Getty Images/Lonely Planet Images
Tashkent
Sprawling Tashkent (Toshkent) is Central Asia’s hub and the place where everything in Uzbekistan happens. It's one part newly built national capital, thick with the institutions of power, one part leafy Soviet city, and yet another part quiet Uzbek town, where traditionally clad farmers cart their wares through a maze of mud-walled houses to the grinding crowds of the bazaar. Tashkent is a fascinating jumble of contradictions that's well worth exploring over several days.
Like most places that travelers use mainly to get somewhere else, Tashkent doesn't always immediately charm visitors, but it's a surprisingly fun and interesting place, with the best restaurants, museums and nightlife in the country. There’s also plenty of opportunity to escape the metropolis for great hiking, rafting and skiing in Ugam-Chatkal National Park, just a 1½-hour drive away.
Latest Stories from Tashkent
Top attractions
These are our favorite local haunts, touristy spots, and hidden gems throughout Tashkent.
See
History Museum of the People of Uzbekistan
The History Museum is a must-visit for anyone looking for a primer on the history of Turkestan from its earliest settlements 5000 years ago to the present. The 2nd floor has some fine Zoroastrian and Buddhist artefacts, including several 1st- to 3rd-century Buddhas and Buddha fragments from Fayoz-Tepe area near Termiz.
See
Chorsu Bazaar
Tashkent’s most famous farmers market, topped by a giant green dome, is a delightful slice of city life spilling into the streets off the Old Town’s southern edge. There are acres of spices arranged in brightly coloured mountains, Volkswagen-sized sacks of grain, entire warehouses dedicated to sweets, and the freshest bread and fruits around. Souvenir hunters will find kurpacha (colourful sitting mattresses), skullcaps, chapan (traditional heavy quilted cloaks), ceramics and knives here.
See
Moyie Mubarek Library Museum
The primary attraction of Khast Imom square is this library museum, which houses the 7th-century Osman Quran (Uthman Quran), said to be the world’s oldest. This enormous deerskin tome was brought to Samarkand by Timur, then taken to Moscow by the Russians in 1868 before being returned to Tashkent by Lenin in 1924 as an act of goodwill towards Turkestan’s Muslims. It is Tashkent’s most important sight.
See
State Fine Arts Museum
The four floors of this excellent museum walk you through 1500 years of art in Uzbekistan, from 7th-century Buddhist relics from Kuva and the Greek-inspired head of Hercules from Khalchayan near Termiz, to the art of Soviet Uzbekistan. There are even a few 19th-century paintings of second-tier Russian and European artists hanging about. There’s an impressive section on Uzbek applied art – notably some lovely ghanch (plaster carvings) from Bukhara, carved wooden doors from Khiva and the silk-on-cotton embroidered hangings called suzani.
See
Museum of Applied Arts
The Museum of Applied Arts occupies an exquisite house full of bright ghanch (carved and painted plaster) and carved wood. It was built in the 1930s, at the height of the Soviet period, but nonetheless serves as a sneak preview of the older architectural highlights lurking in Bukhara and Samarkand. The ceramic and textile exhibits here, with English descriptions, are a fine way to bone up on the regional decorative styles of Uzbekistan. There’s a small cafe and pricey gift shop here too.
See
Minor Mosque
The striking new Minor Mosque, also known as the white mosque for the colour of its marble, is proof that Uzbekistan still knows how to create sublime Islamic architecture. The lovely circular prayer hall has a beautifully ornate mihrab (a niche indicating the direction of Mecca) and ceiling. Walk south back to Minor metro through the nearby Minor Cemetery or the pleasant canal-side path.
See
Assumption Cathedral
It's impossible to miss the handsome gold onion domes, pastel blue walls and 50m bell tower of the impressive Assumption Cathedral. Built in 1958 and renovated in the 1990s, this is the biggest of the four Orthodox churches in Tashkent. It's particularly worth visiting on Sunday when Tashkent's Russian babushkas (old women) flock here to make devotions in a sea of incense.
See
Statue of Timur
Tashkent's main streets radiate from Amir Timur Maydoni, where this statue of Timur (Tamerlane) takes pride of place.
See
Barak Khan Medressa
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 to pick up a last-minute souvenir. Crafts include textiles, miniatures, scarves, embroidered bags, ceramics and even mobile phone cases.