Recommend May 2013 - (Page 59)

Seychelles Labriz Resort & Spa on Silhouette Island. ontourreview D E C E M B E R 2 0 12 CARLA HUNT (2) Opposite page: Bukhara, one of the most complete examples of a medieval city in Central Asia. This photo: Yurt camp in the desert. off limits right now in the Middle East, travelers are looking just a bit farther east for discoveries and new horizons. Next year, Uzbekistan, as well as Georgia and Armenia, will be on the General Tours roster of new destinations,” says Bob Drumm, the tour operator’s president. Also offering an extensive program in this destination marketplace is Silk Road Treasure Tours, whose founder Zulya Rajabova was named top travel specialist to Central Asia by Conde Nast Traveler for 2012. When planning a trip to Uzbekistan last September, our small group of friends felt we couldn’t go wrong with a tour company headed by an Uzbek native daughter who, as a guide in her home country, escorted the likes of Hillary Clinton, Madeleine Albright and Lyudmila Putin. And we were right. For 11 days, we covered the Silk Road’s highways and byways in wonderfully comfortable touring vans, accompanied by a lead guide, savvy on his country’s history and traditions, a master craftsman on travel logistics and accommodating everyone’s personal requests and quirks. The spur in the Silk Road that leads to Uzbekistan has long topped my must-see wish-list. Slightly larger than California, it’s a land-locked country, recovering from years (1924-1991) of being shuttered behind the Iron Curtain and making the transition to independent republic with a president who has ruled from the get-go of independence in a style and spirit more akin to the 14th century despot Tamerlane than George Washington. Yet for the visitor, Uzbekistan is a safe, peaceable kingdom: unbeatable for its treasury of mosques and minarets, and triad of UNESCO World Heritage cities right out of “Arabian Nights”; breads that differ region to region and vodka smooth everywhere; and amazingly friendly people whose smiling faces dazzle with gold-capped teeth. And the country is accessible. Our quartet of friends ﬂew from New York to Istanbul on Turkish Airlines, connecting easily to Tashkent, whose airport welcome belies the ﬁne touring treasures ahead: immigration and customs clearance are so chaotically disorganized and so amazingly colorful in local dress that you don’t know whether to cry or laugh. why uzbekistan Taking the easy route to answer “Why Uzbekistan” leads to at least six good reasons not to miss it, listed in order of our visit. TASHKENT Tashkent—razed to the ground by an earthquake in 1966 and rebuilt to Russian speciﬁcations—is certainly no picture-postcard capital. Most visitors use it as a gateway to the World Heritage cities of Samarkand and Bukhara, but I liked it for its broad Easternbloc boulevards and parks, ceramic-tiled madrassas (religious schools), interesting museums (don’t miss decorative arts in the ➤ may 2013 59 58-61 AS Uzbekistan.indd 59 4/23/13 12:55 PM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend May 2013

Editor's Notes
Hotel Desk: Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail
Tour Talk: PerryGolf
Viking Aegir
A-ROSA Cruises
New York City
United States
UK & Ireland
Caribbean
Fairmont Mexico
The Road to Ruins-Peru's Northern Kingdoms
Kush Kelibsiz!: Welcome to Uzbekistan
Touring Israel & Jordan

Recommend May 2013