Khiva

For centuries, Khiva was known as an important hub for the slave trade on the Silk Road. Khiva was the capital of an Islamic khanate, meaning an area ruled by a khan, in the 16th century and served as an important religious hub for Islam. Because of the highly-preserved 94 mosques, 63 madrassahs, and numerous minarets, the city was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1990.

Split into two parts by ten-meter crenelated walls dating back to the 17th century, the Ichon-Qala, meaning “within the wall,” houses most all of the stunning Islamic architecture constructed within the past 600 years. On the other hand, most of the city’s 50,000 residents and its modern area are in the Dichon-Qala, meaning “outside the wall.”

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• The Silk Road: Central Asia’s Ancient Trade Route

Bukhara

Bukhara, which means “abbey” in Sanskrit, was one of the most important trade destinations on the Silk Road. With over 140 architectural and archaeological sites, Bukhara is one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art, as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Set on the western side of the city, the Ark of Bukhara is the historic seat of power. The walled fortress contained temples, barracks, government offices, a local mint, warehouses, workshops, stables, the arsenal, and a prison. Constructed in the fifth century, the seven towers of the Ark were planned based on the position of the stars that make up the constellation Ursa Major.

Just south of the Ark is the Po-i-Kalyan complex, the site of the Kalyan Mosque, the Mir-i-Arab Madrassah, and the Kalyan Minaret, known as the Tower of Death. At 150 feet high, the yellow brick minaret was where the muezzin—the person who called Muslims to prayer—gave their daily invocations as well as where criminals sentenced to capital punishment were thrown from the top of the tower.

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• The Silk Road: Central Asia’s Ancient Trade Route

Nukus

Before 1932, Nukus was a small village, but by the 1950s, the Soviet Union modernized the city by constructing large apartment complexes and wide avenues. Because of its isolated locale, Nukus was also the site of a major Soviet chemical weapons testing facility. Today, it is the capital of the semi-autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, and is home to over 250,000 residents.

What sets the city apart is the Karakalpakstan State Museum of Art's Savitsky Gallery, founded by famed Russian painter and collector Igor Savitsky. The gallery is home to the second-largest collection of modern Russian avant-garde, featuring such influential Soviet-era artists as Solomon Nikritin and Kliment Redko. There is also a large collection of work from many dissenting Soviet-era artists; during the Stalinist regime, art was only permitted to express quintessentially-Soviet ideals. Pieces exploring the area’s former abundance of flora and fauna and the Aral Sea, both depleted from over-farming by the Soviets, also feature prominently in the gallery.

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• The Silk Road: Central Asia’s Ancient Trade Route

Samarkand

Samarkand is a city of reincarnation. From being named “Marakanda” by Alexander the Great, to changing hands between tribal, Arab, and Mongol rulers, to complete decimation and eventually becoming a thriving mercantile and intellectual oasis, Samarkand is for history buffs a white whale.

One of the oldest-inhabited cities in Central Asia, settlements in Samarkand date back nearly 40,000 years. Traders of the ancient Sodgian civilization, which inhabited Samarkand and the surrounding area in the fourth century BC, created extensive trade networks spanning the Middle East and China. Eventually, the city was conquered by many different rulers, including Genghis Khan, who destroyed the city in AD 1220.

In AD 1370, another ruler, Tamerlane, also known as Timur, rebuilt the city into a mercantile and artistic center and made Samarkand the capital of the Timurid Empire. Later, Timur’s grandson Ulugh Beg built an observatory and made the city a scientific center. An astronomer himself, Beg was able to create the most complete map of the stars since that of Ptolemy in the second century.

Today, Samarkand is known not only for its rich historic heritage, but its famous non, or bread. Typically stuck to the top of stone ovens, the bread is imprinted with intricate designs from special stamps called chekich.

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• The Silk Road: Central Asia’s Ancient Trade Route

Tashkent

The capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent—meaning “stone village”—is both the most populous and economically important city in Central Asia. The Soviet occupation of Uzbekistan in 1917 left a legacy of Russian speakers throughout the country, but especially in Tashkent. Most all people speak Russian and Uzbek, with many signs printed in both languages as well as English. Monuments around the city are also reminders of Tashkent's Soviet past, like Mustaqillik Maydoni, or “Independence Square,” which commemorates Uzbekistan’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. A monument in the square dedicated to Russian Bolshevik revolutionary Vladimir Lenin was taken down and was replaced with a tower holding a golden globe prominently displaying an outline of Uzbekistan. Opposite the monument is a statue of a woman holding a child, symbolizing the nation being the motherland of its people.

The Barak-Khan Madrassah, an Islamic education center, is one of few buildings still left from Tashkent’s past. After a major earthquake in 1966 that destroyed most of the old city, the Soviet Union sent thousands of workers and engineers to rebuild. Now, Tashkent is characterized by wide avenues and modern apartment complexes and government buildings. The Monument of Courage, a sculpture depicting a man, woman, and child facing insurmountable challenges, was erected in honor of the bravery of citizens after the destruction.

At the heart of the old city, Chorsu Bazaar, meaning “four streams” in Persian, has offered a wide array of goods for travelers on the Silk Road for centuries. Under the breathtaking triangulated ceiling of the spectacular ocean-blue dome, one can find anything from local fruits, grains, spices, and dairy. While a major trade hub, Tashkent also has a strong commodities industry—leather and cotton are important products. Also, when the Soviet Union moved factories to the city during World War II, Tashkent became a major automotive manufacturing center.

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• The Silk Road: Central Asia’s Ancient Trade Route

Gijduvan

Gijduvan, located 29 miles north of Bukhara, may not be a well-known city, but it is home to some of the world's most exquisite ceramics. Creating brightly colored and intricate patterns is Gijduvan's signature, which is a skill that is distinct to this 38,000-person town thanks to Abdullah Narzullaev—one of Uzbekistan's famous craftsmen. Narzullaev was so dedicated to this art that he set up the Gijduvan School of Ceramics, which teaches other local craftsmen how to design patterns for which the town has become known for. Today, sixth generation descendants of Narzullaev lead the school. The pottery has attracted world leaders like the Prince of Wales and Hillary Clinton who have traveled to Gijduvan to view this art, and it also inspired the town to build a museum dedicated to these ceramics. The pottery isn't the only impressive feature of Gijduvan though, but the town's architecture showcases impressive patterns and eye-catching colors as well. The 15th-century Ulugbek-Medrese and the towering Vabkent minaret are reflective of Gijduvan's attention to detail and creative spirit.

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• The Silk Road: Central Asia’s Ancient Trade Route