ARRIVAL IN TASHKENT
Arrival in Tashkent
6.00 am, arrival at Tashkent international airport.
Passport stamped, we officially entered Uzbekistan, our 2022 summer destination. At the baggage gate, what would be our impeccable, professional and friendly guide Oybek was waiting for us, about whom we will tell you more in the next articles in this section.
At that time the sun was already high and was heating up the large parking area where the Chevrolet Lacetti was parked, which would chauffeur us around until late afternoon. Of course it was a Chevrolet, of course it was white. In Uzbekistan you will see almost exclusively Chevrolets of this color, and if you are wondering if they have run out of colors and car models, you are wrong. This peculiarity can be traced back to three reasons: within the country there is a large Chevrolet production factory, importing cars from abroad costs a lot, and above all the scorching summer heat quickly fades all colors, except white.
The driver's suit was also white as he kindly took the luggage and started the engine. First stop was the Shodlik Hotel, where breakfast and just 2 hours of relaxation awaited us. The retrò structure, in Soviet style, catapulted us for a moment into a book by Ian Fleming, and the door lock, which can be opened using a 70s/80s perforated card, the cathode ray tube television, contributed to giving support to the imagination, and the furnishings in keeping with the era of the building. The hotel features the same architectural style as almost the entire city, rebuilt after the great earthquake of 1966, with the mammoth glass and marble government buildings that represented the boundless power of the executive.
The rest of the city, hidden among the many trees present, takes a back seat to these buildings, living political symbols, which are the only ones clearly visible while walking along the wide city avenues, also a legacy of an old ideology according to which the people had to submit to the rigid system of government.
Diametrically opposite was the pleasant view that the large balcony of our room gave us, with the modern skyline made up of skyscrapers under construction, the desire for an ongoing political change, an attempt to open up to the contemporary world.
After the short rest and the subsequent Euro-Sum exchange on the ground floor of the hotel, we were taken by car to the various points of interest in the city, with Oybek always ready to explain everything to us in perfect Italian.
Below we report everything we saw and experienced in Tashkent.
Hazrati Imam Complex
At this complex we saw Uzbekistan's first beautiful Islamic buildings, consisting of sand-colored masonry facades decorated with blue-patterned tiles, and crowned with turquoise domes.
Overall there are:
- The Kaffal Shoshi mausoleum, dedicated to the Islamic poet and scholar.
- The beautiful Barak Khan madrasa, built by one of Mirzo Ulugbek's descendants, which we will talk about in future articles. The building, whose facade is finely covered with ceramics and calligraphic decorations, houses a garden and the students' cells.
- The Tellya Sheikh Mosque, founded in the 16th century, the same period as the Barak Khan madrasa
- The Moye Mubarek library museum, which among the thousands of manuscripts and ancient books also houses the precious Koran of Osman, believed to be the oldest in the world.
The Koran of Osman
Written in the mid-7th century, it contains 353 pages of parchment. It is believed to be the oldest and best-preserved Quran in the world. Its history is as important as its size: Tamerlane took it in the Iraqi city of Basra, upon returning from the victorious military campaign against the Turkish ruler Bayazid.
The Koran was thus transferred to Samarkand, where it remained in a madrasa until it was brought to St. Petersburg by the Russian general Von Kaufman, who conquered the city in 1869.
In 1917 the Uzbek government did its utmost to return it, and managed to get it back a few years later, thanks to the intercession of Lenin himself.
The manuscript is currently preserved in a sarcophagus of fine German workmanship which maintains optimal humidity and temperature conditions.
After the visit we headed to a well-known restaurant to taste Plov, the most representative dish of the country, a must try at least once. This oriental dish made up of a mixture of meat, vegetables and eggs (chicken and quail) has a particular taste thanks to the rice which only in Uzbekistan is left to cook slowly in zirvak, a rich meat and vegetable broth. The cooking takes place in pots large enough to contain rice to feed an entire village!
After lunch we went to see the Chorsu Bazaar, or Four Rivers Market, the largest agricultural market in the city. The Russian-built Bazaar is sui generis: under the large green dome, local sellers proudly display their wares, consisting of spices, meat, dried fruit, bread and vegetables, and when a potential buyer passes by they attract attention by showing a toothy smile (most often golden)!
With the commercial experience acquired at the bazaar, we headed to the Museum of Uzbek Applied Arts, built in 1937, which preserves valuable examples of late 19th century decorative art.
The museum houses thousands of objects, but the strong point are the niched ceilings and walls, all covered in finely crafted and hand-painted wood.
The last stop was the subway, also built after the great earthquake of 1966, which proved to be an architectural jewel.
It was forbidden to take photos inside the subway because it was considered an anti-atomic shelter by Uzbek national security. Each station boasts a specific style: we stopped at the one dedicated to astronomy and the space race, which celebrates the exploits of Ulugbek, Yuri Gagarin and Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to reach space.
That's all! If you like this text or have any question, leave a comment below.