Trip to the capital of Uzbekistan. Some suggestions on what to do, from shopping in the bazaars to walking in the surrounding green areas.
It is one of the greenest cities in Asia and the world, Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan; here you can walk in the magnificent parks, ski in the beautiful mountains, enjoy excursions among the scents of tea and junipers and caves frequented by millenary civilizations. And among the many things you can do in the capital of Uzbekistan there is a true oriental shopping experience: you will be spoiled for choice at Chorsu Bazar which is located behind the Kukeldash Madrasa and the Friday Mosque in the heart of Tashkent.
For many centuries the capital's best-known bazaar was one of the busiest in Uzbekistan, or perhaps in the whole ofCentral Asia, as it is located on the Silk Road, an ancient Asian trade route. Its location has not changed in all these years but the old buildings have been replaced by modern ones. However, as for centuries, the inhabitants of Tashkent and the surrounding areas continue to look for spices, vegetables, dried fruit, traditional and modern clothing, including carpets.
This famous bazaar specializes in everything: jewelry, ceramics, pottery, traditional and national costumes and housewares. It is always lively and even if you have no intention of buying, visiting the place is always an experience not to be missed. The Chorsu Bazar has a vast open-air market where you will find carefully carved carpets next to glittering ceramics which in turn are next to watermelons, raisins and apricots and then many spices: ginger and saffron, black pepper and more, mountains of dried fruit lying below the large turquoise dome.
There is no shortage of shoe and clothing shops and craft shops. In this ancient market of the capital you can buy the national, traditional tyuboteyka Uzbek beret. You will also find many choykhana or “tea houses” where you can stop for hot tea and shashlyk kebabs. It is open every day of the week from early morning until evening.
One of the secrets of the success of the capital of Uzbekistan is the high percentage of parks and gardens. Tashkent it is one of the "greenest" cities in the world (around 35% of the territory is green; 68,4 m18 of garden for each citizen). All these spaces are overflowing with trees, shrubs, flowers and a wide variety of wildlife. There are XNUMX large parks; but there are other gardens scattered around the city.
The largest of the parks in Tashkent is to rely onAlisher Navoi National Park which includes a large park, a large lake, canals and fountains, a lawn and ornamental gardens. It is the green heart capital of Uzbekistan and is the best place to escape the chaotic life. Here people run, swim, climb, ride horses, or simply sit and read books in a park that seems natural, but is actually man-made.
The park has something for everyone: you can do it rowing, cycling and skating. There are some rides in the amusement park and a large artificial lake, where in the warm months you can find people swimming. The park has lakeside restaurants and cafes serving everything from a three-course meal to a quick cup of coffee.
Alisher Navoi National Park is home to numerous buildings and monuments such as the Oliy Majlis, the Parliament, the medieval Abulkasim Madrasa, the Navoi Opera Theatre, the Istiqlol concert hall and the famous monument to Alisher Navoi. National holidays and outdoor events are celebrated in the park throughout the year.
Then there is a small park in the city, one of the favorite places for wedding photography sets: it is the Japanese garden. A small pond, covered with Japanese lotuses, miniature stone gardens, wooden bridges, ducks swimming in the lake, storks and even peacocks roaming freely across the meadow and attracting newlyweds for commemorative photos. There is also a tea house in the pond, where you can improvise a real tea ceremony. The Japanese garden in the capital of Uzbekistan expresses a philosophical-ethical concept of the universe in miniature and aims to give an ennobling effect on the world of the human soul through the beauty of nature.
Don't miss the excursion to Chimgan, 80 km from Tashkent, ideal for those who love winter sports. The Tsar's Russian governor once had a home here as did Soviet dignitaries in later times. It was precisely at the time of their "domination" that the locality established itself as a tourist center, testimony to the Russians' idolatrous love for snow.
The road from Tashkent first follows the course of fiume Chirchik passing the dam and hydroelectric installations in the locality of the same name and then reaching the village of Khodjakent among tea plantations interspersed with fragrant juniper woods and rock paintings dating back to the Bronze Age. Beyond you come across the Charvak dam, built in 1982, and the intense blue artificial lake of the same name.
