The 24 places we visit on our tour, city by city.
© Bgag, CC0 Hazrati Imom majmuasi
The religious and historic heart of Tashkent and the official centre of Islam in Uzbekistan, in the Old City. It is world-famous for housing the Uthman Quran (Mushaf of Othman), dating back to the 7th century and considered the oldest surviving written Quran in the world. The complex includes the 16th-century Barak-Khan Madrasah, the Kaffal Shashi Mausoleum and the twin-minaret Hazrati Imam Mosque, built in 2007.
© Adam Harangozó, CC BY-SA 4.0 One of the oldest and largest traditional markets in Central Asia, easy to recognise by its giant blue dome. Fresh fruit, spices, nuts, traditional crafts and textiles, plus an open-air food street with pilaf, shashlik and freshly baked somsa.
© Ayqironlik, CC BY-SA 4.0 Central Asia's first subway system, famous as an underground museum and an architectural masterpiece.
© Adam Harangozó, CC BY-SA 4.0 Amir Temur Square is the heart of modern Tashkent, centred on a monument of Amir Temur on horseback. Independence Square (Mustaqillik Maydoni) is the main state square of Uzbekistan.
© Зинҳор Насрӣ, CC BY-SA 4.0 Islom sivilizatsiyasi markazi
A new landmark next to the Hazrati Imam Complex that highlights the nation's spiritual and scientific heritage, with one of the world's largest Islamic libraries and exhibition halls under a massive dome.
© Gustavo Jeronimo from Aranjuez, Spain, CC BY 2.0 The heart of ancient Samarkand and a UNESCO World Heritage site: three grand madrasahs — Ulugh Beg, Sher-Dor and Tilla-Kori — built between the 15th and 17th centuries, with towering minarets, azure domes and mosaic façades.
© Arina Pan, CC BY-SA 4.0 The mausoleum of Amir Temur (Tamerlane) and his descendants, built in the 14th–15th centuries. It is famous for its ribbed azure dome and an interior decorated with gold leaf and jade tombstones.
© Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0 A medieval necropolis with a narrow avenue of blue-tiled mausoleums (11th–15th centuries). A sacred place of ziyarat holding the tomb of Qusam ibn Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, as well as tombs of Amir Temur's family.
© Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0 One of the largest historic mosques of the Islamic world, built by Amir Temur in the early 15th century. Next to it, Siab Bazaar is Samarkand's oldest and largest market: spices, dried fruit, nuts and textiles.
© Alaexis, CC BY-SA 3.0 Imom Buxoriy majmuasi
A modern multi-pavilion museum inside the reconstructed memorial complex, dedicated to the life and legacy of Imam Al-Bukhari, blending Islamic design with interactive displays.
© Ekaterina Kvelidze, CC BY-SA 4.0 G'ijduvon
Renowned worldwide for its ancient traditions, natural techniques and warm colour palette. About 40 km from Bukhara, the craft has been preserved for centuries by a single famous dynasty.
© Maksimsokolov, CC BY-SA 4.0 The iconic heart of Bukhara and a UNESCO site: the Kalyan Minaret (1127, 46.5 m), the Kalyan Mosque, which holds 12,000 worshippers, and the active Mir-i-Arab Madrasah.
© BeshevI, CC BY-SA 4.0 The social heart of Bukhara, around a 17th-century pond shaded by mulberry trees. It is framed by the Kukeldash Madrasah, the Nadir Divan-begi Madrasah and a Sufi khanaka, with lakeside cafés and the statue of Hodja Nasreddin.
© Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0 Dating from the 9th–12th centuries, it is celebrated as the oldest surviving mosque in Central Asia.
© Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 4.0 A massive fortress and the oldest structure in the city, once a royal city-within-a-city for the Emirs of Bukhara; today it is a history museum.
© Arina Pan, CC BY-SA 4.0 Toqi Zargaron, Telpakfurushon, Sarrofon
A network of 16th-century covered bazaars built at the crossroads of the Silk Road.
© Hylgeriak / Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 A 10th-century masterpiece and the oldest surviving Islamic monument in Central Asia.
© Ymblanter, CC BY-SA 4.0 "Job's Spring" — a sacred site built between the 12th and 16th centuries, with a conical dome that is rare in Central Asian architecture.
© Enric, CC BY-SA 4.0 Bukhara's traditional dried fruit market.
© LBM1948, CC BY-SA 4.0 A Friday mosque built in 1712 opposite the Ark, famous for its veranda (ayvan) with 20 carved wooden pillars reflected in the pond.
© St. Christofor, CC BY-SA 4.0 Built in 1417 by the astronomer-king Ulugh Beg, grandson of Amir Temur; the oldest surviving madrasah in Central Asia.
© Adam Harangozó, CC BY-SA 4.0 Built in 1652 directly opposite the Ulugbek Madrasah, forming a classic architectural pair (kosh) — a peak of late medieval Bukhara craftsmanship.
© Bernard Gagnon, CC0 The summer residence of the last Emir of Bukhara (early 20th century), blending Russian imperial and Uzbek styles, with gardens where peacocks roam.
© Bgag, CC0 One of the most sacred Sufi places of ziyarat in the Islamic world, just outside Bukhara: the resting place of Hazrat Bahauddin Naqshband (1318–1389), founder of the Naqshbandi order, known for the saying "Heart with God, hands at work".