Week 7 – Tashkent Uzbekistan

In Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, the atmosphere was more frenetic and the people were less friendly than they had been in Andijon. The city has possibly the worst drivers we have experienced on our whole trip. The taxi ride to our hotel was terrifying. The roads are also hazardous for pedestrians. Even at official crossings we could never be sure the cars would stop for us (although they usually did). People only drive at one speed – very fast. Strangely I prefer the apparent chaos of the Vietnamese and Indian roads. Despite appearances there is some order within the chaos. Here it is every person for themselves.

The young receptionist at our hotel was keen to talk football with Tim, as people had been in Andijon. This was unfortunate because Tim doesn’t know anything about football. It seems inconceivable to people in most places we visit that an Englishman is not interested in football (or in Pakistan and India, cricket), so Tim usually goes along with it, muttering something about Fulham. It turns out that Uzbekistan have a player at Manchester City, Abdukodir Khikmatzhon. The national team have recently achieved a place in the World Cup. This has set much of the nation on a football craze. No doubt a great opportunity for FIFA to make more money in an emerging market. But maybe I am being too cynical, perhaps football is the only chance of bringing a divided world together again, as well as making a bit of money.

After our football chat we set off to explore the city. We were tired after our early start so we decided to head for a big park. We wandered among the statue of Timur and well tended trees and shrubs. A massive brutalist Soviet hotel loomed in the background. Whatever you think of the architecture, it is a spectacular building.

We came upon a magnificent section of fountains in front of government buildings. We had reached Independence Square. On an arch towering above are models of storks, the national symbol of Uzbekistan. They stand for peace and prosperity in Uzbek folklore. All the old Soviet statues have been removed. It was lovely walking in the cool of the fountains as the sun was setting.

We had handed our room key in at the hotel’s reception, as the cleaning staff needed to re-make our bed. When we returned it was missing! It had been accidentally handed to somebody in an Italian tour group. They were out having dinner! There was no spare key and nothing we could do. We sat for an hour cursing hotel managers and Italians before our key was retrieved and we fell exhausted into bed. The receptionist was very apologetic and offered us a free taxi to the station when we left to compensate.

The next day we visited Kulkedesh madrassa. It has been restored in recent years and is now an active place of learning again. Inside is a tranquil enclosed garden. Unfortunately the Khast Imom Square, where a centuries old Qua’ran is stored was closed for renovation. Like all the other big Central Asian towns we have visited frantic building activity is evident.

We had a wander around Chorsu bazaar and ate lunch at one of the little cafes there before going back to our hotel for a siesta.

That evening we decided to visit the Tashkent TV tower. This was built by the Soviets. Men all over the world get obsessed with building towers once they have outgrown LEGO and meccano. Taskent TV tower claims to be the tallest of its type in the world. It looks a bit like the post office tower, but is about four times its size.

There are various models outside and inside the Taskent TV Tower of competitor towers throughout the world. Somebody had a lot of fun building those. I reflected on how London used to be quietly dignified when it came to urban architecture. The era of Boris saw the advent of the seriously phallic tower in London and to me they symbolise all the bad stuff that the city of my youth has embraced. There were no models of London towers present here though. They are clearly not quite phallic enough.

As well as the display of model towers there was (bizarrely but wonderfully) a collection of vintage boom boxes on display.

We only intended to have a beer in the restaurant on the eighth floor of the tower, but we arrived after 6pm, which meant that if we wanted to stay we had to eat something. We ended up ordering cocktails and a ‘mafia’ pizza (it had sausage and pepper toppings). The table we sat on gently rotated, so we got to see views on all sides. I wondered what would happen if an earthquake struck as we were eating our pizza. Six major quakes have struck the country between 2011 and 2022 and there are small tremors all the time. Tim said we would be fine and that the tower was earthquake proof. He ordered more cocktails.

A violinist started playing wistful romantic music accompanied by an electronic soundtrack. He was very good. All the waiters here seemed to be having fun and enjoying their job. We ended our evening with another thrilling taxi ride through the busy streets of the city, narrowly avoiding colliding with several cars.

On our last day in the city we visited the Minor Mosque, which has been recently constructed. It is a very striking white building, that seems to sparkle in the sunlight. While we were there I heard the first call to prayer I have experienced in the Stans. Uzbekistan continues to be a secular state and according to Wikipedia. After the Andijon uprising the call to prayer was banned. However there has been some loosening of restrictions in recent years.

I have to mention the metro in Tashkent. Many of the stations have beautiful murals decorating their walls. Our favourite was our nearest station ‘Kosmnavtlar’.