Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and the big, green, slightly surprising gateway to the Silk Road. It is a city of two million people with wide avenues, shady plane trees, fountains and a good deal of Soviet architecture, because a catastrophic earthquake in 1966 flattened much of the old town and the whole republic helped to rebuild it. What survived is mostly in the old quarter, around the Chorsu bazaar, with its blue-domed hall, spice stalls and mountains of bread, nuts and dried fruit.
As a start point for a long ride south-west towards Samarkand and Bukhara, it works well, although getting out is the usual big-city chore. Traffic is dense and quick, lane discipline is a suggestion, and cars cut in with little warning. Leave early, ideally before eight, and use the main road out towards Samarkand, which is wide and fairly fast. Summer is hot, regularly above thirty-five degrees by midday, so spring and early autumn are much kinder. Winter can be cold and grey. Road surfaces on the main highways are generally good, though patches and sudden potholes appear, and police posts along the route are common, so keep your documents handy.
Worth a look before you set off is the metro, which many people regard as one of the finest in the former Soviet Union, with stations decorated like palaces in marble, chandeliers and mosaics. Amir Timur Square, with its statue of the conqueror who made Samarkand his capital, gives a sense of the national story, and the old Khast Imam complex holds one of the oldest Qurans in the world, the Uthman Quran. For food, plov is the answer: a pilaf of rice, carrot and meat cooked in a huge cauldron, served at lunch time and often sold out by two. Fresh flatbread, samsa and green tea come with everything.
On practical matters, Tashkent has no shortage of anything, including repair shops and stations. Fuel supply outside the capital can vary, with some forecourts selling gas rather than petrol, so fill the tank when you can and check before long stretches. Carry some local cash, because card use is spotty outside the city.