UZBEKISTAN
VIDEO COMPILATION UZBEKISTAN
GENERAL INFORMATION
For more detail, blogs & pictures click here https://www.doubledutchworldsafari.com.au/our-journey/asia-2/uzberistan/
General
Uzbekistan has a diverse cultural heritage due to its storied history and strategic location. Whether you crave a night in the vast serenity of a desert plateau or a walk through the streets of history, there’s sure to be something that takes your fancy. Uzbekistan is all about exploring, history, bright colours, intricate patterns, rich flavours, and friendly people. Must do destinations are Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva and Termiz a Buddhist centre on the border with Afghanistan, or Shahrisabz, the birthplace of the great warrior, Timur. Explore the oasis cities that fed the caravans of the Silk Road as they crossed the continent. Uzbekistan offers an opportunity to see distinctive Central Asian cultural traditions that have been preserved over centuries.
The Amnesty International report on human rights in the country for 2017/2018 described continued repressive measures, including forced labour in cotton harvesting, and restrictions on the movement of ‘freed’ prisoners. Uzbekistan is a major producer and exporter of cotton. The country also operates the largest open-pit gold mine in the world. Uzbekistan has the fourth-largest gold deposits in the world. The country mines 80 tons of gold annually, seventh in the world. Uzbekistan’s copper deposits rank tenth in the world and its uranium deposits twelfth. In our case the border crossing from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan took over 24 hours due to our refusal to pay a bribe resulting in an overnight stay in no-mans land. Initial they demanded 4000USD as an extra for our truck! This was reduced to 400USD (official amount) the following day. Reason for this was the sanctions from the EU and the subsequent cost for Uzbekistan trucks to enter Europe (this was 400 Euros at the time)