Tourism

In our opinion, this country is getting ready to become a tourist Mecca.  The national airline, Uzbekistan Airways operates to all major internal cities and major western hubs with reliable and reasonable quality and inexpensive service.  The airline seems to be replacing its dreadful old Russian fleet with modern airplanes.   As noted before, the people are wonderfully friendly and colorful like this recently married young woman we met in a market one day.

 We sample lodgings from simple bed and breakfast guesthouses to top American hotels.  Quality varies dramatically. Tashkent boasts excellent Sheraton and Intercontinental hotels.  From our own experience and that of people we speak with, the B&Bs are excellent value and reasonable quality.  We recommend the B&B in Bukhara run by our intrepid tour co-coordinator, Mila Akhmedova visit@b1.silk.glas.apc.org at $30.00 per night, including breakfast.  In October 2000, we are her first guests in a brand new and very comfortable B&B.  She takes a close personal interest in our trip arrangements, arranging for a car and driver and setting us up with English-speaking guides.  She helps us arrange to meet the local community.  She is willing to go the extra mile and there is no extra charge.  She is a gem! 

For Westerners, the largest drawback in visiting here is the food.  Fat-laden lamb is the staple.  Plov, a mixture of rice, some vegetables and lamb, dripping in oil is the standard for lunch.  Chicken, when available is delicious. The local shashlik (a.k.a shish kabob) can come as lamb, beef, chicken or fish, although the latter is not served much. Salads and fruits are always questionable because of uncertainty about sanitary conditions.  Every meal seems to be served with tomato and cucumber salad.  We manage to survive a whole week without any serious stomach problem.  

A word about that all important subject - toilets. These are definitely an issue for westerners. Sanitary conditions range from brutal to brutal-and-a half although we find recently built clean and very acceptable facilities at the Samarkand Registan and airport. 

Our guides are world-class.  Their English is peerless in a country where most people speak only Uzbek, Tajik, Russian or Farsi.   Marina in Khiva, Makhsuma in Bukhara and especially Valentina in Samarkand have solid, in-depth knowledge of the history, geography, society, culture, living styles, economics, politics and religion of Uzbekistan.  They are willing to give personal opinions when asked, and are flexible when we change our plans.  They are all highly educated and articulate.

The End

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