Last year I signed up for a small group tour of the Stans! Which inevitably got canceled because of Covid. So once it seemed as though it might be possible to go this year I got back in touch to find that only the waitlist was available! Very annoying! So started researching and found a very small group tour to just go to Uzbekistan.
This suited me fine as it was only one country and did not require a visa.... just a negative PCR covid test within 72 hours before entering the country. It also included the main Silk Road cities I was interested in visiting.
So I signed up with Silk Road Treasures Tour and interested a friend in joining me......
Turkish Airlines seems to be the easiest access route from the US or Europe to the Uzbek capital Tashkent.
However most flights arrive in Tashkent at 1am which leads to confusion as one needs to reserve a hotel room for the prior night if one contemplates sleeping!
The first 2 nights were booked at the Lotte Palace hotel... which was very comfortable and in a great location. View from my window.....
We started touring Tashkent the following morning.
The city was largely destroyed by an earthquake in 1966 so there wasn't too much' old' to see!
First off we went to the Hast Imam complex............. a mosque and madrassah..... which houses the oldest Koran. No photos allowed inside!
We were initially amazed by the lack of tourists! A few.... but no real fear of catching Covid from them.... social distancing was not an issue!
Then on to the Chorsu market...... a different story, plenty of people there!
The items offered were also a little different from other markets ....
Horsemeat....
However only very minimal social distancing was possible on the totally packed Metro!
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