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Uzbekistan Travel Guide

The proud home of breathtaking cities on the ancient Silk Road

Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south.

Uzbekistan has the the top-three Asian cities: Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva. These ancient cities were located on the ancient Silk Road, the trading route between China and the West. The route took its name from silk, the commodity most in demand in Europe from China during the Roman period. One of the oldest cities of Uzbekistan and in the world is Samarkand, established during the middle of the first century BC under the name Marakanda and later known as Afrosiab. The settlement of Bukhara in Uzbekistan dates back to the 8th century when it was for 200 years the center of an expanding Islamic kingdom and prospered as a trade and intellectual center for Central Asia. Khiva is known as a museum city under the open sky. It existed as a town for about 900 years, but developed into the settlement seen today only in the 19th century, when it was the last oasis on the northern Russian slave trade rout.

Some of the most influential and savage conquerors came and ruled these lands. Alexander the Great set up at least 8 cities in Central Asia between 334 - 323 BC before the caravans began traveling through the Silk Road after around 138 BC China opened its border to trade. Between 484 - 1150 Huns, Turks and Arabs came from the west and the latest brought with them a new religion of Islam. Many mosques and Madrassahs were built in Uzbekistan cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva during this period, including remaining structures of the Samanids. Most of the cities were destroyed during the invasion of the Genghis Khan in 1220. Later Timur, known also as Tamerlane, resurrected once famous cities by using the labor of slaves and artists captured during successful crusades. Timur conquered Persia, captured Baghdad, and lead expeditions to Anatolia and India.

Uzbekistan was incorporated into the Russian Empire in the 19th century and in 1924 became a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, known as the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR). It has been an independent republic since December 1991. Uzbekistan's economy relies mainly on commodity production, including cotton, gold, uranium, and natural gas. Uzbekistan continues to maintain rigid economic controls, which often repel foreign investors.

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Guide of Uzbekistan Travel Guide