Uzbekistan…Through The Funnel

Uzbekistan is the third in our series – “…Through the Funnel”. You can read our previous one on Iran here. It is a way for us to share 12 aspects that stood out to us in our experience of the country and its people. Did we miss something that stood out to you in Uzbekistan? 

* Several aspects we observed in Uzbekistan also apply to other Central Asian countries, but this is where we first noticed them. 

#1 Diversity of faces

Our first few days walking around Uzbekistan, the beauty and diversity of faces is striking. In the land where East literally meets West, profile features expose influences from the Mongolian plains, northern Chinese brow bones , wide Korean cheekbones, Russian eyes, Persian noses, all thrown into a melting pot with gorgeous results. The varied heritage that makes up Uzbek expressions is the epitome of the Eurasian face that is so popular in Western aesthetics now. 

#2 Photo-taking enthusiasm

“Yeah, people will see my photo in France!” She boasted to her neighbour. Uzbekistan has so far been one of the places where we encountered the most friendliness and eagerness from people for having their photo taken. A portrait photographer’s dream. Especially in the bazaars, women and men alike wave to have their photo taken, photo-bombing each other’s shot and making sure you write down their address so that you can post a hardcopy to them later. 

#3 Evening communal spaces

Uzbek towns during the summer are sweltering heat plains, making them unnavigable for certain hours during the day. While we were there it was also Ramadan, adding to the ghost-town like effect most places exhibited during the afternoon. At night however, as the musical colour fountains come to life, so does the population. Families disembark with their children onto squares to enjoy the cooler air as young couples walk closely by the Boukhara lake or the Samarkand fountains. Ice cream cones are mandatory as are bicycles or electric mini-cars for the toddlers, usually with older kids at the remote control, sending the vehicles whizzing around the square with the cute under-age driver. 

#4 The gas station means actual gas

Uzbekistan is the third largest producer of gas in the region after Russia and Turkmenistan. This is extremely visible with gas pipes lining the roads of the country, often constructed above ground and creatively going over and around obstacles such as gates and entrances to housing compounds. The first time we went to a petrol station we did not understand why everyone had to exit the car to a seating area full of old bus or airplane seats, that is until we saw the metal gas barrel in the trunk of the car. Cars are literally running on methane and propane gas. Not sure it was comforting to have a ball of gas on our backs every time we got into a car, but luckily none of them ever turned into balls of fire. 

#5 Zebra crossings actually mean something

We were shocked the first time we crossed the road in Uzbekistan. After a month in Iran where the traffic often feels life-threatening, we gasped and skipped when we realised that cars would actually stop for you. You mean we don’t have to run for our lives across the street? It was also the first time we saw huge visible pedestrian traffic lights, with countdown timers! Impressed.

#6 Chevys & Ladas

The Renault to the Turkey, the Peugeot to the Iran, the Chevy to the Uzbekistan. The country is buzzing with shiny Chevys, explained by the joint venture between General Motors Uzbekistan and the local OJSC UzAvtosanoat which began producing nationally in 2008. Uzbekistan is actually the eighth largest market for the American producer, with more than 200,000 vehicles produced per year. The retro counterpart is the old Russian Lada still stylishly zooming about the desert roads. 

#7 White Gold – Cotton

Driving in Uzbekistan, you cannot help but notice the uninterrupted cotton fields bordering the road. It is Uzbekistan’s main cash crop and nicknamed “white gold”. Uzbekistan is the 6th largest producer of cotton in the world and remains a state-controlled industry. University students have mandatory service during pahta – the harvest period, as large groups descend into the fields for a month. The nastier side of this includes widespread forced child labour, leading to many companies around the world boycotting Uzbek cotton. If you want to read more on the issue of sustainability and cotton, check out the work of the Environmental Justice Foundation, the Better Cotton Initiative and Anti-Slavery International. 

#8 Throwing water on streets is the national sport 

Watch your step as you walk down the streets of Uzbekistan as you might just get a bucket of water thrown at you. Especially during the sizzling summers, chucking water onto the streets and coutryards in an effort to keep the dust and heat at bay seems to be a national sport. For a country that has serious water shortages, people are surprisingly generous with their water sprinkling as the dry heat turns into a steady cloud of steam. 

#9 “Accidental hipster” garden beds & “Guerilla” kids

The Uzbek countryside is dotted with pretty retro metal-framed hospital beds, ready to welcome any guest onto their colourful mattresses for hours of çay drinking or vodka dreaming. 

Uzbek kids are actually far from being guerrillas, but somehow we captured these two shots in separate place and time which made us wonder if there was a trend happening here. They were cuddly and full of laughter, but the combination of colour- scheme and instant expression caught them in “pure guerrilla mode”. If you have spotted and captured kids in the same posture, please send the photos along to us, we are making a collection.

#10 Golden Smiles

While legions of North American rappers are bringing the gold teeth phenomenon to mainstream fashion, Central Asians have been sporting them for years. We have never seen as many golden smiles as in Uzbekistan though, where a wide grin has the potential to blind you as they sparkle and shine in the light. Gold teeth are often used to replace teeth or as crowns over filed-down teeth. Worn as a status symbol, perhaps it is also one of the safest investments, definitely a better idea than stashing your money under the mattress. 

#11 No such thing as vegetable soup

Order a vegetable soup and there will be chunks of fatty lamb floating in it. “But isn’t it vegetable soup? There is meat in it…” you ask. “Yes sir, there are vegetables – potatoes, carrots and chickpeas.” “You don’t have soup without meat?” you counter. “Haha no sir, of course not!” Silly of us to ask really.

#12 Green tea in bowls

Welcome to Central Asia and green tea in bowls. Long gone are the little glass verrines of Turkish çay or little cups of Iranian tea, in Uzbekistan, tea comes in intricately decorated bowls, often porcelain painted in deep indigo and gold. Bigger than Chinese tea bowls, they are a refreshing break at any time of day, though while we consistently went for green, the beverage du jour of drivers was black tea, a caffeine boost to keep them awake on the road.