Uzbekistan Travel Guide

Uzbekistan — Country and Tourist Information

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Country Facts

Location: Central Asia.
Language: The official language is Uzbek, a Turkic tongue closely related to Kazakh and Kyrgyz. There is a small Russian-speaking minority. Many people involved with tourism speak English. The government has stated its intention to change the Cyrillic script to the Latin.
Area: 447,400 sq km (172,740 sq miles).
Time Zone: GMT + 5.
Electricity: 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Round two-pin continental plugs are standard.
Population: 26.9 million (UN estimate 2005).
Population Density: 60.1 per sq km.
Capital City: Tashkent. Population: 2.2 million (UN estimate 2003).
Government: Republic. Declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
Head of Government: Prime Minister Shavkat Mirziyayev since 2003.
Head of State: President Islam Karimov since 1991.
Religion: Predominantly Sunni Muslim, with Shia (15%), Russian Orthodox and Jewish minorities.

Recent History

President Islam Karimov extended his reign in elections in December 2007 with a landslide vote, beating three other candidated with 88.1% of the vote. The process has been criticized as undemocratic.

President Karimov took over as head of the Uzbek Communist party (now the People’s Democratic Party of Uzbekistan, PDPU) in 1989. Uzbekistan assumed independence in 1991 upon the break up of the Soviet Union. The PDPU, with Karimov at its head, has held power continuously ever since, occasionally in alliance with allied parties such as the Progress of the Fatherland party. He has been re-elected several times, with overwhelming majorities and against nominal opposition. Uzbekistan has played a valuable role in recent American military campaigns in Afghanistan (with whom it shares a border) and Iraq. In 2005, Russia and Uzbekistan signed an agreement paving the way for much closer military cooperation.

Communications

Telephone

Country Code: +998. Area code for Tashkent: 71. International calls can also be made from main post offices (in Tashkent on Prospekt Navoi). Direct-dial calls within the CIS are obtained by dialing 8 and waiting for another dial tone and then dialing the city code. Calls within the city limits are free of charge.

Mobile Telephone

Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone operators. Coverage is limited to populated areas.

Internet

Internet cafés exist in Tashkent.

Media

Press freedom is guaranteed and a constitutional ban on censorship exists, but these are frequently ignored in Uzbekistan, where the state maintains a tight grip on the media. International media rights bodies have reported that the use of violence against journalists and disinformation by the authorities are commonplace. Pre-publication self-censorship remains widespread. Following deadly unrest in Andijan in 2005, journalists were expelled from the area and foreign TV news broadcasts were blocked. Private TV and radio stations broadcast alongside state-run networks. Foreign channels operate via cable TV, which is widely available.

Post

Letters to Western Europe and the USA can take between two weeks and two months. Stamped envelopes can be bought from post offices. Addresses should be laid out in the following order: country, postcode, city, street, house number and, lastly, the person's name. There are a number of international courier services based in Tashkent.Mon-Fri 0900-1800. The Main Post Office in Tashkent (see above) is open until 1900. Visitors can also use the post offices situated in the major hotels.

Press

• There are no independent daily newspapers in Uzbekistan.
•The main editions are published in Tashkent and include Khalk Suzi and Narodnoye Slovo (in Russian and Uzbek), Hurriyat (published by a government agency) and Uzbekistan Ovizi.

Radio

• The Uzbek State Television and Radio Company operates state-run radio services.
• Private stations include Oriat FM, Uzbegim Taronasi and Radio Grand.

Public Holidays

Below are listed Public Holidays for the January 2011-December 2012 period.
2011
1 Jan New Year’s Day
15 Feb Prophet’s Birthday
8 Mar International Women’s Day
21 Mar Navruz (Persian New Year)
1 May Labor Day
9 May Day of Memory and Respect
30 Aug - 31 Aug Hait (End of Ramadan)
1 Sep Independence Day
6 Nov - 7 Nov Qurban-Hait (Feast of the Sacrifice)
8 Dec Constitution Day

2012
1 Jan New Year’s Day
4 Feb Prophet’s Birthday
8 Mar International Women’s Day
21 Mar Navruz (Persian New Year)
1 May Labor Day
9 May Day of Memory and Respect
19 Aug Hait (End of Ramadan)
1 Sep Independence Day
25 Oct Qurban-Hait (Feast of the Sacrifice)
8 Dec Constitution Day
Muslim festivals are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximations.

Contact Information

Uzbektourism

47 Horezmskaya Street, 700047 Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Tel: (71) 133 5414.
Website: www.uzbektourism.uz

Embassy of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the UK

41 Holland Park, London W11 3RP, UK
Tel: (020) 7229 7679.
Website: www.uzbekembassy.org
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1800; Mon-Wed and Fri 1000-1300 (consular section).