Art Gallery of Uzbekistan

The first floor is a small exhibition area, the second covers from the Stone Age to the takeover by the Soviet Union, and the third is dedicated to independent Uzbekistan from 1990. Signage is in Uzbek, Russian and English, but patchy and dimly lit. The museum has been closed for refurbishment since June 2024 with no word on timescale.

Concert hall in a modern Soviet confection, reasonable facilities, events inexpensive by western standards.

Timur (1336 – 1405) was the brutal and brilliant nomad warrior who united much of central Asia under his rule and laid waste far beyond. He was badly injured while livestock-rustling in childhood, hence his western name of Tamerlane, Timur the lame. When Uzbekistan became independent in 1991 its rulers sought a national cultural narrative and legitimacy, and fastened upon Timur. This grand building opened in 1996 is as much a shrine and political statement as a museum.

Neoclassical 1940s structure, built by Japanese prisoners of war.

They too play in Super League, and often win it. Pakhtakor Stadium (capacity 35,000, all-seater) is also used for junior internationals such as U21. It's very central, barely 500 m west of Independence Square.

Ali-Shir Nava'i or Alisher Navoi (1441-1501) was an administrator, poet and prolific author who wrote in Turkic (predecessor to a family of languages that includes Uzbek) and proclaimed its superiority over Persian the official language. He lived mostly in Herat (now in Afghanistan) but became a cultural hero across the entire Turkic world, with dozens of statues, draughty boulevards and institutes nowadays named after him. This museum displays manuscripts and artworks.