TASHKENT, the capital of the Republic of Uzbekistan and largest city in the country, is located on the famed Silk Route. It has a long rich history and was once ruled by the Timurid dynasty. Now, Tashkent is a cultural and economic centre with modern amenities, where visitors can find new buildings nestled alongside historical blue-tiled structures.

At the invite of the Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan, theSun was part of a media entourage that landed in Tashkent after an
eight-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur. Despite the long journey, excitement among the guests was high as many were looking forward to exploring the historic city.

As we ventured out of The Tower Hotel, where we stayed, the group passed by a statue of Shota Rustavelli, a Georgian poet, and beautiful flowers planted at the side of the streets. The statue alongside the facade of many older buildings is a reminder of the country’s link to the former Soviet Union.

The heady mix of old and new give Tashkent a unique ambience, where trendy cafes and retail outlets sit comfortably alongside heritage buildings that reflect the city’s historical significance as the conduit between east and west.

Celebration of fruit and flora

Despite having no tour guides to help us in our city exploration, the streets of Tashkent just invited us to walk freely and explore with an open mind, with many cafes offering comfortable and inviting settings to just chill and soak up the city’s unique vibes.

Tashkent’s streets were also lined with many vendors offering fresh local produce, including the area’s famed strawberries. Further along the trail, we stumbled upon Rich Garden which greeted us with an explosion of colour and floral smell as a flower market came into view.

As we walked further, we came across the delightful Dristolik
Bog-i, a vast area with green pastures with lakes. A calm and serene atmosphere pervaded the vicinity with ducks swimming in the lake, it was an ideal spot for quiet contemplation as well as to give our tired feet a moment’s respite.

Big blue dome

No visit to Tashkent would be complete without a trip to the Chorsu Bazaar. It was only when the walking tour approached closer to the structure were we struck by
the colossal nature of the bazaar with hundreds of merchants plying all manner of goods. There was seemingly endless array of stalls and variety to entice visitors, making it a heady destination for shopaholics.

Chorsu Bazaar is divided into multiple sections. Each was dedicated to a specific trade – clothes and textiles, fresh produce, fragrant and exotic spices, souvenir shops and bakeries all seemed to follow a natural order within the gigantic dome. This obviously allowed visitors to easily navigate the huge complex and to find what they are looking for amid the labyrinth of shops.

Our visit also coincided with Uzbekistan’s cherry season, meaning the fruit section had bundles of local varieties heaped onto every conceivable surface. The alluring sight and smell of raspberries and strawberries were too much to resist and many in the entourage did succumb to temptation. Those who did not fall for the berries, however, were no match for the siren call of
the gloriously yellow and orange coloured apricots. Fragrant and juicy, there was just so much to
enjoy from a freshly plucked fruit, especially one that is not native to Malaysia.

Breaking bread

Uzbek cuisine, reflective of its geographical location, is a heady mix of east and west. Anyone lucky enough to visit this exotic city must make the effort to sample its many culinary delights.

For instance, the unique-shaped Samarkand bread, or non as they called it, is round with a hollow centre and was made in a tandoor oven, known locally as tandir or tandyr.

The golden crusted, soft and chewy bread is often shared with family and friends. As per their tradition, the first person who picks up and “breaks the bread” by tearing it apart, takes the first piece before sharing it with others.

Beside non, there is the
Bukhara-style flatbread with a distinctive stamped pattern in the middle.

Some of the local favourites include plov, a rice dish comprising meat, onion and spices cooked in oil, and manti, which are dumplings filled with meat or pumpkin. Visitors should also sample laghman – a noodle dish with thick broth as well as shashlik or skewered meat that resemble kebabs. Tashkent is also famous for its samsa, similar to the Indian samosa but filled with meat. Another signature dish is a meatball soup called shurpa.

Do note the Uzbek diet is meat heavy and vegetarian options are few and far between. The vegetarians in the entourage subsisted mainly on achichuk, a salad dish with three simple ingredients: sliced tomatoes, cucumbers and red onions with herbs.

Song and dance

Uzbekistan’s national dance lazgi is an ancient dance that originated in the Khorezm region and dates back thousands of years. Lazgi is inscribed on the Unesco Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
of Humanity.

There are a different types of lazgi dances. Female dancers are usually in vibrant attire, adorned with gold coin accessories. They move elegantly, accompanied by musical instruments such as doira (drum), dutar and bakshi that are played by men.

In some of the dances, tge male performers don the traditional handmade headwear of Khorezm people known as chugirma or churgurma. These traditional fur hats are made from camel and sheep wools, the different materials denoting the wearers social status.

Every two years, Lazgi International Dance Festival is held in Khiva.

Inspired carpets

A great source of pride for the country is its reputation as a producer of silk carpets of the highest quality.

The visiting entourage got a first hand look at how these gorgeous carpets are made with a visit to Samarakand-Bukhara Silk Carpets J.V – a company famed for producing fine examples of this embroidery.

Staff shared the process of making their classic silk carpet, from silk threads from mulberry silkworms to dyed silk threads using vegetable and natural ingredients such as pomegranate skin, walnut shells, madder roots, and asapragus flowers.

According to the general manager, Abdulahad Badghisi, the oldest carpet on display at the factory has a Ferghana valley design, and it dates back to 2,500 (AD / BC?), and the carpet was made somewhere in the Samarkand area.

Abdullah demonstrated in details on how each silk strand is knotted, one by one, by hand, to create the entire carpet.Traditional or classic patterns were once restricted for royalty but are now available to everyone who can afford the asking price.

A charming personality, Abdullah explained everything about carpets and shared a secret – the special feature of a silk carpet is its colours.

At different angles, the carpet showed different shades of colour. It was beautiful to look at the change of colour, the textures, the quality of the material, and the skilled handwork that goes into the making of a carpet.

A carpet measuring 2 meters x 3 meters could take up to 6 to 18 months to create, but some carpets take more time.

For example, a small-size carpet can take a carpet weaver up to five years to complete, depending on the size, intricacy of designs or pattern and the number of knots.

Such craftmanship does not come cheap with prices touching RM4,000 and beyond.

In Bukhara, we had the chance to visit Bukhara Silk Carpets, where we witnessed women working in pairs to create a variety of designs of carpets, including modern designs.

Here, we found contemporary color palette, apart from traditional design and colors. Another spot to purchase carpets would be Samarkand’s Registan Square, where elegant carpets were for sale.

For those looking for something less extravagant, there is the traditional ‘suzane’ textile with its pomegranate pattern which are used in a variety of handicrafts.

Overall, Uzbekistan is rich with culture, tradition, music and historical monuments, which makes it a destination to explore for a completely different experience.

We feel Tashkent’s climate or heat is much better and kinder to our skin compared to Khiva or Bukhara, so choose to travel to Tashkent, first, if you plan to travel to Uzbekistan.

(A tip to tourists – never book a ticket without checking the weather forecast for the travel period.)