About Uzbekistan

Karshi is not Uzbekistan's most interesting city but there are a few interesting sights worth exploring if you have some time to kill. Karshi's medieval heart is centred on the bazaar, though you have to look past the 20th-century's less tasteful architectural creations if you're to get a sense of what historic Karshi would actually have been like.

Opposite the busy main bazaar is a remodeled public square containing a scattering of marooned medieval buildings. The attractive, turn- of-the-century Bekmir or Rabiya Madrassah functioned for a time after independence as female madrassah. It's now home to a couple of workshops. Continue on for 100 metres to the striking blue dome of the heavily restored 16th century Odina Mosque, built on the site of the former Mongol palace. The building (curiously signposted the 'Odina Center of Self Conciousness') houses a fairly useless regional museum, it is the building's domed exterior that is the main attraction.  More interesting is the sardoba (covered water pool) just outside the exterior wall, as this would have been the mosque's main source of water, essential for the faithful to perform their pre-prayer ablutions.