UZBEKISTAN

Shir Dor Madrassah in Samarkand, ancient Islamic university. > ZOOM.

Uzbekistan boasts some of the more exotic sights along the Silk Road: the walled city of Khiva, where human slave trade was abolished only in 1917; Bukhara, site of the Kalyan Minaret (Tower of Death), made with a special mortar using camel's milk and blood instead of water; Samarkand, capital of the ancient empire of Timur which was to be the "center of the universe."

View of the walled city of Khiva, a museum city of mosques, minarets and masolea. > ZOOM.

Accommodations in Uzbekistan are often available in small, family-run establishments designated as "homestays." Train travel between cities in Uzbekistan is not too reliable, and one books either private car transport, bus tickets, or air tickets.

View of a gold and ornament bazaar, Bukhara (rug market nearby). > ZOOM.

It is especially pleasant to visit Uzbekistan in the early autumn, when fruits and melons have been harvested and are available at bazaars and markets. The entire country is mobilized during this time for the cotton harvest.


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