When you think of a disabled travelers bucket list, let alone one of an able bodied traveler, it is unlikely that a visit to the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent appears on there. However this is me we are talking about and we all know that the more obscure a country is, the better!
Anyway, today we were delighted to be taken on a private tour of the city. Tashkent fools you a little as the city centre is pretty small yet it does sprawl out over a considerable area. The first stop on this tour was the Tillya Sheikh Mosque which possesses magnificent architecture (which I believe we will see more of tomorrow when we head down to Samarkand)…
The second stop on our wonderful tour was the Chorsu Market which I think is the largest fresh food and drink market in Tashkent, think of London’s Market but on a massive scale…
Now, the traffic in Tashkent is OK (you still take your life in ones hands when crossing roads), however, it’s just a freefall surrounding the market area which is slightly hair raising to say the least (I now have Uzbekistans version of a pidgin at the window…odd looking birds)…
Next was Tashkent’s Independence Square (formerly Red Square when under the Soviet regime) surrounded by various governmental buildings, one of the things that has struck me since being here is the cleanliness of the city akin to Belarus and China thanks to the amount of street cleaners scattered all over…
Finally, it was the Museum of Fine Arts which was formerly a Russian officials house and contains over 11, 000 artifacts from various cultures (mainly Persian) and eras…
I should really discuss the citys accessibility…well it is a good job Superbunny didn’t come along as I think that the majority of our time would be spent either looking for drop curbs or on busy roads as the pavements look flat and then a flight of steps confronts you…Also, there aren’t any wheelchair accessible vehicles which is a stumbling block before you even start! Akin to China, there are ramps but it takes a while to actually find them and many are very steep hence there is a chance that you may end up killing yourself!
It’s a 5am start tomorrow as we head to the railway station to catch the Uzbeks version of a ‘bullet’ train (basically a Spanish TGV) 2 hours to Samarkand situated in the south where another city tour will happen 🙂