Food & Drink
Achichuk and Uzbek Salads
The tomato and onion salad that comes with plov, the Korean carrot on every bazaar counter, and the mayonnaise salads inherited from the Soviet century.
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Travel Tips
Uzbekistan Customs Rules: What You Can Bring In and Take Out
Currency declaration thresholds, why anything over 50 years old generally can't leave the country, medication rules and drones. Read before you buy a carpet.
Culture & History
The Mahalla: Uzbek Neighbourhood Life
The neighbourhood as an institution: courtyard houses, the committee, weddings and funerals, and how to walk through one without being a nuisance.
Food & Drink
Shurpa and Mastava: Uzbek Soups Explained
The lamb broth, the rice soup, the mung bean porridge and the dumpling soup: what each one is, when Uzbeks eat it and how to order.
Travel Tips
Staying Healthy in Uzbekistan
Water, food hygiene, heat, pharmacies and what medical care is actually like. Practical precautions for a trip, without the scaremongering.
Culture & History
The Doppi: Uzbekistan's Skullcap
The black and white Chust cap, the gold-embroidered Bukharan one, who wears which, what the pepper motif means and how to buy a real one.
Food & Drink
Dimlama: The Slow-Cooked Uzbek Stew
Meat and vegetables layered in a sealed pot and left alone for two hours. What goes in, why the order matters and where to find a good one.
Culture & History
Suzani: Uzbekistan's Embroidered Textiles
Regional styles, what the motifs mean, how to tell hand embroidery from machine work, and why an old piece and a new one differ so much in price.
Food & Drink
Manti: Uzbekistan's Steamed Dumplings
Big steamed dumplings of lamb and onion, the pumpkin version worth waiting for autumn for, how they are made and how to order them properly.
Things to Do
Museum of Applied Arts, Tashkent
A Russian diplomat's 1900s house, decorated by craftsmen from Khiva, Bukhara and Fergana, now holding suzani, ceramics and carved ganch. The best hour in.