Uzbekistan: The Rising Gem of Central Asia
In the midst of the COVID pandemic, Easter holidays were approaching — and one thing was certain: no virus could stop the travel spirit.
Unfortunately, we tested positive for COVID, so we couldn’t commit to any trip. We waited until we tested negative to even think about buying flight tickets. Choosing the destination was a challenge — it had to feel exotic but not be too far (since it was so last-minute), the price had to be reasonable — ideally close to what it would’ve cost if we’d planned in advance, and we had no time to arrange a visa, so it had to be a visa-free country.
Somehow... Uzbekistan crossed our minds, and just a few days later, there we were — already landed in Tashkent.
FIRST IMPRESSIONS
✨ Very developed and modern — way more than expected.
🌳 Super green! Parks and trees everywhere.
🌍 People with all kinds of features and all with the same passport. History explains it: Uzbekistan was invaded by Persians, Turks, Mongols, and Russians. So you can imagine the rich mix of ethnicities!
🚶♀️Hard to be a pedestrian in Tashkent — streets are made for vehicles.
🏞️ Once you start moving around the country, you realize how different each town can be. Totally different landscape!
💸 From a European perspective, everything feels super cheap.
🧒 Kids playing outside, running around safely — and that gives you a comforting sense of safety too.
🌷 THE GARDENS
Even though the streets aren’t very pedestrian-friendly, you find green spaces everywhere.
And the number of gardeners? Trust me, I had never seen in my life so many gardeners. Easily 15+ people in one garden, working hard to keep the flowers blooming and the grass perfectly trimmed.
It almost felt like those spaces were sacred. A quiet pride in making the city green and clean.
💛 OPEN HEARTS AND INTEGRATION
Uzbekistan isn’t a super touristy country — or at least it wasn’t when we went.
You barely see other travelers around, which kind of makes you the attraction.
If someone is studying English, chances are they’ll approach you — both to practice and to genuinely help.
If they don’t speak English, they’ll still come up to say hello and thank you for visiting.
A common question was:"What is your religion?"
88–94% of the population identify as Muslim. However, many people would ask that question just to immediately say with a huge smile:
“EVERYONE is welcome here.
It doesn't matter if you believe in Jesus, Allah, or nothing.
We accept everyone — go around, feel safe and welcome.”
According to my research, because of Soviet-era secularism, many people identify culturally with Islam but are not very practicing.
We saw that. Clear example: we were there during Ramadan, yet many people were eating. Another example — many women were dressed in Western style.
I thought it was beautiful to see how people not used to having visitors were so genuinely opening their hearts to us. It really touched me.
🎁 CULTURE OF GIFTING
Another way people expressed their kindness? Through food.
Random strangers — or even people you’d just exchanged two words with — would offer bread, candies, or local cheese.
Simple, unexpected acts of generosity. I found it beautiful.
🧵 MARKET TOUR GUIDE IN FERGANA
The Fergana Valley is known for being traditional — and since we were exploring the Silk Route, of course we had to get some silk!
At a market stand, we met a super happy, enthusiastic teenager. He was eager to practice his English because his dream was to study abroad.
He offered to guide us around the market and even became our personal translator while bargaining.
It was lovely to see such a young guy being so enthusiastic about practising a language that could open doors to his dreams.
Not only enthusiasm — he was also radiating kindness.
💍 WEDDINGS
One of our taxi drivers was possibly the funniest man ever.
At some point he said:
“Don’t get married. Before marriage — money. After marriage — no money!” 😂
He explained in a very comical way how he used to live a chill life, working just enough for himself.
Then came wife, kids… and more work, more bills.
He also told us that Uzbek weddings usually require inviting 500+ people — which often pushes families to the edge of bankruptcy!
It became such a problem that even the government had to step in and announce publicly that it’s okay to invite fewer guests.
(Unfortunately, we didn’t get the chance to attend any wedding… but lucky for any soon-to-be-married couple, we didn’t contribute to their potential bankruptcy. 😅)
👮 BORED OFFICERS
It’s common to find police officers at metro stations.
When they’re bored, they might ask you to open your backpack. But honestly, it’s just a game for them.
They smile, laugh, and start asking questions like “What is this?” or “How does this work?”
They were especially fascinated by our hydration packs. Apparently, they had never seen one before.
They asked us to demonstrate how it worked — and we did — followed by a loud “woooow” from their mouths.
But as soon as they found my underwear and period pads, they got embarrassed, laughed, and gave us the green light to go.
💫 CONCLUSIONS
In places where people can't just buy a flight ticket to see the world, interact with other cultures, or study whatever they need to follow their dreams, they somehow remain genuinely grateful for every small opportunity that comes their way.
Whether it’s opening their hearts to strangers, practising a few words in English, or just exchanging a smile for a cultural exchange.
Comments
Post a Comment