🇺🇿Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked nation at the heart of Central Asia, the jewel of the ancient Silk Road. Its fabled cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva hold some of the most dazzling Islamic architecture on Earth. Rich in history and resources, it is the most populous country in Central Asia.

Much of Uzbekistan is arid plain and desert, including the Kyzylkum, with fertile river valleys such as the Fergana sustaining intensive agriculture. It is one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world. The shrinking of the Aral Sea on its northern border ranks among the worst environmental disasters of modern times.

Uzbek culture is a tapestry of Turkic and Persian influences, expressed in intricate tilework, silk and ceramics, plov, the beloved national rice dish, and traditions of music and hospitality. Islam is the predominant faith, and the legacy of Silk Road trade and scholarship remains a source of pride.

The region was a centre of civilisation and learning under empires from the Achaemenids to the Timurids, when Samarkand became the glittering capital of Timur's empire. Absorbed into the Russian Empire and then the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan became independent in 1991 and has since pursued cautious modernisation and reform.