Ezgulik Arch
Silver storks.
Diloromkhan — CC BY-SA 4.0 · NaseriaM — CC0 · Adam Harangozó — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Enric — CC BY 4.0 · BeshevI — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Yunuskhuja Tuygunkhujaev — CC BY-SA 4.0 · BeshevI — CC BY-SA 4.0 · BeshevI — CC BY-SA 4.0
Tashkent's largest square, more a vast park than a plaza. Once Lenin Square, it was renamed Mustaqillik Maydoni, Independence Square, in 1992 after Uzbekistan's independence, and it hosts celebrations and parades on national holidays. You enter through the Ezgulik («Goodness») Arch, a long white colonnade topped by silver storks, with a sculpture of storks on a globe at its centre. Beyond it stands the Independence Monument: a tall pedestal crowned by a golden globe bearing the map of Uzbekistan, with a statue of a seated mother holding her baby in front. On the other side, the Square of Memory has the «Mourning Mother» statue before an eternal flame, and an alley inscribed with the names of those who fell in the Second World War. Government buildings, including the Cabinet of Ministers and the Senate, line the square, which is dotted with fountains and crossed by the Ankhor canal. Entry is free and the square is open for walks by day, though parts may close for official events. Summer evenings, when the fountains run, are the best time.
Silver storks.
Golden globe.
Summer evenings.
Central Tashkent, by the Senate
Amir Timur MuseumThe State Museum of Timurid History, a round building under a blue dome that rec11 minutes walk
Amir Timur SquareTashkent's central square, a round park whose centrepiece since 1993 has been a 13 minutes walk
Tashkent MetroCentral Asia's first metro, opened on 6 November 1977 after the 1966 earthquake,15 minutes walk
Museum of Applied Arts, TashkentUzbekistan's State Museum of Applied Arts occupies a remarkable late 19th-centur23 minutes walkThe Ezgulik Arch with its silver storks, the Independence Monument with its golden globe and mother statue, and the fountains on summer evenings; entry is free.