The names Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva are practically synonymous with the ancient Silk Road, which remained the sole connection between East and West for more than 1,000 years. Today, those places are cities in modern-day Uzbekistan, which is becoming one of Central Asia's top destinations among hip travelers. Hotels in Uzbekistan offer a full range of Western-style amenities. Expedia can simplify the process of tracking down Uzbekistan hotel packages that will offer comfortable rooms at special discount rates.
Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital, is a magical place in its own right. When it was first founded in the 2nd century B.C., the city was called Ming-Uruk, meaning "The Land of a Thousand Apricot Trees." Tashkent was razed to the ground by the tyrant Genghis Kahn but recovered its full glory again under another tyrant, Tamerlane. Today the city is evenly divided between Russian speakers and ethnic Uzbeks. Tashkent enjoys a reputation for some of the best restaurants and nightlife in the Muslim world. There are lots of Uzbekistan hotels in Tashkent, which offers great amenities at affordable prices.
Samarkand today is a fully modernized city integrated around the remnants of its fabulous past. Book a cheap Uzbekistan hotel deal here so you can see all the city has to offer, like the Registan Plaza, the center of the city, though it no longer contains the wall-to wall bazaar that was its chief attraction in medieval times. Visit Guri Amir Mausoleum, the tomb of the great 14th-century Uzbek conqueror Tamerlane (also known as Timor). Tamerlane's wife had the enormous Bibi-Khanym Mosque built as a surprise for the conqueror when he was off on one of his raids. The Shah-i-Zinda is a restored shrine honoring Qusam ibn-Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Mohammed who brought Islam to Samarkand in the 7th century.
Khiva has the best preserved medina in Uzbekistan. Book one of the many Uzbekistan hotel deals to spend some time exploring it. When Uzbekistan was under Soviet domination, Soviet officials turned the medina into a living museum, maintaining its winding cobble-stoned alleyways, mansions, mosques, fountain courtyards, and medressas much as they had been for hundreds of years.
Bukhara is the holiest Islamic city in Central Asia. Visit the Ark, a royal compound that was occupied from the 5th century straight through to 1920 when it was bombed by the Russian army. The 155-foot-tall Kalon Minaret was the tallest structure in all of Central Asia when it was first erected in the 12th century and remains a testament to the architectural genius of the medieval Islamic world. You'll find cheap hotel deals in Uzbekistan with reservations at very reasonable prices.
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