Highways

In 2005 Uzbekistan had 84,400 kilometers of roads, about 72,000 kilometers of which were paved. The road infrastructure is deteriorating, particularly outside of Tashkent. No significant highway projects were underway in 2006. In the early 2000s, U.S. engineers improved some roads around the port of Termez to facilitate movement of humanitarian supplies to Afghanistan. Uzbekistan is a member country of the United Nations’ Asian Highway Network, and several national roads are designated as part of the network.

Surxondaryo viloyati

Surxondaryo viloyati (uzb. Surxondaryo viloyati / Сурхондарё вилояти) – one of 12 wilajetów Uzbekistan. It is located in the southern part of the country.

Internal and Foreign Policy

Western observers point to a violation of human rights by the regime of Islom Karimov. Parliamentary elections of 26 December 2004, recognized by the Russian authorities to be transparent, fully democratic and well-organized, triggered a wave of criticism from Western observers, especially those acting on behalf of the OSCE. Drew attention inter alia, to filter out the election of opposition activists and the total control of the media by the administration of Karimov.

Karimov take all possible measures to prevent the takeover of power in the country by the extreme Islamic organizations. To this end are carried out actions aimed at destroying the activity of these organizations, to prevent arrests and violent methods of investigation, inclusive. In 2001, Karimov exposed to Islamic fundamentalists, allowing the United States for the use of Uzbek airspace and the presence of U.S. quotas for military support operations in Afghanistan. Uzbek authorities reserved the same time, that there might be only auxiliary troops and humanitarian, thus avoiding accusations of giving Americans the base from which to start the war napastniczej. It was precisely the territory of Uzbekistan attacked the Soviet Union in Afghanistan in 1979. In its foreign policy Karimov cleverly juggle between Russia and the United States, not allowing for full dependence from any of them.

Kitchen

The Uzbek oriental cuisine is characterized. The main court of Uzbek cuisine is Plov (Osh) – a dish made from rice, meat and carrots. Besides all sorts of shashlik – variations are stuffed dumplings – Somsa or in a traditional stone oven baked Tandir Non – a kind of bread very popular. The cuisine of numerous combination of all minorities, including Russians, Koreans, Caucasians, complements and enriches the Uzbek cuisine.

Geography

Uzbekistan is approximately the size of Morocco and has an area of 447,400 square kilometers (172,700 sq mi). It is the 56th largest country in the world by area and the 42nd by population. Among the CIS countries, it is the 5th largest by area and the 3rd largest by population.

Uzbekistan stretches 1,425 kilometers (885 mi) from west to east and 930 kilometers (578 mi) from north to south. Bordering Kazakhstan and the Aral Sea to the north and northwest, Turkmenistan to the southwest, Tajikistan to the southeast, and Kyrgyzstan to the northeast, Uzbekistan is not only one of the larger Central Asian states but also the only Central Asian state to border all the other four. Uzbekistan also shares a short border (less than 150 km) with Afghanistan to the south.

Politics

Constitutionally, the Government of Uzbekistan provides for democracy. In reality, the executive holds a great deal of power and the legislature and judiciary has little power to shape laws. Under terms of a December 27,1995 referendum, Islom Karimov’s first term was extended. Another national referendum was held January 27, 2002 to extend Contitutional Presidential term from 5 years to 7 years. The referendum passed and Karimov’s term was extended by act of the parliament to December 2007. Most international observers refused to participate in the process and did not recognize the results, dismissing them as not meeting basic standards. The 2002 referendum also included a plan to create a bicameral parliament, consisting of a lower house (the Oliy Majlis) and an upper house (Senate). Members of the lower house are to be “full time” legislators. Elections for the new bicameral parliament took place on December 26, but no truly independent opposition candidates or parties were able to take part. The OSCE limited observation mission concluded that the elections fell significantly short of OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections. Several political parties have been formed with government approval. Similarly, although multiple media outlets (radio, TV, newspaper) have been established, these either remain under government control or rarely broach political topics. Independent political parties were allowed to organize, recruit members, and hold conventions and press conferences, but have been denied registration under restrictive registration procedures. Terrorist bombings were carried out March 28–April 1, 2004 in Tashkent and Bukhara.

When to Go

The best time to visit is in spring from May until the end of June, and in autumn from September until November. The weather is mild and in April the desert blooms briefly. In autumn it’s harvest time, and the markets are full of fresh fruit. If you’re interested in trekking the mountains, summer (July and August) is a better time to visit; at all other times the weather is unpredictable and there can be snow in the passes from Christmas to February. You may wish to remain in the mountains to stay cool, as the rest of the country will be sizzling at this time. But remember, whilst the mountains are pleasantly cool in summer, they are freezing in winter.

Tashkent

Tashkent (Uzbek: Toshkent, Тошкент, Russian: Ташкент) is the capital of Uzbekistan and also of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2006 was 2.1 million. According to unofficial data, the population is more than 3 million.

In medieval times the town and the province were known as “Chach”. Later, the town came to be known as Chachkand/Chashkand, meaning “Chach City.” (Tash in turkic language means stone. Kand, qand, kent, kad, kath, kud–all meaning a city, are derived from the Old Persian, kanda, meaning a town or a city. They are found in city names like Samarkand, Yarkand, Penjikent etc.).

After the 16th century, the name was steadily changed slightly from Chachkand/Chashkand to Tashkand, which, as “stone city”, was more meaningful to the new inhabitants than the old name. The modern spelling of Tashkent reflects Russian orthography.

Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek: O‘zbekiston Respublikasi or Ўзбекистон Республикаси), is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south.