Grand Orzu Hotel Tashkent

... our train ride tonight of some 20 hours.<br><br> Our final stop was at another former university of the Islam religion. It was also now a workshop of &#8220;masters&#8221;. One was doing lovely painted boxes very similar to the Russian ones. He was keeping his colors bright with egg, the same way the old masters did in Europe. He has some beautiful ones and I did purchase one. Another master was doing ...

20 hours on a train, Tashkent to Urgench, October 12-13, 2009<br><br> Ok, maybe I am exaggerating, not really the longest journey but by far the longest one we will have on this trip and I think it was actually only 19 hours. We boarded a train last night in Tashkent with the purpose of going all the way to Urgench which is 1100 kilometers from Tashkent. In older times ...

... floor to ceiling tiles with a cotton bud motive. Another station had cotton bud chandeliers. One station was dedicated to their literature giant &#8211; their William Shakespeare &#8211; and had bas reliefs of characters from his stories. All the stations were lovely with marble and tiles and lighting that was elegant. <br><br> Another nice person story: As we got on board one of the trains, a ...

Airport Woes 10/9 to 10/10/09<br><br> My flight east went from Bucharest, Romania to Istanbul, Turkey and finally to Tashkent, Uzbekistan for this change of countries. I had a very long layover in Istanbul, 9 hours. My husband had suggested I get a day room at the hotel there. Sounds good to me. However, I didn't really trust Turkish Airlines to keep track of my suitcase and send it one to Uzbekistan ...

... delicious. We soak up daily life by relaxing in one of the many chaighanas (tea houses) and try all the local food like PLOV (a rice dish) or SOMCA (meat filled bread roll). After Bukhara and Samarqand we are now in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, where we have to arrange some visa. Also the place where we meet up with some people again! <br><br>Only been 2 weeks in Uzbekistan, but it simply embraces you!<br>Entering the country through hundreds of kilometers of the vast ...

... die ons de weg wijst, wijst een andere kant uit&#8230;.tja, we hebben prachtige velden gezien en een mooi gekleurde ondergaande zon dus de rit was zeker de moeite waard. Uiteindelijk hebben we in een ander dorp overnacht waar de bewoners weer nieuwsgierig kwamen kijken en informeren. Of we een meloen willen ??? Enorm beleefd en zeer overtuigend bedankt Angelique voor dit vriendelijke gebaar en warempel de man vertrekt. Yeah! Niet eerder is het gelukt een meloen af te slaan dus ...

... to create some drama; he let me pass through eventually. <br><br>Anyway, we've enjoyed our first day in Tashkent a great deal. This morning, we took a mini-tour of the subway system. Throw out any image of Toronto's subway that might prompt you to wonder why we should do such a thing. Tashkent's metro was modelled on Moscow's, and as such, each station is a grandiose display of underground architecture. Ornate ceilings and domes, marble ...

... in the front courtyard on carpeted daybeds with tables perched on top. It was an extremely pleasant spot. Excited by the extensive Lebanese and Syrian menu, we ordered food by the plateful. We had been so starved of fresh food in the restaurants in Iran that we decided to make up for lost time. We left with full bellies and after one last walk around Tashkent we flagged a taxi driver to take us to the airport via our hotel. <br><br>Unfortunately our taxi driver ...

... Hotel we were accommodated at the lovely Markizy Hotel in Tashkent. We were very grateful. Centrally located, this hotel was quite luxurious. We enjoyed the opportunity to relax for an afternoon on our own. We walked for several kilometers and found the wonderfully interesting Marrakech Restaurant. It was beautifully and exotically appointed but by the time we walked back to our lovely hotel we were just too tired to contemplate another evening walk. A lovely meal at the ...