Culture & History
Aral Sea Restoration: Can It Come Back? The Numbers
Aral Sea restoration by the numbers: why Kazakhstan's North Aral recovered after the Kokaral dam, why the south can't, and what Uzbek saxaul planting does.
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Culture & History
The people, crafts, faith and history behind what you'll see on the ground.
Culture & History
The Karakalpaks: Language, Epics, Yurts and Identity
Who the Karakalpaks are: a Kipchak language close to Kazakh, zhyrau bards and the Forty Girls epic, the black yurt, and what the Aral Sea cost them.
Culture & History
Which Uzbek Mosques Are Working, and Where You Can Go
A register of Uzbekistan's mosques: which are still working, which are museums, where non-Muslims may enter, and what changes at prayer times.
Culture & History
What the Registan's Inscriptions Actually Say
The blue bands on Samarkand's portals are text, not pattern. What they say, the scripts they use, and the 20-volume project that translated them.
Culture & History
Restored or Original? An Uzbekistan Monument Audit
How much of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva is genuine medieval fabric and how much is Soviet reconstruction. A building-by-building audit, told straight.
Culture & History
Why Shakhrisabz Is on UNESCO's Danger List
Shakhrisabz lost its medieval quarters to a tourism programme and has been on UNESCO's Danger List since 2016. What happened, and what you see there now.
Culture & History
Khorezm: The Civilisation Before the Khanate
Khorezm before Khiva: the Afrighids, the Khwarazmshahs, al-Biruni and al-Khwarizmi, the Mongol catastrophe of 1221, and the desert forts you can still visit.
Culture & History
Bukhara Gold Embroidery: Zardozi Explained
How Bukhara's zardozi gold embroidery is made, what a real hand-worked piece costs, and the three checks that separate hand stitching from machine work.
Culture & History
The Tomb of Saint Daniel, Samarkand
Samarkand's Tomb of Saint Daniel holds an 18-metre sarcophagus, a growing-body legend and a healing spring. What's history, what's story, and how to visit.
Culture & History
Samarkand's Tajik Heart: The City's Other Language
Much of Samarkand speaks Tajik, not Uzbek. What that means for visitors, why the numbers are disputed, and how to be a respectful guest in the old city.