Navoiy

Navoiy, also spelled Navoi, is a city and the capital of Navoiy Region in the southwestern part of Uzbekistan. It is located at an altitude of 382 meters. The city is named after Ali-Shir Nava’i.The vast province of Navoi covers almost a quarter of Uzbekistan’s territory but includes just a fraction of the country’s population, as much of the region is covered by the inhospitable Kyzylkum Desert. Despite the arid climate, cotton is still grown here, though Navoi’s real income comes from what lies beneath the ground: natural gas, oil and precious metals.

For short-term visitors, Navoi Province offers camel trekking and desert safaris, Bronze Age petroglyphs and medieval caravanserais. Lake Aidarkul is one of the best birdwatching sites in Uzbekistan, and it is possible to stay in yurts along the shore.

Both the province and the provincial capital take their name from the Timurid poet and politician Alisher Navoi. Navoi is 30-something city that has replaced desert with urban sprawl, it was refounded and renamed only in 1958. Just a few kilometres along a wide highway divide the Uzbek mud walled houses of Karmana and the high-rise workers’ blocks of Navoi. Guides point proudly to the streets, offices and parks of progress, while an industrial zone of electrochemical works chokes out the environmental cost. The town makes its money from mining and processing minerals (including gold), natural gas, and producing chemical fertilisers. The majority of foreigners coming here are on business, though you may also pass through en route to Karmana and Nurata.