Must-see attractions in Uzbekistan

Tashkent's main streets radiate from Amir Timur Maydoni, where this statue of Timur (Tamerlane) takes pride of place.

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Northeast of the Ark and just behind it is the old Zindon (jail). Morbidly fascinating attractions include a torture chamber, shackles used on prisoners…

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…

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…