Khiva
From inside the Juma Mosque, you can sometimes climb the 82 very dark steps up to the pigeon-poop-splattered gallery of this 47m minaret, for fine views…
Must-see attractions in Uzbekistan
Samarkand
Across the street from Ishratkhana Mausoleum is the blue-domed Hoja Abdi Darun Mausoleum, which shares a tranquil, shady courtyard with a mosque and a…
Tashkent
North of Mustaqillik maydoni is the Crying Mother Monument. Fronted by an eternal flame, it was constructed in 1999 to honour the 400,000 Uzbek soldiers…
Jewish Community Centre & Synagogue
Bukhara
Bukhara's main synagogue is in the old town. It holds regular services and also sponsors a functioning Jewish school just around the corner. Look for the…
Bukhara
This private gallery in the former Olimjon Caravanserai contains mesmerising photos of Bukhara Jews, gypsies and city life shot by Bukharan photographer…
Khiva
The tall Allakuli Khan Medressa is one of several buildings in the eastern section of the Ichan Qala built by Allakuli Khan in the 1830s and '40s. It…
Tashkent
The House of Photography hosts rotating exhibits of Uzbekistan’s top contemporary photographers as well as shows by international names in the field. It's…
Samarkand
Behind the ugly wall surrounding Gur-e-Amir is this unexpected 15th-century mausoleum, with some stunningly restored blue and gold decoration under the…
Bukhara
The Cap Makers Bazaar is a typically domed bazaar straddling one of Bukhara's main street junctions. It contains several souvenir stalls that still sell…
Bukhara
Not far from the Ismail Samani Tomb is the Talipach Gate and one of the city's few remaining eroded sections of Shaybanid-era town walls. Only 2km out of…
Karakalpak State Museum of Regional Studies
Nukus
Though not yet open at the time of writing, this museum is designed to house the region's main ethnographic and jewellery displays, and focus on the…
Samarkand
This glowering statue of Timur seated on his throne marks the boundary between the old Uzbek town and the Russian-designed new town. It's a major landmark…
Tashkent
The working 16th-century Kulkedash medressa has an unusual garden courtyard and sits beside Tashkent’s silver-domed Juma (Friday) Mosque on a hill…
Tashkent
Downtown Tashkent’s largest park has an eccentric mix of brutal Soviet-era, Uzbek government buildings and post-independence monuments, all set in a…
Bukhara
The Moneychangers' Bazaar is a typically domed bazaar straddling one of Bukhara's main street junctions. It contains several souvenir stalls and a…
Uzbekistan
The unique fortification walls here are punctured by hundreds of arrow slits and once garrisoned 2000 soldiers. The site overlooks an old branch of the…
Samarkand
The small, 19th-century Imon Mosque has an open porch, tall carved columns and a brightly restored ceiling. Respectfully dressed visitors are always…
Tashkent
This huge mosque, built on ex-President Karimov's orders in 2007, is flanked by two 54m-tall minarets. Remove your shoes if you want to enter.
Tashkent
The animal-festooned brick facade of the Tsarist-era Romanov Palace is worth a quick look but the building itself is closed to the public.
Bukhara
The student rooms at the 16th-century Abdul Aziz Khan Medressa are occupied, rather typically, by souvenir shops. This is an unrestored gem, built by its…
Sheikhantaur Mausoleum Complex
Tashkent
Just north of Navoi boulevard are three 15th-century mausoleums. The biggest, on the grounds of the Tashkent Islamic University, bears the name of Yunus…
State History Museum of the Timurids
Tashkent
Shaped like a Mexican sombrero, this museum was built to commemorate the 600th birthday of Timur. There are almost no genuine artefacts here, but there…
Samarkand
The restored tomb of the Old Testament prophet Daniyar (Daniel) is a long, low structure topped with five domes, containing an 18m sarcophagus – legend…
Fergana Valley
Across from the Eski Bazaar is the handsome 19th-century Jome Mosque & Medressa, said to be the only building to survive the 1902 earthquake. It reopened…
Bukhara
Only hardcore fans of Islamic architecture will want to travel 2km east of the centre to this delicate little mausoleum, the resting place of a Mongol…
Tashkent
This 375m-tall, three-legged monster, the epitome of Soviet design, stands north of the city centre but can be seen from all over town. The price of…
Uzbekistan
This reserve is a tugai (trees, shrubs and salt-resistant plants unique to Central Asia) forest that's home to 91 bird species and 21 mammal species. It's…
Bukhara
Deep in the old town is the tiny and decrepit Turki Jandi mausoleum, favoured for getting one’s prayers answered. Turki Jandi’s tomb is accessed through…
Fergana Valley
This museum occupies the site of the royal apartments where Zahiruddin Babur (1483–1530) lived and studied as a boy within Ark-Ichy, the town’s long-gone…
Samarkand
If you prefer your ruins really ruined, it’s worth the slog out to the crumbling 15th-century Ishratkhana Mausoleum, newly topped by a tin roof. With a…
Samarkand
This brick mausoleum, dated 1380 and possibly the city’s oldest surviving monument, was renovated in 2015 and now serves as a souvenir and craft shop. The…
Fergana Valley
Walk five minutes down Muqimi ko'chasi from Khamza ko'chasi to the truncated remnants of the 19th-century Sahib Mian (Sohibzoda) Hazrat Medressa, where…
Fergana Valley
The Bolsheviks closed the 1799 Narbutabey Medressa, but it opened after independence only to have Karimov shut it down again in 2008. Visitors can visit…
Bukhara
A century ago there were at least seven synagogues in Bukhara, reduced after 1920 to two. This synagogue is located southwest of the old town – from the…
Bukhara
Southeast of Samani Park are two massive medressas, one named for the great Shaybanid ruler Abdulla Khan (currently empty) and the other for his mother…
Samarkand
The Regional Studies Museum occupies an old Jewish merchant’s house, and has a lavish wing devoted to Jewish history, with old photos of Samarkand’s once…
Allakuli Khan Bazaar & Caravanserai
Khiva
North of the Allakuli Khan Medressa is the Allakuli Khan Bazaar & Caravanserai. The entrance to both is through tall wooden gates beside the medressa. The…
Fergana Valley
With a new facade, twin minarets and a taharkhana (wash house), the 19th-century Devanboy Mosque now plays the role of Andijon's Friday mosque. The…
Bukhara
In Bukhara's backstreets between Hoja Nurabad and Islamov, across from the Ark on Hoja Nurabad, the interior of the 16th-century Hoja Zayniddin Mosque has…
Khiva
This small mausoleum dates to 1310 when Khiva was under the Golden Horde of the Mongol empire. You might find people praying in front of the 19th-century…
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