Tashkent

Tashkent

Uzbekistan, the land of Amir Timur who claimed to be the descendant of Genghis Khan, is where all the international tourists are. The city of Tashkent is even more cosmopolitan than Almaty. If Almaty is Brooklyn, then Tashkent is Manhattan with all its modern gleaming high rises. The 1966 5.2-magnitude earthquake destroyed all historical structures in Tashkent, and the rebuilding efforts resulted in Soviet style wide boulevards and large apartment complexes.

An example of a Soviet style building, the Hotel Uzbekistan built in 1974.

First round of business is to visit the museum for some educational activities. Unfortunately, the History Museum of the People of Uzbekistan is closed for renovation, so we settled for the State History Museum of the Timurids.

State History Museum of the Timurids, is full of antique copies and miniature building replicas. All the originals ironically and sadly, but not surprisingly, are either in the British Museum or the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC.

The museum is still worth visiting for the beautiful interior and other interesting finds.

Amir Timur, a patron of the arts and science, was responsible for setting Samarkand up as the Islamic cultural center in Central Asia.
Grand entrance
Mural of Amir Timur holding court.
And the beautiful ceiling
All the Timur princes met their tragic deaths, mostly by murder.
A painting of Ulughbek, grandson of Amir Timur and astronomer and mathematician, in the observatory.
A copy of a page out of his journal
There is a lunar crater named after Ulughbek
A 14th century armor.
An original – Amir Temur’s eyebrows. Bet the MET doesn’t have this.

There are about 3 must see sites in Tashkent, but I will cover two of them in this post as the third one deserves its own entry.

Chorsu Bazaar

Perhaps the largest green market we’ve seen in Central Asia.

A central dome surrounded by an outer ring where fresh produce are sold.
Inside the market is where you find all sorts of meat on the first floor.
And dried nuts and fruits on the second level.
The bakery
Making local bread.

Metro Stations

Each station has its unique design. Some more lavish than others. Photography used to be banned within the stations prior to 2018 as the stations also served as bomb shelters.

Amir Temur Hiyoboni station
Mustakillik Maydoni station
Gafur Gulom station
The busy Alisher Navoi Station
Murals in Alisher Navoi
Paxtakor Station

Perhaps the most popular station with tourists is the Kosmonavtlar station.

Not so much for the general design, but more so for the murals – especially for those interested in the history of space exploration.
Recurring theme of this trip – Ulughbek
First man in space – Yuri Gagarin
First woman in space – Valentina Tereshkova

There are 3 types of train cars, ranging from Soviet relics to the more modern ones you see in Taiwan.

Modern ones are AC’d
Interior of the older train cars

Speaking of Soviet relics…

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Other than a few of these cars on the road, most are interestingly Chevrolet, the quality of which is just as unreliable as it is back home. Our driver from the airport drove us in a new Chevy Malibu, and I had commented that the backseat of American cars are still the most comfortable. When we got to the hotel and it was time to retrieve our luggage, the driver and the hotel staff struggled to get the trunk open. It was an embarrassing 10 minutes for the driver, but an eternity for an American. The Soviet sent the first man and woman to space, and we have the Chevy Malibu.

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