Walking Tour of Eski Shahar

Welcome to Tashkent. This eclectic city is home to Russian-speaking cabbies on broad, Soviet-built avenues, old men wearing long traditional chapans (quilted coats) resting outside mud-walled houses, and throngs gathering around steaming cauldrons for their daily repast of plov (a popular ethnic rice pilaf dish).

We begin our exploration of the historic monuments of the Uzbek capital with a visit to Hast Imam Square. This restored Koran School, built in the 16th century by Timur’s grandson, an enlightened despot who loved poetry, is now a high school where Islam is taught.

Within walking distance is the Mausoleum of Kaffal Shashi, which, together with the 16th-century Barak Khan Madrasah and the Tilya Shekh Friday Mosque (the largest in the city), forms part of the Khast-Imam complex. Today, it is the residence of the Mufti, a high Islamic scholar.

Through one of the few authentic Uzbek districts, we finally reach the Chorsu Bazaar. We begin and end our tour with a ride in a jewel of Tashkent's architecture, the local Metro.