What to see in Tashkent in 1 day

The Khast Imam complex remains the first appointment of the day: the city's religious center, with its restored mosques and madrasahs, houses in its library the Quran of Uthman, a seventh-century manuscript considered among the oldest in the world.

Continuing toward the center you reach the Chorsu Bazaar, the large covered market under a turquoise dome, where spices, dried fruits, and freshly baked Uzbek round bread are sold.

For lunch, the restaurants around Chorsu Bazaar offer plov, the national dish based on rice and meat, considered the origin itself of Uzbek cuisine.

The Tashkent Metro is the first in Central Asia: its stations are decorated like small palaces with marbles, ceramics, and chandeliers, for a long time forbidden from photography for Soviet security reasons.

Amir Timur Square, dedicated to the warlord considered the founding father of the Uzbek nation, is instead surrounded by buildings in Soviet and Russian colonial style.

As evening falls, heading back to the center, the restaurants around Independence Square lend themselves well to dinner, closing the day among illuminated fountains and gardens.

Khast Imam, Chorsu Bazaar, and plov are enough to show Tashkent's religious and gastronomic soul, while an afternoon choice between the metro and Amir Timur Square flanks it with the Soviet architectural or historical side.

The Museum of the History of Uzbekistan and a trip to Samarkand, nearby via high-speed train, remain chapters for a second journey. Watching the turquoise dome of Chorsu Bazaar stand out above the city roofs is what you remember longest of Tashkent.