When you think of a disabled travellers bucket list, let alone one of an able bodied traveller, it is unlikely that a visit to the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent appears on there. However this is oneself we are talking about and we all know that the more obscure a country is, the better!
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 the tour was the Tillya Sheikh Mosque which possesses magnificent architecture (which we will see more of tomorrow when we head down to Samarkand)…
The second stop on our wonderful tour was the Chorsu Market which is the largest fresh food and drink market in Tashkent, think of London’s Market but on a larger 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…
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…
One should also discuss the citys accessibility. If Superbunny came to Tashkent, one thinks that the majority of our time would be spent either looking for drop curbs or on busy roads as the pavements look flat in the first instance and then a flight of steps confronts you. Also, there aren’t any wheelchair accessible vehicles as of 2019 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!
It’s a 5am start tomorrow as one heads to the railway station to catch the Uzbeks version of a ‘bullet’ train (Afrosiyob) 2 hours south to Samarkand situated in the south for a city tour!