Last month I spent four days in Uzbekistan. I went there to attend a conference on Sustainable Regional Development in Central Asia. Our host was the Samarkand Branch of Tashkent State University of Economics, located in the city of Samarkand.

I must admit that when I received the invitation to be one of the keynote speakers at the conference, my knowledge of Uzbekistan was close to non-existent. I knew that it had once been part of the USSR, and had become an independent country in 1991 following the political break up of the Soviet Union. Apart from that, I did not know much.

When your knowledge is sparse, the internet is your friend. A quick Google search revealed that Uzbekistan is a country of 35 million people in Central Asia. It shares a border with five countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan. It is also one of only two countries in the world that is double landlocked (the other is Liechtenstein -which I visited in 2018) A landlocked country is one that does not have direct access to an ocean or has a waterway that directly connects it to an ocean. A double landlocked country is one that is surrounded by countries that are themselves landlocked.

Occupied as early as the 8th century BC, the region that comprises modern-day Uzbekistan came under Russian control during the 18th century. The country’s name translates as ‘land of the Uzbeks’. Indeed, Uzbeks (a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia) comprise 84% of Uzbekistan’s population. With such an interesting history, and the fact that I had never been to Central Asia, meant that I was really looking forward to visiting this fascinating country.

My journey to Uzbekistan was quite a long one. I flew with Jet Blue from Detroit, MI to Boston, MA, where I connected with a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul. In Istanbul, I met up with my colleagues, Tomaz from Portugal, Ana from Spain, and Eduardo and Fernando from Brazil. We were on the same flight from Istanbul to Samarkand. I had left Detroit at 3:28pm on May 2 and, thanks to the combination of long flights and lengthy layovers, did not arrive in Samarkand until 4:10am on May 4 – a total travel time in excess of 27 hours. This was the first time in my life I had taken two back-to-back overnight flights (Boston to Istanbul and Istanbul to Samarkand). Arriving in Samarkand was not the end of my journey, however. The five of us, along with another colleague, Hans from Sweden (who had arrived the previous day) drove to city of Bukhara, a four-hour drive west of Samarkand.

Bukhara is the fifth largest city in Uzbekistan, with a population of just under 250,000. The historic center of Bukhara is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city is located on the historic Silk Road, a network of Eurasian trade routes which operated from the 2nd century BC thru the mid-15th century. Over two thousand years old, Bukhara is described by UNESCO as “the most complete example of a medieval city in Central Asia, with an urban fabric that has remained largely intact.”

After an overnight stay in Bukhara we headed back to Samarkand. With a population of ~320,000, Samarkand is Uzbekistan’s third largest city. Like Bukhara, Samarkand has a rich history. Founded around 700 BC, it is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities anywhere in the world. Invaded and destroyed by Genghis Khan and his Mongol army in 1200, it was one of the most important stops on 4,000-mile-long Silk Road.

Although a predominantly Muslim country, alcohol is legal in Uzbekistan. Spirits (particularly vodka) accounts for ~57% of alcohol consumed by Uzbeks, reflecting the recent Russian influence on the country’s culture. Indeed, every evening at dinner, our host made sure that there was a bottle of Uzbek vodka, along with a bottle of Uzbek Cognac, on the table. Both were consumed straight – no mixers required. I usually do not drink vodka or cognac. Indeed, the last time I had consumed so much vodka was on a 2017 trip to Poland.

Beer accounts for approximately 34% of the alcohol consumed by Uzbeks, with wine accounting for the remaining 9%. In 2021, beer consumption per capita was a modest 7.8 liters. This compares with US per capita consumption levels that hovers around 70 liters.

The most common beer I encountered while in Uzbekistan was one called Sabrast. A European-style Pilsner, it is produced in a brewery owned by the Danish brewing giant Carlsberg in Uzbekistan’s capital city Tashkent. I also had the opportunity to try a Russian beer. At lunch, on the drive back from Bukhara to Samarkand, one of my hosts ordered a Baltika 7 for me, a Russian Pilsner-style beer, brewed under license by Carlsberg in Tashhent.

While the Uzbek beer market is evolving, and craft beer is gaining in popularity among younger and more affluent beer drinkers, I never saw any while I was there. But perhaps I will on a future visit. I have had the good fortune to visit over 40 countries across 6 continents. Uzbekistan is right up there as one of the most fascinating that I have ever visited. I would love to return one day.