Today's Uzbekistan is referred to as the "golden heart" of the Ancient Silk Road, a legendary trade route that once linked China with Europe and, at the same time, the centres of Islamic civilization. The capital, Tashkent, was growing too and the city was famous in both Orient and Occident for its scholars, poets and artisans and even today its inhabitants are proud of their legacy which is a combination of Oriental, Russian and Soviet times.

Samarqand became integrated within the Persian Empire, was later conquered by Alexander The Great and, in the fourteenth century, became the centre of the World Empire of Amir Timur. Newly introduced Timurid Design further enriched the architecture.

Further west, the caravans reached the oasis city of Bukhara, ‘God's blessed city’, on the border of the Kyzylkum Desert. In the Middle Ages it was one of the most important religious and economic centres of the Islamic world.

On the outskirt of the ancient town of Chor Minor is the madrasah of the Four Minarets. All sorts of conventional crafts have been handed down and are still used today. Bukharan rag dolls continue to be manufactured and offered for sale. Returning to the centre, there is a synagogue. In the middle of the nineteenth century, five hundred Jews lived in Chor Minor and beneath the domes of ancient bazaars, trade still continues today.

Khiva is one of the greatest centres of ancient Korezm, ‘Land of the sun’, in the west of today’s Uzbekistan, an oriental city in which its greatest minaret, Kalta-Minar, remains unfinished. Ko´Hna Ark, fortress of the Khan, is situated within the city walls. The condemned had to wait for their execution at its entrance.

The ancient Silk Road eventually became a tourist route. But the magic of its oriental beauty has survived and its historic monuments enchant even today with the magic of A Thousand and One Nights and all of the eternal charm of the Orient!