Breathtaking. The magic of a starry evening in Khiva that makes you feel transported to a scene from 1001 nights; clouds drifting over a minaret in Bukhara; the intense blue of the majolica tiles on the magnificent Registan in Samarkand; the hussle of the Chorsu bazaar in Tashkent.
Uzbekistan is a place you have already been to - in your imagination. If this sounds overly romantic, that is because we believe that there is something special for everyone when they take a vacation to Uzbekistan. History, romance, the feel of a place less travelled, engaging with the wonderful people who are genuinely delighted that you are visiting their country and will do anything to make your stay feel more special.
Two thousand years ago the Silk Road trade routes crisscrossed Eurasia, from China to the ports of the Mediterranean, from the first millennium AD silk was already being sold in Europe in the fourth century BC, and many important scientific and technological innovations migrated along the Silk Road to the West: gunpowder, the magnetic compass, the printing press, mathematics, ceramic and lacquer crafts.
First Transoxiana, then Turkestan, now Uzbekistan, this part of central Asia has always been a melting pot and a much contested region. From Alexander the Great to Ghengis Khan to the ‘Great Game’ between Russia and Great Britain in the 19th century, Uzbekistan finally succumbed to the Soviet Empire. With Stalin’s terrible divide and rule policy in the region, it seems almost incredible that the key cities on the path of the Silk road are still relatively unchanged and the old traditions of the people have been preserved.
For custom luxury travel and tours to Uzbekistan, please contact one of our travel experts.
