In this post, we’ll talk about Uzbekistan. We’ll learn about Uzbekistan people, Uzbekistan language, Uzbekistan religion, Uzbekistan map, and we’ll be checking if Uzbekistan is a country or a city, if Uzbekistan is safe to visit, what to do in Uzbekistan while you are there, sightseeing places to visit in Uzbekistan!
Introduction to Uzbekistan
Central Asian countries are very beautiful and worthy to be added to your 2020 traveling bucket list. Central Asia is home to countries such as Mongolia, where Genghis Khan was born, or Kyrgyzstan, where people love horse milk!
In this post we’ll explore Uzbekistan, an underrated backpacker heaven with a lot of hidden treasures to discover.
Let’s start with Kyrgyzstan’s recent history.
Recent history of Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan, a Soviet Union state
At the beginning of the 19th century, Russia was heavily influencing the Central Asian countries such as Uzbekistan, however, Uzbekistan officially became a member of the USSR On 27 October 1924.
Uzbekistan independence from the Soviet Union
Uzbekistan gained independence from the Soviet Union on 31 August 1991 when Uzbekistan officially became a sovereign state, but Uzbekistan’s national independence day is celebrated on September 1st, each year.
People in Uzbekistan
Ethnic groups in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is the most populated country in Central Asia region with 32.5 million population.
More than 83% of people are of Uzbek ethnic group and the second-largest minority is Tajik (From Tajikistan, another Central Asian nation). There are other minorities like Kazakh (From Kazakhstan) and Russian,
There’s also a minority of a Jewish community, currently living in Uzbekistan. The whole community counts at about 10,700 people, most of them live in the capital, Tashkent, and the rest live in Bukhara and Samarkand.
Official language in Uzbekistan
The sole official language in Uzbekistan is Uzbek, a Turkic language (very similar to Turkish in Tukey) which is being spoken by more than 27 million people in Uzbekistan.
Even though Russian is not an official language in Uzbekistan, it’s widely spoken everywhere, from the government itself to the technology section and in people’s daily interactions with each other.
The minority of Tajiks, speak the Tajik language which is a dialect of Persian. Uzbekistan Tajiks mostly live in the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara.
Religion in Uzbekistan
Although Uzbekistan was under an anti-religion Russian Communist regime, Uzbekistan remains a Muslim country now, with more than 88% of the population identifying as Muslim.
The rest of the population is following the Russian Orthodox church, and there’s a small religious minority of Zoroastrians living in Uzbekistan.
What to do in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan is the world’s most backpack friendly country
Uzbekistan is very cheap in every aspect. You can still book high-class hotels in Uzbekistan, but it would be very cheap to explore Uzbekistan as a backpacker.
Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan
Tashkent, is the capital of Uzbekistan. This thriving city has 2.5 million population, making Tashkent the largest city in Central Asia.
Registan in Uzbekistan
Registan is a public square in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Registan was being used during the Timurid Empire, as a place for people to gather and listen to the announcement from the government.
The name, Registan means “the sandy place” or “Desert” in the Persian language.
Chorsu Bazaar in Uzbekistan
Chorsu Bazaar is a traditional bazaar, in the middle of the old town in the capital, Tashkent.
Chorsu Bazaar is the oldest and the largest market in Central Asia.