My plans have a habit of changing, a new opportunity might present itself, or just a convenience where I simply think, yeah why not. When I realised that trains and plains were booked out early, had gone on a war path to book anything that made some sense, a piece in a jigsaw I hadn’t…

The driver from Islambek Tours arrived outside the hotel at 10am, and after having a fairly large breakfast and a coffee, I felt prepared for the the day trip to the area known as Elliq Qala, which are a collection of ancient ruined Khorezm fortresses, which translates to the 50 Fortresses. The tour allowed for…

Travelling has become by least favourite part of Uzbekistan, which admittedly is a weird thing to say. I try not to over plan, my preference is booking transportation tickets a day beforehand when I’ve actually made a decision on where I’ll be going to next. However that style of travelling doesn’t really work well here.…

Take a seat my children and open your ears to to the Persian epic, Shahnameh. It is here we find the Persian prince, Siyavush. He is accused by his wicked step mother, the Queen of Iran, of lusting after her, and to prove his innocence, Siyavush is forced to undergo a trial by fire. He…

Bibi Khanym, Timur’s senior wife, wanted to build a gift for her dear husband while he was off expanding the empire into India. Built between 1399 to 1404, she had grand plans, commissioning what would become the worlds largest mosque. And without doubt, this thing is both equally huge and impressive in it’s beauty. Unfortunately…

For the new high speed trains, initially just from Tashkent to Samarkand in the south, then recently extending the line further west to Bukhara, Uzbekistan went ahead and build a whole new train station to help showcase the feat of Spanish engineering. Yep, the Spanish are credited for building these trains. Looking at the time,…

I was told my the manager at the hotel in Tashkent that you need to book train tickets early, at least a week in advance as places get bought up quickly. The new fast trains in particular are difficult to find seats if left too late. Therefore dutifully I signed up the Uzbekistan Railway website,…

On day one, after a fairly early evening of sleep in an extremely comfy bed and far too many giant fluffy pillows, I ventured out to see what Tashkent – and my first proper mingling with the Uzbek people – would reveal. I was truly curious to see what Uzbek culture and the people themselves…