Travelogue Uzbekistan 2023

THU 14.09.23

Turkish Airlines flight from Zurich to Istanbul is on time. However, we are delayed in Istanbul. At around 8 p.m. it departs 2 hour later than planned.

It is a five hours flight and with the time difference of another two hours we will arrive at Tashkent in the early morning hours.

FRI 15.09.23

We pass through customs rather quick, but then wait for our luggage more than an hour. Change a hundred Swiss francs and go for a taxi. We negotiate a price, or let's say like this, we agree what the driver asks for. First impressions: The taxi driver only speaks Russian. Everybody drives Chevrolet. The boulevards are extremely wide.

At around 5 a.m. we are finally in our hotel room, on the top floor of Shodlik Palace Hotel. The rooms are spacious, vintage Soviet style. After a short sleep we do not want to miss our first Uzbek breakfast buffet: Melons, watermelons and grapes, flatbread, eggs, sausages, filled dumplings and sweet pastries. The hotel is located nearly in the middle of the city but still far away from everything.

We walk through parks, along boulevards and visit memorials. We take the extremely cheap and clean metro to the Chorsu Bazar and visit the close by mosques and madrasas, impressed by its portals which are as high as the entire buildings. We'll visit some more of them on our trip through Uzbekistan. From the television tower we enjoy the view of the surprisingly green city below us. Later in the evening we watch out for a restaurant not far from the hotel. We end up at a self-service canteen. Too tired to look for something better.

SAT 16.09.23

We will spend 17 hours in the train. The new train station is located at the southern end of the city. The receptionist orders a taxi with Yandex. The journey takes half an hour and costs almost nothing. Only passengers can enter train-stations. We show passports and tickets and our luggage is x-rayed.

The waiting hall is fairly modern but information screens and timetable display-boards are completely missing. The train arrives 15 minutes before departure. We've booked a twin compartment. The carrage waitor guides us to our compartment and brings blankets. We get tea in a pot for free.

The train leaves at 2 p.m. on time. Then and when a salesman takes a look into the compartment. He sells beverages and snacks. At around 6 p.m. we arrive at Samarkand, at 10 p.m. at Bukhara.

SUN 17.09.23

Tadap..tadap. Tadap..tadap. Tadap..tadap. There is nothing better than a train journey at night. From time to time the train stops in the middle of nowhere, 10 minutes, 20 minutes. A whistle blows and the opposed train races past.

At 7 a.m. we arrive at Nukus on time. Taxi drivers wait outside the railway station watching out for passengers. For whatever reason we forget to bargain and get rid of 50'000 UZS after a short ride to the hotel.

We are too early to check-in so we stroll through the center of the city. Multistorey buildings, parks, abandoned amusement parks, memorials, a typical Soviet satellite city. There are two large flags in the city park, one is the Uzbekistan flag and the other one is the flag of Karakalpakstan an autonomous state. At 10 a.m. famous Igor Savitzky gallery opens. After St.Petersburg it is the second important amongst the former Soviet republics. Definitely worth a visit. In the afternoon we walk along the Qizketken canal and visit the bazaar. The town is rather quiet, the same at night. After a quick dinner we go back to the hotel and get prepared for the excursion of the following two days.

MON 18.09.23

8 a.m. Driver and guide are waiting for us in the hotel lobby. We board a Toyota Hilux offroad car which will bring us to the Aral sea. We pick up our companion a female tourist from China. On the way to Moynaq we make a first stop at Gyaur Qala, a fortess where only a few remains of the wall exist. Next to the site is a necropolis called Mizdakh Khan. We visit a few well preserved mausoleums. A ruined tower loses a brick every year. If the last one falls, the world will end.

We drive along cotton fields. After Kungrad the road condition gets worse, riddled with potholes. An hour an a half later we arrive at the last settlement before the desert. Here was the shore of the Aral sea some 50 years ago. We have lunch at the guide's aunt's house. Before we go offroad, we visit the ship wrecks in the drained harbor. Moynaq used to be a fishing town. Now it is in the middle of a desert. The road becomes a piste. We drive past numerous drilling rigs. The area is rich in natural gas. The draining of the lake is a natural disaster but the economy seems to be making a profit from it. After another two hours driving on bumpy roads we reach a plateau. Visiting tombs of ancestors and lookouts on top of a canyon we finally spot the remaining lake before we reach our yurt camp.

The yurts are like tents with plenty of room inside. Before dinner we have a swim at the lake. Years ago the yurt was located at the shore of the lake. Now we have to drive by car a few hundred meters further down. We wade through swampy terrain into the water. The lake is very shallow. After about 300 meters the water reaches our shoulders. It is very salty and we float like in the dead sea. After having a shower in a tin cabin we have dinner in the dining room. Plov, the national dish is served.

TUE 19.09.23

After having a good sleep in the yurt, we get up to watch the sunrise. It arises on the other side of the sea. In a couple of years the sea will be completely gone.

We leave the yurt camp heading north along the coast. We arrive at a canyon with rock formations of different colors. A track leads upwards where the view is spectacular. The reddish rock resembles a Martian landscape. Later we drive back, pass the yurt camp and stop not far from a watch-tower which is located on top of a rock. The Silk Road was lined with watch-towers at the time.

Driving on top of the plateau we stop at an abandoned airport. It used to be a military base at the time of the Soviet Union. It is rumored that nuclear bomb tests were carried out nearby. Later we drive past herds of camels. At a lookout point there is a spectacular view on the lowlands which used to be the Aral sea, now reduced to a few ponds. After about 4 hours driving on top of the plateau, we descend. On a paved road we reach the highway which leads us back to Nukus. We end the day having dinner at a Turkish restaurant.

WED 20.09.23

There are two possibilities to get from Nukus to Khiva, either by shared taxis which operate between Nukus and Urganch and between Urganch and Khiva or by a taxi on our own. We opted for the latter. The receptionist of Jipek Joli hotel organizes it. The three and a half hour trip cost us 50 USD. We can even include a deviation to visit one of the desert castels of Southkarakalpakstan. The driver picks us up at 8 a.m. Two hours later we arrive at Qizil Qala. The outer walls of the castle have been renovated recently. Entry is free. We are the only visitors.

At around lunch time we arrive at our hotel in Khiva. New Minor hotel is located inside the city walls. It is forbidden to enter by car except for dropping off passengers. Khiva is one of the famous Silk Road cities. We feel like we are in a fairytale world from 1001 Nights. Castles, mosques, minarets and madrassas close together. Kalta minor a fat cylinder made of colorful tiles is probably the main landmark of Khiva. The Islom-Xo'ja minaret is another point of attraction. Before sunset we climb the city wall at the fortress (Ko'hna Ark). The night breaks in and on the way back to the hotel we watch a woman baking flatbreads which she sticks to the side walls of a wood stove.

For dinner we are lucky to find a place on the roof garden of famous restaurant Terrassa. We end the day with shashlik and beer.

THU 21.09.23

Today we spend the day inside the city walls of Khiva. With the visitor pass at hand we enter site by site. Most interesting are the Tosh Hauli Palace and the portico of the Friday Mosque.

To enter the Pahlavon-Maxmud-Mausoleum we have to pay an extra fee. It is not worth it. Also not worth is the ascent of the circular wall. Only a part of it is accessible and there is an extra entry charge.

In the afternoon we meet a wedding party. They perform dances in the alley with music playing from the box. Even some tourists mingle with the dancers. We meet newlyweds again and again in Khiva as well as later in Bukhara and Samarkand.

FRI 22.09.23

We forgot to book a taxi at the hotel and the reception desk is empty all morning. So we walk to the east gate. No taxis around. According to Maps.me the walk to the station takes 20 minutes. Good not having taken a car. What a magnificient avenue between the old town and the station.

We are booked in a four berth compartment. Lucky us to have the lower berths, so we can spend the 7 hour journey whilst seated and use the tray. At around 4 p.m. we arrive at Bukhara. Touts are waiting for the wealthy tourists and offer trips to the city center for 240'000 UZS. We walk to the taxi stand and bargain down to 50'0000 UZS. The name of the hotel is 'Terrace by Golden Minaret' according to Booking.com. The driver has no idea and maps.me neither. So we deboard at one of the city gates.

It turns out that the name of the hotel is 'Golden Minaret Hotel'. It has a rooftop terrace where we spend the evening until sunset. We enjoy the stunning setting of the giant Kalon minaret and the adjacent palaces and temples having a delicious Sarbast beer.

SAT 23.09.23

We haven't seen the famous Registan at Samarkand yet so we can't compare. However the Poi Kalon ensemble at Bukhara is breathtaking with the two giant portals and the mighty minaret.The ark is another landmark. The fortress is built on an artificial hill. In the early afternoon the terrace cafes around the water-tank Labi Hauz are crowded.

Somewhat tired of all the madrasas and mosques we enjoy the bronze monument of Hodscha Nasreddin riding a donkey. The rogue of the Orient reminds us on Don Quijote.

SUN 24.09.23

Our second day in Bukhara. We haven't seen one of its landmarks yet which is the cute little castle Chor Minor which signifies four minarets. But the four towers are not accessible and therefore don't serve as minarets. There is an artificial stork's nest on one of the towers which makes the entire building even more bizarre.

We pass by the donky with the bronze Hodsha Nasreddin together with living kids riding it and arrive at the mansion of Fayzullo Xo'jaev a trader of the Soviet times. It is located somewhat outside the city center but this palace of splendor is worth a visit. In the afternoon we visit the buzy Kholchosniy Bazaar and buy some spices.

Later we have dinner at restaurant Joy which is located in the Jewish quarter close to Labi Hauz. Its food is delicious.

MON 25.09.23

We start the day visiting the Ark. The exhibition doesn't knock us off our feet.

Our train leaves in the middle of the afternoon. We travel with the famous Afrosiyob high speed train. It takes about one and a half hour to Samarkand our third Silk Road location. It is very busy with traffic jams at 5 p.m. when we arrive. Hotel Muqaddas is fairly small but close to the famous Registan. According to our travel guide and Tripadvisor the good restaurants are away from the main tourist attraction so we have dinner at restaurant "The Old City" a recommendation from Tripadvisor. Its plov aswell as the mutton stew are very tasty.

TUE 26.09.23

It is not even a 10 minutes walk from our hotel to the Registan. At 7:30 a.m. we are in front of these three mighty palaces. To be honest, we have expected something even more impressive. At 8 a.m. they open the doors and we are nearly the first visitors of the day apart from a couple of Instagram influencers and their teams.

Later we visit the Bibixonim mosque which is very impressive as well. Passing by the Karimov Mausoleum we cross the desert like Afrosiyob hill. We reach the river siob at the northern end of the hill. There we visit the tumb of the prophet Daniel. We could have safed the entrance fee. There's not much to see apart from a coffin which is 18m wide. After another 20 minuts walk along a busy road we arrive at the Ulug'bek observatory with its strange building, a sextant which was used at that time to measure stars. We walk all the way back and rest for a while in front of the Registan. Students approach us to practise English and even German. There are a few restaurants nearby the famous site. So we have dinner at one of those. The Shashlik tastes good.

What follows is one of our trip's highlights. At 9 p.m. a light show starts and a piano player enters a stage which has been set up in the afternoon. He must be famous but we are not able to detect his name. He plays classical music, one piece after the other. What a gorgeous concert, what an incredible setting. After an hour the magic is over and we are happy.

WED 27.09.23

Today's program is limited to the second famous site in Samarkand, the necropolis Shoizinda. We are not the only ones visiting the small alley lined with Mausoleums. The buildings are covered in colorful tiles.

The colours blue and turqoise predominate. It's in the middle of the day when we visit the site. In the morning or evening when the sun is weak, the flood of colors is certainly even more impressive.

We buy camel wool scarfs at the market later in the afternoon. At 9 p.m. we'd fancy to see the piano player once again at the Registan but they show the usual multimedia spectacle which in our opinion is pretty cheesy.

THU 28.09.23

Today we travel back to Tashkent. The train leaves at around 9 a.m. and takes about 4 hours. Our hotel is located near the Grand Mir hotel. There's a lot going on in the area at night. On our program today is a visit of the plov center. The food hall is giant. Guests can visit the kitchen which is equipped with five to six cauldrons which are one meter in diameter. They are heated by a wood fire. And of course the plov is very tasty.