Uzbekistan, the doubly landlocked Central Asian country bordered by five other nations, has for centuries held an almost mythical allure. Ever since it played a central role in the Silk Road – the ancient network of trade routes that connected China with Europe and the Middle East – the country has been the jewel in the crown of empire builders from Genghis Khan to Alexander the Great. That rich heritage, however, was long closed off to many travellers, first during the six decades it spent as part of the Soviet Union and then under a dictator, Islam Karimov, who died in 2016.
Since then, there has been a gradual thaw under its current president, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, and visitors are once again flocking to its capital, Tashkent, and major cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara, to experience its distinctive melting pot of Greek, Turkish, Muslim and Russian cultures, where mosques, minarets and madrasas are mixed in with synagogues, Buddhist and Zoroastrian temples, and medieval caravansaries that once hosted Silk Road merchants. A cultural renaissance is also afoot in the country, with a series of ambitious arts and culture events and major museum openings scheduled to take place over the next couple of years, largely initiated by Gayane Umerova, who chairs the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation. “We have embraced an opportunity to return to our history as a hub for exchange and showcase the country’s heritage,” she explains.
In Tashkent – known for it.
