A couple of days in Tashkent

 I had planned an extra day in Tashkent so that I would have time to explore the city. The city is large and the center is very modern. Apparently, the city was more or less destroyed in 1966 after a terrible earthquake struck in the center of the city and destroyed most of it. The rebuilt city is very modern, with grand avenues and many high-rise apartment buildings in the classic Uzbek decorative style.

The earthquake monument

I took my bike around to visit some historical sites, I had compiled a list from online sources as well as couchsurfer recommendations and made a little route for myself.

• Amir Temur square
• Abdulla Murodxo Mosque
• Hazrati Imam Complex
• Chorsu bazar
• Seoul Moon Street
• Museum of applied arts
• Metro stations
• Tashkent TV Tower

This route revealed a much older part of the city than the modern high rises. Unfortunately, most of the writing was in Uzbek, so I missed out on a lot of the context. I was also not allowed into the mosque, as I was wearing shorts. But wearing jeans in 100 degree weather did not sound like a good time, so I was content to check out the mosaics and carvings on the outside of the buildings.

Riding around the Hazrati Complex

I love all of the carved doors everywhere

The Chorsu bazar has a couple of large domes and vendors in concentric circles spanning out from the circular buildings. The inside of the largest dome is a meat market. All of the meat is kept in refrigerated cases and each row is a circle that goes further into the center. 

Outside of the meat market section

Inside the meat market

I didn’t have any use for all of these cuts of meat, I bought some fruit in a different dome and sat down to have some plov. Another man sat at my table and we started talking, he was visiting from Pakistan on business. In classic Silk Road fashion, he told me that his company sold herbs and spices from Pakistan and imported them to Uzbekistan.  

As the temperature climbed, I left the market and rode by Seoul moon street. It was mostly empty at this time of the afternoon, but a nice spot located next to the river with a lot of cafes lining the walkway. 

I spent some time at the Museum of Applied Arts, which, thankfully, was air conditioned. The museum didn’t have a huge collection, but I enjoyed the displays of regional hats and traditional instruments.

Hats with different embroidery and styles. representing various regions of Uzbekistan

Some traditional musical instruments: from left to right, a Kashgar Rubab, Afghan Rubab and Tar. The drum is a Nagora 

The next day, some couchsurfers had recommended spending some time in the subway. Each subway station has a unique theme based on its name. I bought a ticket for 2,000 som (about $0.12) and went to the metro next to my apartment, Oybek. The subways are clean, air conditioned and beautifully decorated. I got off at a few stops to take some pictures. The trains ran frequently and were not crowded.

The cosmonaut metro station

The Alisher Navoi metro station 

I went to Beth Qozon for lunch, everyone from Uzbekistan and everyone I spoke to who had been to Tashkent recommended this restaurant, saying it is the plov capital of the world. As you walk in, plov is being prepared in giant, bathtub-sized vats filled with rice and sizzling veggies and meat. It lived up to the hype.

Besh Qozon and their giant vats of plov

I had a quick errand to run, since I had a flat tire, I repaired my tube but wanted to pick up an extra one, just in case. I looked up the nearest bike shop near me and went there. I was on a very residential looking street, standing in front of the address, but I did not see anything resembling a bike shop. I asked someone sitting on the street if there was a bike shop nearby and he pointed me to an innocuous gate. I went inside and, aside from a bunch of kids bikes stacked under an awning, this did not look like a bike shop. Some kids were playing in the yard and I asked them if someone was around. A woman came out of her house and I asked if this was a bike shop, she said it was. I used Google translate for “bike tube,” but it was the wrong word. So we spent some time figuring out what exactly it was that I was asking for. Once we got it, she said she didn’t have anything like that and made a phone call. Then she directed me to get into her Twizy (a French 2-seater electric car). She drove me a couple of miles to another neighborhood and equally innocuous gate. Inside, there was a much more substantial bike “shop” although it was very reminiscent of hers. They actually had the inner tube in the size I was looking for, I paid for it and left. 

I concluded my sightseeing by taking a trip up to the top of the TV tower. The ticket cost 25,000 som, just shy of $2. The tower gives a great 360 degree view of the city and I surveyed my southern route for the next day. It looks hot 🥵.

I gathered all of my things back at the apartment and got ready for an early ride in the morning.

View looking south from the TV tower