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The Institute of the Sun – Soviet science fiction in the mountains of Uzbekistan
The Institute of the Sun, also known as the Big Solar Furnace or the Solar Furnace Complex, is located just 50 kilometres or so from Tashkent, in the unassuming town of Parkent, which at first glance doesn’t really seem to stand out in any particular way. Just an ordinary Uzbek town at the foot of the mountains. And yet, all you have to do is look up at the hill towering above it to see something that definitely doesn’t belong in this landscape. On the mountainside stands a huge, futuristic structure covered in thousands of mirrors, looking like a bizarre cross between an abandoned industrial complex, an urbex site and…
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Shahrisabz – the city of Timur
Shahrisabz is a city associated above all with one man. It was here that Timur the Lame, widely known as Tamerlane, was born – one of the most powerful and, at the same time, ruthless rulers in the history of Central Asia. Timur is a figure it is difficult to remain indifferent to. For Uzbeks, he is now regarded as one of their greatest national heroes. Throughout his homeland, you will find monuments, museums and entire historical complexes commemorating his power. But once you start reading about his conquests, the picture becomes considerably less heroic. Timur was a brilliant strategist and an extraordinarily effective ruler, but also a ruthless conqueror.…
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Khiva – Uzbekistan, a city out of One Thousand and One Nights
To be honest, Khiva almost fell off my itinerary for Uzbekistan. Not because it didn’t seem interesting. Quite the opposite – when I was planning my trip to Uzbekistan, I knew it was one of those places I simply had to see. The problem was something completely different… logistics. Or, to be more precise: my first day in Uzbekistan was, to put it mildly, rather ambitious. 😉 After a night flight to Tashkent, by which point I felt that coffee was the only thing keeping my vital functions going, I still had a domestic flight to Urgench ahead of me. That was where I was picking up my hire car.…
