Uzbekistan Silk Road Photographs

Formerly a part of Russia from 1924 until 1991, Uzbekistan is one of only two doubly land-locked countries in the world. It is the most populated country in Central Asia with a population of 31.5 million people, a mixture of ethic Uzbeks (80%), Russians (5.5%), Tajiks 5%) and Khazakhs (3%). The main religion is Sunni Muslim.

Uzbekistan was once on the Silk Road trade route and Samarkand and Bukhara became extremely rich during this time. Today Uzbekistan has the 4^th largest gold reserves in the world, mining 103 tonnes each year.

The signature dish is “plov” (rice pilau) with lamb and vegetables. They also eat plenty of home-made bread and noodle dishes.

Uzbekistan is one of the most amazing places to visit in the whole world and has four UNESCO World Heritage sites. When I travelled there in 2010, I visited Tashkent (the capital), Khiva, Ayaz Kala, Kyzyl-Kum, Bukhara, the Nurata Mountains, Sentab Vilage and Samarkand. Here are some of my favourite photographs I took during that visit.