Tashkent
Tashkent's main streets radiate from Amir Timur Maydoni, where this statue of Timur (Tamerlane) takes pride of place.
Must-see attractions in Uzbekistan
Tashkent
Souvenir shops occupy the student rooms of this 16th-century medressa located on the western side of Khast Imom square, making this one of the best places…
Nukus
On a hill 20km west of Nukus, near Hojeli, are the remains of ancient Mizdakhan, once the second-largest city in Khorezm. Inhabited from the 4th century…
Shakhrisabz
Timur finished the 3500-sq-metre mausoleum complex of the Dorus Siyadat in 1392 and at the time it may have overshadowed even the Ak-Saray Palace. The…
Khiva
Walk south from the Abdulla Khan Medressa to the Islom Hoja Medressa and minaret – Khiva’s newest Islamic monuments, both built in 1910. You can climb the…
Samarkand
The Afrosiab Museum was built around one of Samarkand’s more important archaeological finds, a chipped 7th-century fresco of the Sogdian King Varkhuman (r…
Mausoleum of Al-Hakim al-Termizi
Uzbekistan
Termiz's holiest sight is dedicated to a 9th-century Sufi philosopher, known locally as Al-Hakim, the city’s patron saint. In a triumph for…
Bukhara
This wealthy merchant's house, built in 1892, was once home to one of Bukhara’s many infamous personalities, the man who plotted with the Bolsheviks to…
Samarkand
The remains of Ulugbek’s 15th-century observatory is one of the great archaeological finds of the 20th century. Ulugbek was probably more famous as an…
Bukhara
This peaceful and little-visited burial complex a few kilometres west of Bukhara is a good place to escape the tour bus crowds and has partially managed…
Bukhara
The peculiar Chashma Ayub (Spring of Job) mausoleum dates from the 12th century and has a tent-like Karakhanid-style roof. Legend has it that the prophet…
Uzbekistan
The best place to glimpse Termiz's Buddhist past is at this 3rd-century-AD Buddhist monastery complex, 9km west of the bus station. Discovered only in…
Samarkand
Across Shahizinda ko'chasi from the Siob Bazaar, the Hazrat-Hizr Mosque occupies a hill on the fringes of Afrosiab. The 8th-century mosque that once stood…
Bukhara
For a look at the lifestyle of the last emir, Alim Khan, go to his summer palace (1912–18), 6km north of Bukhara. The three-building compound mixes…
Khiva
Almost in the centre of the Ichon-Qala, the large and atmospheric Juma Mosque is interesting for the 218 wooden columns supporting its roof – a concept…
Fergana Valley
This charming medressa was converted into a crafts centre more than a decade ago, with the former hujras (cell-like living quarters) now housing a suzani…
Khiva
The Isfandiyar Palace (also called the Palace of Nurullabay) was built between 1906 and 1912, and like the emir’s summer palace in Bukhara displays some…
Bukhara
Northeast of the Ark and just behind it is the old Zindon (jail). Morbidly fascinating attractions include a torture chamber, shackles used on prisoners…
Shakhrisabz
Facing Kok-Gumbaz is Dorut Tilyovat, the original burial complex of Timur’s forebears. Under the dome on the left is the Mausoleum of Sheikh Shamseddin…
Bukhara
Built in 1417, this is Central Asia’s oldest medressa, and may well be familiar to you as it became a model for many others. The blue-tiled medressa, one…
Bukhara
The working Miri Arab Madrasah, with its luminous blue domes, is among Uzbekistan’s most striking buildings, especially in later afternoon light. The…
Samarkand
Hidden in the Old Town on unmarked Denau is this working 19th-century synagogue, built in 1891 for Samarkand's Jewish community. The atmospheric hall has…
Fergana Valley
Kokand’s most impressive mosque, built by Umar Khan in 1812, is centred on a 22m minaret and includes a colourful 100m-long aivan (portico) supported by…
Fergana Valley
Of the thousand local potters who make a living from the legendary local loam, only a handful are considered true masters who still use traditional…
Bukhara
The Nadir Divanbegi Medressa was built as a caravanserai, but was converted in 1622 after the khan mistook it for a medressa (the khan was considered…
Shakhrisabz
In the southeastern corner of the long-gone Dorus Siyadat is a bunker with a wooden door leading to an underground room, the Crypt of Timur. The plain…
Fortress of Alexander the Great
Uzbekistan
A series of eroded mud-walled fortifications and buttresses line the hill south of Nurata village, dating from Alexander the Great's founding of the town…
Bukhara
This museum of art has a worthy collection of mostly 20th-century paintings by Bukharan and Russian artists, including the atmospheric works of Pavel…
Uzbekistan
It's worth the 30-minute walk northwest from the Sultan Saodat Ensemble to this ruined fortified manor house, where you can wander the maze-like series of…
Uzbekistan
Beneath the Fortress of Alexander the Great is the trout-filled Chashma Spring, formed, it is said, where the Prophet Mohammed’s son-in-law Hazrat Ali…
Bukhara
On the western side of the Lyabi-Hauz is the Nadir Divanbegi Khanaka, a Sufi cloister used for religious ceremonies, debates and instruction. Both this…
Khiva
East of the Kuhna Ark, across an open space that was once a busy palace square (and place of execution), the 19th-century Mohammed Rakhim Khan Medressa is…
Samarkand
Those with adventurous taste buds can sign up for a tasting of eight wines, balzams and cognacs from the Hovrenko Wine Factory, which has been producing…
Khiva
The Old Town's East Gate, a long, vaulted 19th-century passage with several sets of immense carved doors, bridges the Anusha Khan baths and the bazaar…
Uzbekistan
The restored Timurid-style Sultan Saodat ensemble of monochrome mausoleums won’t impress you if you’ve been to Samarkand, but it makes a fun trip combined…
Tashkent
One of the more recent additions to Tashkent's museum scene is this impressive building, which presents rotating exhibits of Uzbekistan's top contemporary…
Uzbekistan
The beached ships are a five-minute walk from the Oybek Hotel, at the northwest end of town, across the main road and beyond the collection of homes. Once…
Bukhara
Beside a pool opposite the Ark’s gate is the functioning Bolo-Hauz Mosque (1718), the emirs’ official place of worship. The stunning painted wood and…
Shakhrisabz
This heavily renovated, large Friday mosque was completed by Ulugbek in 1434 in honour of his father Shah Rukh (who was Timur’s son). The name,…
Uzbekistan
Guldursun Qala was built as early as the 1st century, but reached a high point in the 12th century under the Khorezmshahs. Walk through the main eastern…
