Tashkent (Uzbek: Toshkent, Russian: Ташкент) is the capital city of Uzbekistan. It is an ancient city on the Great Silk Road from China to Europe. Little remains of the ancient city after the 1966 earthquake and earlier modernisation work following the 1917 revolution. Tashkent is a very Soviet city that has little remaining from its ancient Central Asian past. The city has a mixture of modern new office buildings, hotels, parks and crumbling Soviet style apartment blocks. The streets are generally clean and there are not too many potholes in the city center. Further out, the infrastructure is not so good.

Over the last few years the Uzbek government has embarked on a major reconstruction program in the centre of the city. Roads, government buildings and parks are all being reconstructed. To the visitor, the new city looks very impressive, although many of the local residents have yet to see any improvement in their residential areas.

Tashkent is waiting for a boom. The infrastructure, hotels and shops are there but the influx of people and business has failed to materialise. This is caused in part by a combination of government policy and bad publicity.

Tourist Spots

Due to the destruction of most of the ancient city during 1917 revolution and, later, to the 1966 earthquake, little remains of Tashkent’s traditional architectural heritage. Tashkent is, however, rich in museums and Soviet-era monuments.

• Kukeldash Madrassa

  Dating back to the reign of Abdullah Khan (1557-1598) it is currently being restored by the provincial Religious Board of Mawarannahr Moslems. There is talk of making it into a museum, but it is currently being used as a mosque.

• Chorsu Bazaar

  Near the Kukeldash Madrassa, this huge open air bazaar is the center of the old town of Tashkent. Everything imaginable is for sale.

• Telyashayakh Mosque (Khast Imam Mosque)

  Contains the Uthman Qur’an, considered to be the oldest extant Qur’an in the world. Dating from 655 and stained with the blood of murdered caliph Uthman, it was brought by Timur to Samarkand, seized by the Russians as a war trophy and taken to Saint Petersburg. It was returned to Uzbekistan in 1989.

• Yunus Khan Mausoleum

  A group of three 15th century mausoleums, restored in the 19th century. The biggest is the grave of Yunus Khan, grandfather of Mughal Empire founder Babur.

• Palace of Prince Romanov

  During the 19th century Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich (1850-1918), a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia was banished to Tashkent for some shady deals involving the Russian Crown Jewels. His palace still survives in the centre of the city. Once a museum, it has been appropriated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

• Alisher Navoi Opera and Ballet Theatre

  Built by the same architect who designed Lenin’s Tomb in Moscow, Aleksey Shchusev, and built with Japanese prisoner of war labor in World War II, this theatre hosts Russian ballet and opera.

• Fine Arts Museum of Uzbekistan

  Contains a major collection of art from the pre-Russian period, including Sogdian murals, Buddhist statues and Zoroastrian art, along with a more modern collection of 19th and 20th century applied art, such as suzani embroidered hangings. Of more interest is the large collection of paintings “borrowed” from the Hermitage by Grand Duke Romanov to decorate his palace in exile in Tashkent, and never returned. Behind the museum is a small park, containing the neglected graves of the Bolsheviks who died in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and to Ossipov’s treachery in 1919, along with first Uzbekistani President Yuldush Akhunbabayev.

• Museum of Applied Arts

  Housed in a traditional house originally commissioned for a wealthy tsarist diplomat, the house itself is the main attraction, rather than its collection of 19th and 20th century applied arts.

• History Museum

  Tashkent’s largest museum, housed in the ex-Lenin Museum.

• Amir Timur Museum

  An impressive building with brilliant blue dome and ornate interior (see photo to the right). Inside, the exhibits of Timur and of President Islom Karimov vie for the visitor’s attention. The gardens outside contain a statue of Timur on horseback, surrounded by some of the nicest gardens and fountains in the city.

• Navoi Literary Museum

  A commemoration of Uzbekistan’s adopted literary hero, Alisher Navoi, with replica manuscripts, Persian calligraphy and 15th century miniature paintings.

Other Sights

• Alisher Navoi Theater for ballet and opera
• Various other theaters including the impressive Russian Drama Theater on Navoi street
• Amir Temur Monument and museum in the Amir Timur park
• The Japanese Garden behind the Intercontinental Hotel is popular for wedding photos.
• Boghi Eram Recreation Park. Fun fair for the young and not so young.
• The central market ‘Oloy Bozori’ (known by most locals as the ‘Alayskee Bazaar’, Amir Timur Street has beautifully laid out displays of local produce, dried fruit and nuts.
• War memorial, eternal flame and park, Sharof Rashidov Avenue (City Center).
• Tashkent TV Tower. Viewing levels and restaurants with views of the city
• Muslim visitors may wish to visit the mosque in the Hast Imam area of the city. The library there contains the remaining fragments of the world’s first Koran ([3]), written only 19 years after Muhammad’s death.

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