I spent a year living and working in Uzbekistan. And, like most people, I didn’t know much about the country before moving there. I quickly learned that Uzbekistan is unlike any other place I’ve lived in or travelled to. As I bumbled around the country from one mishap to another, I quickly fell in love with its beautiful strangeness.

Uzbekistan has an ancient history along The Great Silk Road.

One of nomadic cultures, trade, Islamic traditions, mathematics, beautiful architecture and soviet legacies. It’s a country of many contrasts. From Tashkent’s massive and cold soviet building blocks next to inviting green parks and wide boulevards, to its historic blue-tiled Islamic madrasahs which stand in contrast against the barren desert. It’s a police state marked by human rights abuses. But yet, as a tourist, it feels warm and welcoming.

I told you, it is a strange place! 

In this post I’ve included some of my favorite photos of Uzbekistan that I took while I lived there.

From the ancient cities of Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva, out across the remote Karakalpakstan desert to the almost non-existent Aral Sea, and to Zaamin National Park in the east. There are so many historical sights and unique regions to visit!

Here are 20 photos of Uzbekistan to inspire you to visit!

A view over the city of Khiva on a rainy day

Looking up at Miri Arab Madrasah in Bukhara

The Lyabi House Hotel in Bukhara – breakfast is served on their beautiful terrace!

The remnants of what used to be a fishery on the outskirts of the town of Moynaq, near where the Aral Sea use to be

The ship grave yard, near the former fishing town of Moynaq, in what was once the Aral Sea

The famous Registan in the centre of Samarkand, once a central city along the Great Silk Road

A common scene – stuck in sheep traffic

Sher Dor Madrasah in Samarkand

A man herding his camels near the remote town of Nukus, which is the capital of the autonomous Karakalpakstan Republic

Always posing hard in front of the beautiful tile 😉

Kalyan Mosque in Bukhara

Looking out across the mountains in Zaamin National Park

A view into the courtyard at Kalyan Mosque

The train from the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, to Lake Charvak

Zaamin Reservoir near Zaamin National Park

The Museum of Victims of Political Repression in Tashkent, which is meant to tell the history of Uzbekistan during Soviet Union times

Miri Arab Madrasah in Bukhara

Read More on Uzbekistan:

Along the Great Silk Road: Bukhara, Uzbekistan

Along the Great Silk Road: Khiva, Uzbekistan

The Aral Sea Disaster