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 Tashkent was one of junction points on caravan routes. Records of Tashkent can be found in 'Avesta' and in old Chinese chronicles. No city of Uzbekistan seems to be explored as thoroughly as Tashkent, which numbers about two hundred and forty archeological monuments. In the old, historical, part of the city there are located such prominent monuments of medieval architecture as Kukeldash madrassah, Kaffal Shashi cemetery, complex of Barak Khan.
 The peak of urban planning in Samarkand can be pertained to the times of Amir Temur who in 1370 made the city the capital of his empire. The great conqueror brought from his military campaigns skilled architects, builders, craftsmen who, together with the local masters, erected wonderful palaces, mosques, madrassahs. The construction works in Samarkand were continued under descendants of Amir Temur, the Temurids, who worked up the architectural lay-out of the city. The grand mosque Bibi Hanim, Gur Emir mausoleum with the burial vault of Amir Temur, legendary Registan square and Shakhi-Zinda necropolis built during the lifetime of several generations can be rightly called the masterpieces of Central Asian architecture.
 In the Middle Ages Holy Bukhara became the hearth of learning; more than one hundred maddrassahs functioned here at that period of time. It was the city where Abu Ali ibn Sino (Avicenna) started his practice. The name of the city is closely associated with such notable names as poet Rudaki, historian Narshakhi. There are more than one hundred and forty architectural monuments in Bukhara, and among them the real gem is Ismail Samani mausoleum erected at the beginning of the 10th century. The Ark citadel, once being a residence of emirs of Bukhara, and the well-known Kalyan minaret tower the city as sentinels keeping the city's glorious past.
 City-museum Khiva is one of the few cities of the world, where built-up area of the 17th-19th centuries has preserved almost intact. Ichan Kala, the core of the city, today opens to the travelers its ancient gates through which in the old times caravans carried silk. Tash Khauli, the Palace of Khan, with its harem premises and a vast courtyard, cathedral Friday Mosque, colossal skeleton of unfinished minaret Kalta-Minor make the city look like an animated oriental tale.
 Shakhrisabz is mainly known as the city where in 1336 Amir Temur was born. Here he grew up, here his father, Amir Taragai, was buried . Building up his huge empire with the capital in Samarkand, the Great Conqueror never forgot and constantly cared for his minor motherland. Ak Saray palace, which was built by his orders, captivates the visitors by the monumentality of its proportions and splendour of its decor. The city's other attractions are Dorus Saodat and Dorus Tilavat architectural ensembles, including the memorable mausoleum of Temur's spiritual advisor sheikh Shamsutdin Kulol.
 Termez, one of the most ancient cities of Uzbekistan, in the Middle ages was the largest centre of Toharistan. Numerous architectural monuments, which have preserved to the present day on the territory of Old Termez and its suburbs, testify to the bygone grandeur of the city. Among the main attractions of Termez there are two constructions which are highly respected in the whole Moslem world: these are the burial vault of Hakim-at-Termezi, spiritual patron of the city, and mausoleum of the legendary prophet Zul-Kifl on Paigambar reserve-island. The real sensation in scientific world was the discovery in Old Termez of ruins of Buddhist temples and monasteries of Dalverzintepa, Fayaztepa, Karatepa, constructed in the 1st and 2nd centuries during the reign of Kushan dynasty.
 For its fecundity and picturesque scenery Fergana valley is rightly called a pearl of Central Asia. For the most part the valley is surrounded by the Tyan Shan, Hissar and Alay mountains, and only in the west it is open for the Syr Darya River.
Fergana valley has always ranked high in the history and culture of Central Asia. Thus Fergana state Davan was first mentioned in the Chinese chronicles, while in the Middle Ages it was one of the leading principalities of Movarounnakhr. The trace of ancient settlements as well as medieval monuments serve the evidence of the fact that in the ancient times this valley was the habitat of many civilizations.
 Karakalpakistan, being a part of Uzbekistan, is an autonomous republic. Its territory for the most part encompasses Usturt plateau, Kyzylkum Desert and the Aral Sea and it has a rich history and culture manifested by many interesting monuments. Ancient settlements of Karakalpakistan date back to the Stone Age. In the 6th-7th centuries B.C. there existed an ancient state of Khorezm in the lower reaches of the Amydarya River. In three kilometers from the former capital of Karakalpakistan - City of Khodjeyli - there is a unique historical and archeological ensemble Mizdakhan, located on three hills. On one of them the scientists discovered the site of ancient settlement called Ghyaur-kala.
 Nature of Uzbekistan presents an amazing variety of landscapes. The Aral Sea borders on the sands of the Kizilkum Desert; the Pamir mountain range - "The Roof of the World" protects the subtropics of Surkhandarya oasis from northern winds; fertile Fergana Valley is surrounded by the foothills of the Tian-Shan Mountains - "Sky Mountains". For inhabitants of Tashkent the favourite places for recreation are the spurs of the Tian-Shan, a big mountainous area that stretches all along the territory of Central Asia for 1200 kilometers from Peak Pobeda and Khan-Tengry in the east to the tops of Big Chimghan in the south-west. Eighty kilometers from Tashkent, at the junction of three wild mountain rivers - the Ugham, Chatkal and Pskem, there has been erected the high dam of Charvak Hydropower Station, which brought about an artificial lake, surrounded by green snow-topped mountain slopes.
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