Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a continental desert climate with sharp extremes: July–August passes 40°C with almost no humidity, and January drops below freezing. The practical summer problem is not the number alone but the absence of shade — the great squares of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva are fully exposed, and walking them at midday is punishing. That makes April–June and September–October the genuine windows, and spring carries a bonus: the steppe greens and trees blossom around the clay monuments. October is harvest season, filling the bazaars with dried fruit and pomegranates, and it is also the kindest month for photography.

Taraweeh in the historic mosques and exceptional spirituality near Imam Bukhari's shrine.

Book the Afrosiyob fast train (Tashkent–Samarkand–Bukhara) early — it sells out. Cash still matters outside Tashkent.

Cash-first outside Tashkent (som); cards improve at hotels. Yandex Go is dirt cheap for rides.

Global services work. Yandex Go is Central Asia's Uber — very cheap; book the Afrosiyob fast train early via railway.uz.

Traffic keeps to the right side of the road, as in the Gulf (steering wheel on the left), but the Afrosiyob fast train between the historic cities makes a car unnecessary; Yandex Go is dirt cheap in town.

Not expected; some restaurants add 10–15% service — check the bill.

Ucell and Beeline — cheap passport-registered SIMs (~USD 3–5). Cash matters outside Tashkent.

The Afrosiyob train links the historic cities fast and comfortably; Yandex Go is dirt-cheap in cities.

• Samarkand's Registan
• Old Bukhara (Kalon minaret)
• Khiva (Itchan Kala)
• Imam Bukhari mausoleum
• Gur-e-Amir (Timur's tomb)