Over lunch in Samarkand, we interrogated our guide, a Samarkand native, about Uzbek politics. Finally, he stopped, let out an...

Shah-i-Zinda Almost every culturally important building in Uzbekistan is decorated with blue tiling, blue mosaics, blue glazing. Bright turquoise and teal, deep royal blue, light sky blue. There are other colors, sure, gold calligraphy, green vines, orange tigers, yellow stars, but if you squint your eyes and blur your vision, you’ll only see the blue.   I started calling the whole thing “Uzbek Blue” in my head. I like it because my eyes match it. :)     Why blue? I have a co

Bukhara looks like what you probably imagine Uzbekistan looks like. The sun beats down on turquoise domes and tan buildings with pointed...

It’s about 20 hours from the moment I enter JFK to the moment I emerge from Tashkent International Airport. Back in December, when I was planning this trip, the easiest way to get to Uzbekistan seemed to be a direct flight from New York to the capital, Tashkent. Better than connecting through Istanbul, Dubai, or Doha. That flight, HY102, is operated by Uzbekistan Airways and runs two or three times per week. After a text to my incredibly well-traveled former thesis advisor co