Uzbekistan: Social Profile

Food & Drink:
Uzbek food is similar to that of the rest of Central Asia.
Plov is the staple food for everyday and celebrations and consists of chunks of mutton, shredded yellow turnip and rice fried in a large wok. Shashlyk (skewered chunks of mutton barbecued over charcoal - kebabs - served with sliced raw onions) and lipioshka or non (rounds of unleavened bread) are served in restaurants and are often sold on street corners and make an appetizing meal.
  Samsa (samosas) are also sold in the street, but the quality is variable. Manty are large boiled noodle sacks of meat and shorpa is a meat and vegetable soup. During the summer and autumn there is a wide variety of fruit: grapes, pomegranates, apricots - which are also dried and sold at other times of the year - and dwarfing them all, mountains of honeydew and watermelons.
  In general, hotel food shows a strong Russian influence: borcht is a beetroot soup, entrecote is well-done steak, cutlet are grilled meat balls and strogan is the local equivalent of Beef Stroganoff. Pirmeni originated in Ukraine and are small boiled noodle sacks of meat and vegetables, similar to ravioli, sometimes served in a vegetable soup. There are a number of restaurants that serve both European and Korean food (Stalin transported many Koreans from their home in the east of the former Soviet Union, believing them to be a security threat). There is a hard-currency restaurant at the top of the Hotel Uzbekistan that serves Korean and Chinese food.

Drink:
Tea is the staple drink of Central Asia, and chai-khanas (tea houses) can be found almost everywhere in Uzbekistan, full of old men chatting the afternoon away with a pot of tea in the shade. Beer, wine, vodka, brandy and sparkling wine (shampanski) are all widely available in restaurants. Kefir, a thick drinking yoghurt, is often served with breakfast.

Nightlife:
Tashkent has a variety of theaters which show everything from European operas to traditional Uzbek dancing and music. The Navoi theater, opposite the Tashkent Hotel, shows opera and ballet. The prices are low by Western standards; shows generally start at 1800.

Shopping:
The best place to experience Central Asia is in the bazaars. The bazaars of Tashkent and Samarkand offer goods ranging from herbs and spices to Central Asian carpets. A variety of produce is sold. In the Alaiski Bazaar in Tashkent it is possible to buy decorated Uzbek knives. Visitors are advised to take a local who can steer them clear of poor quality goods. Many museums have small shops which sell a variety of modern reproductions and some original items. It is possible to buy carpets and embroidered wall hangings. Bukhara is famous for its gold embroidery, and visitors can buy elaborately embroidered traditional Uzbek hats. Visitors should be aware that it is illegal to export anything more than 100 years old or items which have a cultural significance.

Shopping hours:
Food shops open 08:00-17:00, all others open 09:00-19:00.

Sport:
The national sport bushkashi is a team game in which the two mounted teams attempt to deliver a headless and legless goat's carcass weighing 30-40kg over the opposition's goal line. Players are allowed to wrestle the goat from an opponent, but physical assault is frowned upon. There is skiing in the mountains above Tashkent. The martial arts, particularly Taekwon-Do, are also popular.

Social Conventions:
Lipioshka (bread) should never be laid upside down and should never be put on the ground, even if it is in a bag. It is normal to remove shoes but not socks when entering someone's house or sitting down in a chai-khana. Shorts are rarely seen in Uzbekistan and, worn by women, are likely to provoke unwelcome attention from the local male population. Avoid ostentatious displays of wealth (e.g. jewelry) in public places.