The next leg of my central Asia travel takes me to Uzbekistan. A land full of incredible Islamic
architecture and one of the most significant countries of the Silk Road. Having arrived via
land border crossing from Kazakhstan, I had a short stay here in Tashkent, before continuing to the
famous cities of Samarkand and Bukhara. In this video I will do a self-guided exploration of Tashkent.
I spend the day admiring the beautifully unique architecture of the various metro stations throughout the city,
as well as visiting some landmarks and getting a first glimpse into the Uzbek cuisine.
Good afternoon everyone welcome to another video. Welcome to Tashkent, I am currently
in the capital city of Uzbekistan. I have been staying at Sunrise Caravan hostel, I paid $12
per night for a bunk bed that includes breakfast. So today I am going to film a bit of the
city to give you a glimpse into what the capital city of Uzbekistan looks like. I hope you enjoy that!
Tashkent was the former capital of Soviet Central Asia and is the current capital city
of Uzbekistan with a population of over 2.5 million people. As opposed to touristy cities
such as Bukhara, Samarkand or Khiva staying in Tashkent allows you to feel the pulse of modern-day Uzbekistan.
In the 1960s there was a massive earthquake in Tashkent, which destroyed a lot of
the buildings, including older historic structures. The city was almost completely rebuilt during
this Soviet time therefore it's pretty difficult to actually find historical buildings, Old Town,
things like that. I'm currently walking towards a metro station which is a great way to explore
Tashkent as a city. I'm excited to show you some of the best Metro stations in Tashkent.
Having first experienced Soviet-era metros in Minsk, Belarus, I have grown to be fascinated
by their unique designs and atmosphere. Travelling along the metro networks built across the former
Soviet Union, not only excites me but also feels like entering a series of underground monuments.
Getting onto the metro in Tashkent is one of the best ways to get around. It is one of the
most popular landmarks of the city and you could spend a day, just exploring the stations themselves.
Until 2018, the metro in Tashkent was not allowed to be filmed or to be photographed
because it was used and deemed as a protective and defensive mechanism. Therefore only recently
that people can take photos and share what the inside of Tashkent metros look like.
There are four lines on the Tashkent metro, so it's easy to navigate and
extremely affordable only costing 1400 SOM or around 15 cents per trip. My first journey
took me from Oybek Station to Younes Rejabiy Station nearby the famous Hotel Uzbekistan.
I've just got out of the metro, actually arriving in a local park that has a Hotel Uzbekistan view
from afar. This is one of the sort of to-do list in the city just because of the brutalist Soviet architecture.
You can obviously stay at the hotel, I think, that costs around fifty dollars per night.
I'm not so sure. At the same time, you can also admire the building if you're into that kind of tourism.
I am just enjoying the fact that there are parks around the city because when it got
so hot like this, trees and parks are a saviour. I'm currently at the Amir Timur square and as
you can see there is an Amir Timur huge statue over there. Amir Timur is considered as
the national hero of Uzbekistan. Over there you can see the majestic Hotel Uzbekistan.
I am standing in front of the Hotel Uzbekistan and have been just admiring the grandeur of this building.
I am going to withdraw some cash, before the 2018 there is no way to withdraw money for tourists so
you have to sort of bring cash, loads of cash, and exchange that at the black market.
There are quite of ATM stands like this in the city and usually, the fee is
around 2.5%out of the total amount that you are withdrawing.
I am hungry right now it's a perfect time for lunch I'm going to the Plov Center.
My next destination was the famous Plov Center for some lunch to get there. I continued down
the green metro line which is a slightly newer line built in 2001. I took a brief
stop over to see Bodomzor Station which has a really unique and futuristic design.
So I have arrived at Besh Qozon which is where I'll be having my true Uzbek Plov.
This is one of must to-do lists, I think for tourists including me
to experience what the Central Asian cuisine will look like and will taste like.
As you can see, there are so many people and this is almost 3 P.M!
It's still busy there are a bunch of people waiting for their Plov. This is Plov in the making.
Over here you can see a bunch of carrots, rice over here actually, and in this section, you can see
Plov is being distributed. It's incredible how huge the cooking pan is!
It looks like people are waiting for their turn and you can see the
rice is being distributed and then there will be meats on top of that.
Commonly found throughout Central Asia, plov is known as the national dish of the region.
It typically consists of rice, carrots, oil and meat cooked in a huge cast iron pot, called a Kazan,
heated by wood fire. As well as Plov, fresh bread is the lifeblood of the Central Asian diet.
The bread is often created with different patterns and baked in traditional clay ovens.
So I have got my Plov here, or locally known as Osh.
A plate of this costs 32,000 SOM which is equivalent to $3. You've got this
beautifully decorated rice with carrots, raisins, a bit of I think these are, not quite sure, peanuts? No.
Anyway, you've got lamb meat on top of that. There's a selection of eggs as well and a bit
of salad, tomato and onion. If I'm being honest, I think the flavour could be a bit too much for me personally,
because the rice itself is flavoured by lamb fat and the tomato is good and refreshing.
However, the raw onion makes it like double trouble for me but yeah this is a cultural experience.
Trying the Central Asian cuisine!
When I was in Almaty, one of my favourite metro stations was Baikonur, dedicated to the space program.
Tashkent has also a station themed around space so I wanted to take a detour to see it.
Kosmovatlar station was really interesting,
covered in blue ceramic medallions honouring famous Soviet cosmonauts.
I then headed back up to the red line to check out Mustaqillik Maydoni station.
This is a beautiful station with a unique pillar designs and hanging light structures.
I took a quick stop here to check out the Independence Park and Square.
I am currently at Independence Park, but funny thing enough it's 5:30 P.M. in the afternoon.
They're actually closing the park and it seems like photography is also quite limited around this area.
Sometimes, I think due to the long reign of the previous government which is Islam Karimov, things are still a bit
like hazy in a way that whether you're able to freely take photography or whatnot. Only in
2019 sorry, 2018 after his death, things are a bit more laid back I would say, from reading all the
travel books and histories I gathered. So yeah, I think Uzbekistan personally is a great way
into the Silk Road history, but at the same time it feels a bit more restricted in some shape or form.
At the same time, I think it has the most preserved Islamic historical buildings.
My final destinations took me down the blue line of the metro. The stations on this line boast unique and intricate
architecture particularly Alisher Navoy, one of the most lavish stations in Tashkent. With beautifully
detailed marble and small mosaic domes, this design resembles the mosques built during the Silk Road period.
Before leaving the metro, I took the blue line right to the end to look at Beruniy station which
I thought was really cool for its arched-ceiling with geometrical patterns and grand chandeliers.
I then headed back to Chorsu station to see the huge bazaar. Uzbekistan is historically a nation
of traders and was one of the most significant destinations on the Silk Road. Still to this day,
you see their legacy and history in the form of huge bazaars like this one, home to thousands of
locals doing their daily shopping.
I've arrived at Chorsu Bazaar, which is one of the attractions
main attractions in Tashkent city. This reminds me of the previous bazaar that Azamat took me. However if
I'm being honest, it's quite overwhelming being surrounded by this many people. It's exciting
to see what the locals are doing, what they're selling, how they are buying their day-to-day
basic. At the same time, for someone like me who gets quite tired of being
surrounded by lots of people, it is you know, I need to take some time to just observe and watch.
My final stop on the metro tour took me to G’afur G’ulom dedicated to the
influential poet of the same name. The station has
beautiful emerald pillars and mosaics on the wall representing G’ulom’s poetr.y
From here I could head to the Hazrati Imam Complex to see the large mosque before the sun sets.
I have just got out of the Metro stations and currently walking towards the Hazrati Imam
mosque, which is a large mosque in the city. This is also a great introduction into
the Islamic building that you will be seeing also in Samarkand, Bukhara or Khiva if you are going to these
other parts of Uzbekistan. So this is the Hazrat Imam Complex and the mosque itself have these two
actually such tall minarets, if you can see. Generally, minarets like this are useful
for prayer calling so that the prayer calling can reach lots of people I think.
The mosque was built in 2007, in just four months, during the previous president Karimov's era.
It looks like it has this distinctive Tashkent-style type of mosque, where they have
two large beautiful blue domes. It is quite nice if you want to escape the city a bit and
find a bit of serenity because I don't know if you can hear the birds chirping and it's quieter.
Thank you so much for watching today's episode. Let me know what you think about this video. Have you
been to Tashkent before? Have you been to any of the Central Asian countries? Would you be interested
in traveling to this region? I would love to read your comments. So yeah, I am excited because I am
actually going to Tajikistan, crossing the border by taking an overnight train for 18 hours overnight
train, a bit nervous, but at the same time excited. If you want to watch the next video, make sure to
subscribe and yeah don't forget to check out my other social media. See you again next time, bye!