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Uzbekistan

Tashkent International Airport.

Tourism is booming in this developing country, but its airport hasn’t caught up

Visitor numbers have tripled, but if you’re passing through this airport expect long waits at immigration and security, and bring a book.

  • Jenny Hewett
Tien Shan mountains.

Don’t want to rough it? You can now do this intriguing part of Asia in style

With more and more travellers interested in this Central Asian region, better facilities and upgraded infrastructure are a godsend.

  • Rob McFarland
The high-speed passenger express Afrosiyob at the platform of Bukhara railway station, Uzbekistan.

On board the European high-speed train zooming through Central Asia’s desert

Even Uzbekistan has faster trains than we do, but don’t expect too much from the coffee.

  • Andrew Bain
Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble in Samarkand.

This jewel of the Silk Road is still as impressive as it ever was

Some of the world’s most infamous conquerors established empires in this 3000-year-old city.

  • Jenny Hewett
The 46-metre-high Kalon Minaret, built in 1127.

See this fascinating country before it changes (again)

In this Central Asian country with a complicated, engrossing and often violent history, change is constant – and now it’s on the cusp of a tourism boom.

  • Carrie Hutchinson
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Golden Eagle restaurant.

New luxury train will travel some of world’s most remote, exotic regions

The Grand Silk Road Express travels a wondrous 6500 kilometres through Asia.

  • Julietta Jameson
Moynaq, once a fishing port on the Aral Sea, is now a ghost town in the Aralkum Desert, drawing ‘disaster tourists’ to see stranded boats and devastation.

Ghost cities and stranded ships: Inside a country that doesn’t exist

Karakalpakstan has its own language, culture and history, but you won’t find it on any map.

  • Joel Day
Aerial view down towards the famous Kalyan Poi Kalon Complex and Poi Kalon Minaret, Poi Kalan or Po-i-Kalyan and Mir Arab Madrasah (right side) in the center of the old town of Bukhara - Buxoro - Бухорo on a sunny day. Aerial Drone Point view at Sunset. Itchan Kala, Bukhara, Khorezm Region, Uzbekistan, Central Asia.

Visiting this formerly daunting part of the world is now easier than ever

We follow the paths carved by some of the greatest and most terrible conquerors, everyone from Alexander the Great to Genghis Khan to Timur.

  • Ute Junker
Khinkali, phali, chahokhbili, lobio, cheese and eggplant rolls: Georgia is one of the great food and wine destinations.

The world’s most underrated countries for food

If you’re looking for your next great meal in this moveable feast we call life, it might be time to head to these often-overlooked places.

  • Ben Groundwater
The Seventy Islands are part of the Rock Islands of Palau

Amazing and crowd-free: 12 of the world’s most underrated countries

Look beyond the usual destinations and you’ll find outstanding countries that offer something different, and may well be bargain-priced and uncrowded too.

  • Brian Johnston