Registan Square is Uzbekistan most popular sight, its substantial portals, domes and minarets visible from just about everywhere in the city.

Of the three madrassahs (religious schools) in Registan Square, Ulugbek Madrassah is the oldest, dating from 1412. The main façade is covered with splendid mosaic floral patterns made in islimi style, and has a tall portal decorated with astral patterns. The right-angled courtyard of the madrassah is enclosed with a two-storey building housing hujra cells for over 100 students to live in. To the left is the royal Mirza Caravanserai and opposite it is a shelter for wandering Sufi dervishes.

The outstanding monument of ancient architecture in Uzbekistan is Bibi Khanum Mosque which towers above the city as a giant silhouette. The distinctive blue dome is designed to emulate the sky while the building features sparkling walls, tall minarets, and wide portals of white marble. Construction dates from 1399, under legendary ruler Temur.

From a distance Gur Emir looks like a blue tulip, with tightly folded turquoise petals. The remains of great sovereign Amir Temur and his offspring are interred here. The richly decorated gravestones are made of onyx and have fine carvings and dedicatory inscriptions. Also don't miss the unusual wall-paintings, cupola, and lower crypt where you can see the ancient graves (provided you tip the guide.)

One of the oldest monuments in Bukhara is the Ismail Samanid mausoleum, built at the beginning of the 10th century by the founder of the Samanid dynasty. The mausoleum looks rather like a brick cube covered with a hemisphere-shaped cupola. The cube symbolizes the earth, its dome is a symbol of the heavens, and their harmonic unity represents the universe The mausoleum is the first building in Central Asian architecture built of fired bricks; moreover, brick is used both as a construction and a decorative element: during the day the shifting daylight changes the pattern of decoration.

The Lyab-i-Hauz is the tree-shaded area surrounding the last-surviving hauz(public pond) in downtown Bukhara. Although public ponds were once widespread in Bukhara, many of them were filled in during the 1920s and 30s; however, the Lyab-i-Hauz was left to stand - principally because it is located in the middle of a spectacular architectural ensemble, that includes the Kukeldash madrasah (a magnificent school building adorned with heraldic ornamentation), and a khanqah(an inn, used by members of the Sufi brotherhood) built by Nadir Divan-Beghi. The area surrounding Lyab-i-Hauz is lined with restaurants and cafés, most of which serve alcohol, while old men play chess at stone tables, and the strains of live music fill the air every evening. The Lyab-i-Hauz is a wonderful place to while away the hours, soaking up the spirit of downtown Bukhara.

No visit to Uzbekistan would be complete without a visit to the Chorsu Bazaar. In fact, travellers to the central Asian nation are urged to pack as lightly as possible - since they will almost certainly be returning home with twice as many clothes as they arrived with! Silk dresses, Italian leather jackets, hand-stitched cotton shirts - you name it, the Chorsu Bazaar has it, and at outrageously low prices, to boot. Souvenir-hunters should look out for decorative ceramics (an Uzbek speciality), while the array of fresh fruit, vegetables and spices is guaranteed to make your mouth water. The Chorsu Bazaar is, as yet, unspoiled by mass tourism - it is an 'authentic' market, full of Uzbeks doing their daily shopping, and visiting it is as much a rich and rewarding cultural experience, as it is a shopping expedition par excellence.

The ancient fort-city of Afrasiab - thought to have been occupied between 500 BC and 1220 AD - was an important stop along the Silk Road, and the centre of the Sogdian Empire. These days, the site is an archaeological marvel, simply emanating the 2,500 years of human history it has borne witness to. No traveller to modern-day Samarkand should leave without visiting the museum at Afrasiab, which is full of fascinating artefacts, including ornamental earthenware crockery, tools, coins, terracotta statuettes - and most spectacular of all, enormous mural paintings rescued from the palace of a Sogdian ruler in the 7th century, depicting sieges and caravan troupes. By all accounts, a visit to Afrasiab is a truly humbling experience, where ancient history feels tangible, and one is able to reflect on the long and incredible passage of human civilisation.