Uzbekistan is a Central Asian nation and former Soviet republic. It's known for its mosques, mausoleums and other sites linked to the Silk Road, the ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean. Samarkand, a major city on the route, contains a landmark of Islamic architecture: the Registan, a plaza bordered by 3 ornate, mosaic-covered religious schools dating to the 15th and 17th centuries.

Also in Samarkand are Shah-i-Zinda, a street lined with lavishly decorated mausoleums that are Muslim pilgrimage sites, and Gur-e-Amir, the towering tomb of the Timurid Empire's founder. Bukhara, a Silk Road oasis city, has landmarks including the Ark, ruins of a 5th-century royal compound now housing museums, and the 16th-century mosque Maghoki-Attar, built atop centuries-old sacred sites. To the north and west lie the vast Kyzylkum Desert, the shrinking Aral Sea Lake and the city of Khiva, whose walled old town contains 18th- and 19th-century palaces and mosques.

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