Tashkent State University of Economics

We leave Khojand City and drive a few hours to the Uzbeckistan border crossing. A short line and the only hassle being the need to roll our luggage approximately 5 football fields in length to cross the border and pick up our new transport on the Uzbeck side. A few hours later and we arrive at the Hotel Uzbeckistan, a Soviet era concrete hotel that faces Tashkent's central square. At 6 we head out for an orientation walk and pass by many monuments starting with the statue to Amir Timur in the park across from our hotel. The city has a collection of 19th century Cszarist buildings from when Russia initially arrived and used Tashkent as an Outpost. We pass by the house of an exhiled Romanov Prince, the statue of the weeping mother, a WW 2 memorial, the statue of Uzbecks's symbol, other monuments, wide boulevards, beautifully landscaped and then we go to an outdoor restaurant that is lively with local families, they even have a projector and start playing an outdoor movie. One of the house specialties is rose shaped potato dumplings with tomato sauce, which turn out to be huge plate filling monsters. The next day is a free day, so I head out with Canela and Chris and we take a taxi to the Russian Orthodox Church. Minor problem as our non English speaking driver takes us to the Catholic Church (who knew there was a Catholic Church) , I show him the picture and we set out again and enjoy a moment of camaraderie when we arrive. We enter the church with a service in progress. The music from the choir is very spiritual, there are a few woman in the main sanctuary, devotedly praying to icons with the service proceeding on the side sanctuary. We sit in the courtyard and listen and are joined but a Russian women who seems fascinated by us. Eventually we leave and play taxi roulette again to head to the Musuem of Applied Arts, set in a 19th century Romanov mansion, the stunning interior has a display of quilts, ceramics and other local artisan creations. A few of the interior room are simply stunning in their tile work. Next we walk the ten minutes to the metro and experience the Musuem quality Cosmonaut Station. The metro is wonderful, clean, beautiful stations, not overcrowded but filled with locals who all offer us their seats. We get off by Choszu Bazaar and check out the Madrrassa that is now used as a learning center. We head back by metro to our hotel and a young women offers to guide us through the train transfer. She is studying English and when I tell her I'm from NY, she says that's her dream - to visit. This is a response I got through out Tashkent when telling people where I'm from. After a rest, we head for a session with students from the elite English school, where they tell us about their program to supplement their English education. The students average age 16 and are all eager to show their progress. We return to the hotel in time to witness the entrance of a wedding, a huge affair that is taking place in the hotel ballroom. Beautiful seeing how stylish everyone looks. Dinner for some of us at Assorte restaurant - choices of Sushi, Korean, European and Uzbeck.Read more