Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) - The British newspaper The Times published an article by journalist Anna Murphy about her trip to Uzbekistan, visiting which she offers her as one of the first travel destinations in 2021, Dunyo reports.

Drawing attention to forced quarantine in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, the author writes that at present she only has memories from past trips.

“After decades spent traveling and discovering new horizons that I could tell people about, I have to sit at home, presenting mirages of those countries I have visited ...”, she writes, adding that traveling is not only about being in the country here and now, but also the ability to look back.

According to the journalist, among many countries she visited, Uzbekistan remains a treasury rich in its ancient cities that flourished along the Silk Road.

Anna calls the mausoleums, mosques and madrassas of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva fascinating. “Huge buildings decorated with intricate geometric patterns, visually “looming ”arches appearing in a 2D panorama, blue domes are like a 4-dimensional picture,” the British journalist writes visualizing what she saw. “Add to that the towering minarets, and these architectural ensembles [aerial view] will appear like a chessboard with figures.”

Describing the blue of the domes of Uzbekistan, she quotes one historian who once wrote: "And even the sky was envious of the beauty of the domes."

The journalist’s journey began in Tashkent, where she remembers the Chorsu market, which she calls “a magnet for lovers of meat, bread and pilaf.” Here she stops at a shop selling crystallized sugar, sweet honey and tastes tea. “You can also find nuts, dried fruits in the bazaar, very tasty and cooked as if for my arrival,” Anna admires.

Continuing the journey in Samarkand, she writes that this is one of the most amazing cities she has ever visited. “Piazza Registan is a grandiose complex, which in its beauty and historical value is not inferior to Piazza San Marino in Venice,” says the traveler.

The sophisticated British journalist found the Shahi Zinda necropolis, the mausoleums of which, in her opinion, compete among themselves in beauty. “In one of them, the mullah recited a prayer in honor of the pilgrims who visited Samarkand, and after that, they all passed their hands over their faces, as if having washed with his words,” the article says.

On the way from Samarkand to Bukhara, the journalist was struck by the breathtaking landscape of the Zarafshan mountains, between which one could see small houses and villages. In the city itself, the author discovered the citadel of Ark and the mausoleum of the Samanids. In her opinion, it is the old city that makes Bukhara so unique.

“Walking through the labyrinthine streets, you might think that you got lost, but the next moment you find yourself in one of the beautiful squares of the city - Lyabi House,” trying to convey the atmosphere, the author writes.

She describes numerous artisan shops with their unique products - textiles, gold jewelry, suzanne ...

The ancient city of Khiva became for Anna the last point of the route in Uzbekistan.

“Minarets once illuminated the path of travelers crossing desert areas,” she indulges in a description of the ancient city. “Ichan Kala, an open-air museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.”

In Khiva, Anna also advises paying attention to the residents of the city. “Here is a boy dressed in a white and golden chapan, or local tourists waiting in line to take a picture with a tiger.”

Returning to coronavirus, the British journalist says that COVID-19 made adjustments to people's life plans, however, she wonders why not so many Britons traveled to Uzbekistan before? Therefore, she writes, when the world opens again, travelers should take advantage of the moment: “There is so much here that you may not have seen in life. After all, this is Uzbekistan,” she concludes.