this is uzbekistan. once part of the enormous soviet union, uzbekistan is a country of arid deserts, lush mountains and ancient cities. in its long history, it s been home to many civilisations, remnants of which can still be seen today. and now its more recent past is as much of a draw. i m starting myjourney here in tashkent, the biggest city in the whole of central asia. it s dynamic, full of young people with almost half under the age of 30 and it s booming. though wherever you look, you are reminded of its soviet past. so what s this impressive building? incredible. this is our circus. munis nur has been studying the unique blend of soviet and islamic architecture that tashkent is known for. after a massive earthquake in the 60s, the soviets rebuilt the whole city. at that time, as you know, many different architects came from the soviet union, and all the architects tried to build the ideal city here. the circus is one of the many examples of the era s modernist arc
in silk road legacy. it s like something from a 60s spy movie or something. it s incredible. ..where soviet influences. horns sound ..meet ancient traditions. this is amazing. i can t believe this. this is where arches would have stood. ..and vast landscapes. ..hide impressive relics. it s pretty astonishing that i m able to still walk around here. for the best part of a century, this country has been off limits to many outsiders. but in recent years, that s been changing, and i m on a journey to see what we ve been missing out on. this is uzbekistan. 0nce part of the enormous soviet union, uzbekistan is a country of arid deserts, lush mountains and ancient cities. in its long history, it s been home to many civilisations, remnants of which can still be seen today. and now its more recent past is as much of a draw. i m starting myjourney here in tashkent, the biggest city in the whole of central asia. it s dynamic, full of young people with almost half under the age of 30
once part of the enormous soviet union, uzbekistan is a country of arid deserts, lush mountains and ancient cities. in its long history, it s been home to many civilisations, remnants of which can still be seen today. and now its more recent past is as much of a draw. i m starting myjourney here in tashkent, the biggest city in the whole of central asia. it s dynamic, full of young people with almost half under the age of 30 and it s booming. though wherever you look, you are reminded of its soviet past. so what s this impressive building? incredible. this is our circus. munis nur has been studying the unique blend of soviet and islamic architecture that tashkent is known for. after a massive earthquake in the 60s, the soviets rebuilt the whole city. at that time, as you know, many different architects came from the soviet union, and all the architects tried to build the ideal city here. the circus is one of the many examples of the era s modernist architecture. but back
The Kushan Empire began in the 1st century AD, encompassed what is now Afghanistan, Pakistan and beyond and was born of a line of nomads that formed an empire.
the old silk road from tashkent to bukhara, where we re going, would have been made at the speed of a camel. this rail network is due to be extended next year. but for now, i have to swap my mode of transport to drive six hours through some of the driest and most remote landscape i ve ever seen. this has been a long, bumpy ride, but i ve been promised it s worth it, and i m going to see something spectacular very soon. this area is known as the land of fortresses. and they were built to protect traders, going along the silk road, from marauding nomads. ayaz kala is 2,500 years old.