Page 43 - Seniorstoday May 2024 Issue

surveys his empire.. pioneers from the Soviet space programme,
For some shopping in Tashkent, head including the first woman sent into space,
down to the famed Chorsu Bazaar and Valentina Tereshkova.
meander in this market maze. It is actually
Uzbekistan’s largest bazaar! Spices,
scarves, jewellery, trinkets, fruit and veg,
beauty bits, meat, balloons, cakes… and
shops selling socks. I have never seen so
many and such a variety of socks.
The metro stations in Tashkent are
truly spectacular. You enter a basement
ballroom with the shunting of trains
ricocheting off the marble floors. Each
station portrays a story from Uzbekistan’s
history, and is designed by a different artist
or architect. The themes vary from the
Soviet space programme to the poetry of
Alisher Navoi. But the ultimate station to
visit and be awed by is the Kosmonavtlar
Metro Station. Decorated in a space-theme,
it is dedicated to the cosmonauts of the
Soviet Union. Opened in 1984, the ceiling
reflects the Milky Way while the walls fade
from blue to black to imitate the Earth’s
atmosphere. Gold plaques proudly show

In a restaurant in Tashkent.
The ceilings in Applied Arts Museum Tashkent

SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #59 | MAY 2024 43