Tashkent

Tashkent

Tashkent is the capital city of Uzbekistan. It is an ancient city on the Great Silk Road from China to Europe. Little remains of the ancient city after the 1966 earthquake and earlier modernisation work following the 1917 revolution.

Tashkent is a very Soviet city that has little remaining from its ancient Central Asian past. The city has a mixture of modern new office buildings, hotels, parks and crumbling Soviet style apartment blocks. The streets are generally clean and there are not too many potholes in the city center. Further out, the infrastructure is not so good.

Over the last few years the Uzbek government has embarked on a major reconstruction program in the centre of the city. Roads, government buildings and parks are all being reconstructed (many historical buildings and sites are bulldozed in process). To the visitor, the new city looks very impressive, although many of the local residents have yet to see any improvement in their residential areas.

Tashkent is waiting for a boom. The infrastructure, hotels and shops are there but the influx of people and business has failed to materialise. This is caused in part by a combination of government policy and bad publicity.

Things to do in Tashkent

■ Discover Chorsu Square
■ Shopping at Chorsu Bazaar
■ Visit Abdulkasim Medressah
■ Visit Khavendi Takhur Sheikh Mausoleum
■ Tashkent TV Tower

Stay in Tashkent

■ Grand Mir Hotel
■ Dedeman Silk Road Hotel
■ Markaziy Hotel
■ Tashkent Palace Hotel/
■ Le Grande Plaza Hotel
■ Malika Hotel
■ Expo Tashkent Hotel
■ Rovshan Hotel