Assalomu alaykum! Welcome to the heart of the Silk Road—Uzbekistan, a doubly landlocked nation in Central Asia where soaring turquoise domes meet ancient desert citadels. There are around 36,000,000 people living here, and the capital is Tashkent, a city known for its wide avenues, lush parks, and incredibly ornate Soviet-era metro stations. The official language is Uzbek, a Turkic language, though Russian is also widely used for business and interethnic communication.
Uzbekistan covers about 447,400 square kilometers (172,700 square miles). That’s roughly the same size as the state of California or about twice the size of Great Britain. Much of the landscape is dominated by the Kyzylkum Desert, but it is framed by the fertile Fergana Valley and the dramatic foothills of the Tien Shan mountains.
The most popular sports are Football, Boxing, and Kurash (a traditional form of upright wrestling). Their national animal is the Huma bird (Semurg), a mythical creature of luck and freedom that is depicted on the national emblem.
The flag consists of three horizontal stripes of blue, white, and green separated by two thin red lines with a white crescent and twelve stars in the upper hoist, where the blue represents the sky and water, the white stands for peace and purity, the green symbolizes nature and fertility, the red lines represent the life force within all people, and the stars signify the twelve months and signs of the zodiac.
The food is legendary throughout Central Asia for its richness and flavor. You must try Plov (Osh), the national pride, which is a slow-cooked rice dish with lamb, carrots, and onions; every city has its own secret recipe. Another favorite is Somsa, flaky pastry pockets filled with meat or pumpkin and baked in a traditional clay oven called a tandir. For a hearty soup, try Shurpa, and never leave a table without breaking Non, the beautifully patterned circular flatbread that is considered sacred.
Uzbekistan is home to Samarkand, a city over 2,500 years old that features Registan Square, often called the most spectacular architectural ensemble in the Islamic world. The country features the “Open Air Museum” city of Khiva, whose inner fortress, Itchan Kala, remains unchanged from the days of the Silk Road caravans. You can visit Bukhara, where you can wander through ancient trading domes and see the towering Kalyan Minaret, which was so impressive that Genghis Khan famously ordered it to be spared from destruction. For a natural wonder, you can see the receding shoreline of the Aral Sea and the “Ship Graveyard” at Muynak. Interestingly, Uzbekistan is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world, meaning every country surrounding it is also landlocked!
From the silk weaving workshops of Margilan to the high-speed trains connecting ancient oases, Uzbekistan is a land of timeless history and incredible hospitality. Rahmat! That means “Thank you!”