Zhemchug means pearl in Russian, and it is the name given to a residential building in Tashkent that looks nothing like an ordinary apartment block. In the years after the 1966 earthquake, when the city was rebuilt, Soviet architects used housing as a stage for their ideas, and some of the results are strange and rather wonderful: curved facades, great circular forms, concrete screens that echo Islamic patterns, and apartments arranged around internal courtyards. The Pearl is one of the well-known examples, and photographers of Soviet modernism have made it a favourite subject.
Housing in Tashkent has a social history that is worth knowing. The traditional unit of life was the mahalla, a neighbourhood of low houses around a shared courtyard, with a council of elders, a tea house and a mosque, and in the Soviet years many of these were demolished to make room for blocks and boulevards. Others survived, and they still give the old city its human scale. After the earthquake, the new districts were built with the help of republics from across the union, and each had a different character. Today, the tension between the old courtyards and the new towers is still part of the city's mood.
Riding out of Tashkent toward the Chatkal reserve is quite an experience, and it begins with the Ring Road and then the long road north-east along the river. The first stretch is busy, with shared taxis and lorries, and the lanes are narrow. After Gazalkent, the traffic thins, and the valley closes in, with orchards, walnut groves and the mountain walls rising on either side. The air is clearer and cooler, and the road gets better the higher you go. In summer, the mountains are an escape from the heat of the plain, and in spring, the slopes are bright with tulips.
Fuel can be a puzzle in Uzbekistan, as many cars use gas, and some stations only sell it, so look for a petrol pump before you leave and fill up whenever you can. Tashkent also has the best choice of food and hotels in the country, with a vast market and cafes at every corner. Try the thick, hot noodle soup called lagman, and the warm flat breads that are baked in clay ovens and stacked on market stalls. Be prepared for police stops, which are routine, and keep your documents ready.