best Things to do in Tashkent Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Women’s football team head to Uzbekistan for Olympic qualifiers
By Le Khanh  March 29, 2019 | 09:15 am GMT+7 Vietnam (red) clash Singapore at the 2018 AFF Women's Championship in July 2018. Photo by VnExpress/Nam Anh The Vietnamese women’s football team left for Uzbekistan Thursday for the second round of qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. It includes many players who played in the 2018 Asian Games where the team made it to the quarterfinals. For the qualifying tournament the team had one month’s preparation including a training trip to Myanmar. As Asia’s sixth highest-ranked team, Vietnam received a bye into the second round, where they are placed in Group B. Coach Mai Duc Chung said, "Except the host, Vietnam will take on opponents who are equal to or somewhat weaker than us. In general, all teams have good physical strength but Vietnam still have a big chance of qualifying." All Group B matches will be played in Uzbekistan. The group winner will enter the third round to be played in January … [Read more...] about Women’s football team head to Uzbekistan for Olympic qualifiers
Why Uzbekistan’s Samarkand should be your next city break
I arrive in Samarkand dressed in a navy train conductor’s uniform, sitting on the false base of a bunk bed stuffed to overflowing with contraband. I have just finished the last of the neat vodka the Uzbek conductor gave me as a payoff for spending the night asleep atop his smuggling enterprise. It seems strange to arrive in Samarkand on a train at all. Its imposing minarets, bazaars and gardens are the backdrop to the dreamscapes that Scheherazade spins in One Thousand and One Nights. They were the signal to caravans on the ancient Silk Route that rest was in reach and evoke a time when arrival would have been at the back of a caravan perfumed with spices from China or Turkey. Then the Russians came, and the Twenties found the city at the centre of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Suddenly the Muslim stronghold — at whose heart were the three Islamic schools of the Registan — ran with vodka and railways, its city walls painted with the frescoes of the revolution, … [Read more...] about Why Uzbekistan’s Samarkand should be your next city break
Uzbekistan extends visa-free travel to Germans in tourism bid
Germany will be the second European Union country after France to gain visa-free travel to Uzbekistan, which has opened up somewhat since the death of its long-reigning hardline leader Islam Karimov in 2016. Germans will be able to enter the central Asian nation visa-free from January 15th, the Uzbek tourism committee said Friday, three months after authorities granted French citizens the same 30-day visa waiver. The impoverished country is highly dependent on commodity exports and has made developing tourism a priority. In particular the government is keen to show off the lavish Silk Road heritage of cities such as Bukhara, Khiva and Samarkand. According to the Uzbek tourism committee, 18,094 Germans visited Uzbekistan in 2018, almost five times as many as in 2016. Reform-touting Uzbek president Shavkat Mirziyoyev is set to visit Germany this month after meeting US President Donald Trump and French leader Emmanuel Macron last year. These high-profile visits are seen as rewards … [Read more...] about Uzbekistan extends visa-free travel to Germans in tourism bid
Uzbekistan’s €100m new ski resort already in trouble before it’s even open
Plans to open a multi-million-Euro ski resort in Uzbekistan are already in jeopardy as the country’s fragile infrastructure poses problems for organisers, despite the ski season being about to start. Amirsoy Mountain Resort, which advertises itself as a world-class all-season mountain resort on its website, was due to open the first gondola, chairlift and drag lift, as well as accommodation, later this month. However, according to local media building a resort set to span 900 hectares (approximately 9 square kilometres) in a mountain range with very little other infrastructure has proven difficult. According to Uzbek media a lack of electricity and roads in the area has put the brakes on the project. Uzbekistan 24 TV reported that the only road to the resort ‘turns to slush’ when it rains. A new road was commissioned by the government but only one third of the work has been completed. According to Azernews, an English newspaper in Azerbaijan, Shukhrat Dauletov, the … [Read more...] about Uzbekistan’s €100m new ski resort already in trouble before it’s even open