Expatriates Forums in Uzbekistan

Travelling to Uzbekistan: some questions

Writer-Ukraine — Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:33 pm

Author: Writer-Ukraine

Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2009 2:33 pm

Hi,

I’m a 24 year-old British translator and editor, currently working in Kyiv, Ukraine. I’ve been planning a journey through the Caucasus and Central Asia for a couple of years – I’m writing a collection of travel stories - and it looks as if next spring I’ll finally have the time and money to make it happen.

I have a degree in Russian, and studied in Russia before moving to Ukraine, but I have always been captivated by the culture in the satellite states. I have read a fair amount about Uzbekistan, but haven’t found much information that is helpful for planning a journey.

So, my questions are:

- How easy/safe is it to move across the country, and across borders? How expensive/reliable are trains and marshrutki?

- What are the visa requirements for short-term, tourist stays?

- How widely is Russian spoken in towns and cities? Do people react to foreigners positively or negatively?

- How many expats are there, generally?

- What are Uzbekistan’s landmarks? – (not necessarily the biggest tourist attractions, but the places that best represent the country and its people).

- What is a realistic daily budget (two meals, transport and accommodation)?

Apologies if I’ve asked any questions that appear a hundred times on the forum. I’d be very grateful for any advice, ideas and information.

Thanks,

Jon

DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS IN UZBEKISTAN / EMBASSIES IN UZBEKISTAN

expatuz — Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:21 am

Author: expatuz

Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2009 9:21 am

the numbers have changed now. all 7 digit numbers start now with 2 not 1

HOTELS DIRECTORY IN UZBEKISTAN / UZBEKISTAN HOTEL GUIDE

Uzbekistan Info — Thu May 10, 2007 4:38 am

Author: Uzbekistan Info

Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 4:38 am

HOTELS DIRECTORY IN UZBEKISTAN

TASHKENT

Central Hotel
15, Amir Termur Street,
Tashkent
Phone: +998 71 138-3000

Hotel Dedeman Silk Road
Amir Temur, C4, 7/8,
Tashkent
Phone: +998 71 120-3700
Fax: +998 71 134-4242
Email: gmassistant@dedemansilkroadtashkent.com
Website: www.dedeman.com

Hotel Uzbekistan
45 Hamza Street,
Tashkent
Phone: +998 71 120-7777
Fax: +998 71 120-7777

Intercontinental Tashkent
107A, Amir Temur Street,
Tashkent
Phone: +998 71 120-7000
Website: www.intercontinental.com

Radisson SAS Hotel
88 Amir Temur Street,
Tashkent
Phone: +998 71 120-4900
Website: www.radisson.com

Tashkent Palace Hotel
56 Buyuk Turon Street,
Tashkent
Phone: +998 71 120-5800

GETTING AROUND IN UZBEKISTAN / UZBEKISTAN TRANSPORT GUIDE

Uzbekistan Info — Thu May 10, 2007 3:12 am

Author: Uzbekistan Info

Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 3:12 am

GETTING AROUND IN UZBEKISTAN

BY AIR

Uzbekistan Airways (HY) (website: www.uzairways.com) flies to all the major towns and cities in Uzbekistan on a regular basis. Destinations include Andijan, Karshi, Namangan, Navoi (which is 45 minutes by bus from Bukhara), Nukus, Samarkand, Tashkent and Termez. Tickets can be bought at the Uzbekistan Airways ticket agency opposite the Hotel Russia on Shota Rustaveli in Tashkent or at the departure terminal of the airport. International flights booked in Tashkent should be paid for in US Dollars although some credit cards are accepted. It is preferable to pay for domestic flights in Sum.

Approximate flight times from Tashkent to Termez is one hour 20 minutes, to Nukus is two hours, to Samarkand is 40 minutes, to Navoi is one hour and to Namangan is one hour 40 minutes.

BY RAIL

There are 3400km (2113 miles) of railways linking Termez, Samarkand, Bukhara, the Fergana Valley and Nukus. There are two railway stations in Tashkent – North and South. The Trans-Caspian Railway traverses the country from Chardzhou in Turkmenistan via Kagan (near Bukhara), Samarkand and Dzhizak, where the railway branches off to serve the capital, Tashkent. Passengers should store valuables under the bed or seat, and should not leave the compartment unattended. Tickets can be bought on the ground floor of the Hotel Locomotif or at the OVIR office at the station.

BY ROAD

The Republic of Uzbekistan is served by a reasonable road network. Traffic drives on the right.

Bus

Services connect all the major towns within Uzbekistan and are cheap and fairly reliable.

Taxi & car rental

Taxis and cars for rent can be found in all major towns. It is safer to use officially marked taxis, although many taxis are unlicensed. Travellers are advised to agree a fare in advance, and not to share taxis with strangers. As many of the street names have changed since independence, it is also advisable to ascertain both the old and the new street names when asking directions. Cars can be rented by the trip, by the hour or by the day or week.

Documentation: An International Driving Permit will be required when renting a car..

URBAN TRANSPORTATION

Tashkent is served by taxis, buses, trolleybuses, trams and the only underground in Central Asia. The underground network has been expanded making it 47km (19 miles) long. There are now three lines: Chilanzar, Uzbekistan and Yunusabad. Public transport is cheap and generally reliable.

UZBEKISTAN TOURISM GUIDE / TOURISM IN UZBEKISTAN

Uzbekistan Info — Wed May 09, 2007 11:50 am

Author: Uzbekistan Info

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 11:50 am

UZBEKISTAN TOURISM GUIDE

GENERAL

Uzbekistan lies astride the Silk Road, the ancient trading route between China and the West. The country boasts some of the finest architectural jewels among the Silk Road countries, featuring intricate Islamic tile work, turquoise domes, minarets and preserved relics from the time when Central Asia was a centre of empire and learning. Good examples of this architecture can be found in the ancient walled city of Khiva in Urgench, the winding narrow streets of the old town of Bukhara and Samarkand, known locally as the ‘Rome of the Orient’. The Ferghana Valley, surrounded by the Tian Shan and Pamir mountains, still produces silk and is well worth visiting for its friendly bazaars and landscape of cotton fields, mulberry trees and fruit orchards.

Uzbektourism will arrange tours to suit taste and budget. An increasing number of Western tour companies offer packages that take travellers to Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent, with all accommodation and travel paid before leaving. Owing to the difficulties of touring independently, travellers with limited time are advised to buy a package and make use of the services of a recognised tour company.

TASHKENT

The capital lies in the valley of the River Chirchik and is the fourth-largest city in the CIS. Tashkent has always been an important international transport junction. Unfortunately, it preserves only a small proportion of its architectural past. A massive earthquake in 1966 flattened much of the old city and it was rebuilt with broad, tree-lined streets and the new buildings are of little architectural interest. The earlier buildings lie in the old town to the west of the centre. A myriad of narrow winding alleys, it stands in stark contrast to the more modern Tashkent. Of interest among the older buildings are the 16th-century Kukeldash Madrasa, which is being restored as a museum, and the Kaffali-Shash Mausoleum. Many of the Islamic sites in Tashkent are not open to non-Muslims, and visitors should always ask permission before entering a mosque or other religious building. Tashkent houses many museums of Uzbek and pre-Uzbek culture. These include the State Art Museum, which houses a collection of paintings, ceramics and the Bukharan royal robes. The Museum of Decorative and Applied Arts exhibits embroidered wall hangings and reproduction antique jewellery. As important historical figures, such as Amir Timur – better known as Tamerlane in the West – are being given greater prominence, the exhibits and perspective of the museums are also changing.

SAMARKAND

Samarkand is the site of Alexander the Great’s slaying of his friend Cleitos, the pivot of the Silk Road and the city transformed by Timur in the 14th century into one of the world’s greatest capitals. Founded over 5000 years ago, the city flourished until the 16th century before the sea routes to China and the rest of the East diminished its importance as a trading centre. Much of its past glory survives or has been restored. The centre of the historical town is the Registan Square, where three huge madrasas (Islamic seminaries) – including Shir-Dor and Tillya-Kari – built between the 15th and 17th centuries, dominate the area. Decorated with blue tiles and intricate mosaics, they give some idea of the grandeur that marked Samarkand in its heyday.

The Bibi Khanym Mosque, not far from the Registan, is testimony to Timur’s love for his wife. Now it is a pale shadow of its former self, having been partly destroyed in the 1897 earthquake, and seems permanently under repair. However, it is still possible to see the breadth of vision of the man who conquered so much of central and south Asia.

Timur himself is buried in the Gur Emir. On the ground floor, under the massive cupola, lie the ceremonial graves of Timur and his descendants. The stone that commemorates Timur is reputed to be the largest chunk of Nephrite (jade) in the world. The actual bodies are situated in the basement, which unfortunately is not open to the public.

The Shah-i-Zinda is a collection of the graves of some of Samarkand’s dignitaries. The oldest date from the 14th century as Samarkand was starting to recover from the depredations of the Mongol hordes of the 13th century.

Other sites of interest in Samarkand include the Observatory of Ulug Beg, Timur’s grandson, which was the most advanced astronomical observatory of its day. There is also the Afrasiab Museum, not far from the observatory, containing a frieze dating from the sixth century, which shows a train of gifts for the Sogdian ruler of the day.

BUKHARA

West of Samarkand, Bukhara was once a centre of learning renowned throughout the Islamic world. It was here that the great Sheikh Bahautdin Nakshbandi lived. He was a central figure in the development of the mystical Sufi approach to philosophy, religion and Islam. In Bukhara, there are more than 350 mosques and 100 religious colleges. Its fortunes waxed and waned through succeeding empires until it became one of the great Central Asian khanates in the 17th century.

The centre of historical Bukhara is the Shakristan, which contains the Ark, or palace complex of the Emirs. Much of this was destroyed by fire in the 1920s, but the surviving gatehouse gives an impression of what the whole must have been like. Near the gatehouse is the Zindan or jail of the Emirs, which has a display of some of the torture methods employed by the Emirs against their enemies.

Not far from the Ark, the 47m- (154ft-) high Kalyan Minaret, or tower of death, was built in 1127 and, with the Ishmael Samani Mausoleum, is almost the only structure to have survived the Mongols. It was from here that convicted criminals were thrown to their deaths.

Other sites of interest in Bukhara include the Kalyan Mosque, which is open to non-Muslims, the Ulug Beg Madrasa – the oldest in Central Asia – and, opposite, the Abdul Aziz Madrasa. Bukhara, with the narrow, twisting alleyways of its old quarter, is full of architectural gems.

OTHER PLACES

Khiva, northeast of Bukhara, is near the modern and uninteresting city of Urgench. Khiva is younger and better preserved than either Samarkand or Bukhara. The city still lies within the original city walls, and has changed little since the 18th century. Part of its attraction is its completeness; although it has been turned into a museum town and is hardly inhabited, it is possible to imagine what it was like in its prime when it was a market for captured Russian and Persian slaves.

The Art Gallery in Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, in the west of the country, has the best collection of Russian avant-garde art outside St Petersburg.

The Chatkalsky Reserve in the western Tian-Shan is a narrow unspoilt gorge and contains snow tigers, the rare Tian-Shan grey bear and the Berkut eagle.

UZBEKISTAN TRAVEL INFORMATION / UZBEKISTAN TRAVEL GUIDE

Uzbekistan Info — Wed May 09, 2007 11:42 am

Author: Uzbekistan Info

Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 11:42 am

UZBEKISTAN TRAVEL INFORMATION

Full Name

Republic of Uzbekistan

Capital City

Tashkent

Area

447,400 sq km
172,741 sq miles

Population

26,850,000

Time Zone

GMT/UTC +5

Languages

Uzbek (official)

Russian (other)

Tajik (other)

Spoken in Samarkand and Bukhara.

Religion

88% Muslim (mostly Sunnis), 9% Eastern Orthodox

Currency

Uzbekistan Sum (sum)

Electricity

220V 50HzHz

Electric Plug Details

European plug with two circular metal pins

Australian-style plug with two flat angled blades and one vertical grounding blade

Country Dialing Code

998