Guesthouses along the Silk Road: a tradition of welcoming travellers

Hospitality has long shaped everyday life in Uzbekistan. For centuries, travellers moving along the Silk Road relied on local families for rest, food and conversation. Today, that tradition continues through guesthouses that welcome visitors into homes across the country.

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Unlike large hotels, these small accommodations often reflect the personalities of their owners. Guests share kitchens, courtyards and common spaces, where conversations easily begin and friendships sometimes follow.

Surkhandarya: where hospitality begins at home

In the southern region of Surkhandarya, guesthouses offer travellers a first glimpse of the country’s welcoming traditions. Visitors are greeted by the hosts, invited to sit down and introduced to the house before choosing their rooms.

For guesthouse owner Mavjuda Nazarova, hospitality has always been part of family life.

“Since childhood, we have been used to welcoming guests,” she says. “We grew up in a friendly family, so hosting people has always felt natural to us. We enjoy creating comfortable conditions and helping our guests in any way we can.”

Nazarova opened her guesthouse five years ago. Built during the pandemic period, the house now welcomes travellers from different parts of the world.

Her goal, she explains, is simple: that visitors leave with positive memories of Surkhandarya and of Uzbekistan. Guests often stay for several days, cooking their own meals in the shared kitchen or exchanging recipes with travellers from other countries.

For some visitors, the experience becomes part of the journey itself.

Derin, a traveller who has stayed at the guesthouse for several days, describes it as a place where people quickly feel at home.

“It’s very safe here and the atmosphere is warm,” he says. “We meet people from different countries, cook together and spend time like a family.”

During one evening in the kitchen, guests prepared dinner side by side, combining ingredients and recipes from several cultures.

Among them was Liu Xianzhong from China, who had been staying in Termez for several weeks.

“I feel very comfortable here,” he says. “During the day we work or explore the city, and in the evening we cook together. We share our food and experiences with each other.”

For Liu, preparing Chinese hot pot became an opportunity to bring travellers together around the table.

Bukhara: historic homes welcoming visitors

Further west along the Silk Road lies Bukhara, where guesthouses often occupy restored historic houses.

Many of these buildings have been adapted carefully, preserving courtyards, carved wooden details and traditional interior design while adding modern facilities for travellers.

Sabina Ashurova opened her guesthouse in 2019, when family-run accommodations were just beginning to appear in the city.

“At the beginning we had only four rooms,” she recalls. “They were very simple. Later we renovated everything and decorated the rooms in the traditional Bukhara style.”

For Ashurova, the business offered an opportunity to combine family life and work.

“It is a suitable job for women because we can work from home and still spend time with our children,” she explains.

Today, guesthouses have become an important part of Bukhara’s tourism landscape. Visitors are drawn not only by the city’s historic monuments but also by the chance to experience everyday life inside traditional homes.

Travellers Timon and Emma, visiting from Belgium, chose a guesthouse during their stay in the city.

“In a guesthouse you are closer to the real culture,” Timon says. “Hotels often feel the same everywhere, but here you can speak directly with the owners and learn more about local life.”

Samarkand: tradition combined with modern comfort

The journey continues to Samarkand, another historic centre along the Silk Road.

Guesthouses here combine elements of traditional architecture with modern services expected by international visitors.

Mansurali Ergashev, owner of the Bibixonim family guesthouse, opened his house for guests in 2014. Its location near the Bibixonim Mausoleum places visitors close to the historic heart of the city.

“This guesthouse combines national traditions with modern comfort, which foreign guests really appreciate,” he says.

Rooms are equipped with modern facilities, while decorative elements reflect the region’s cultural heritage. For many visitors, this combination creates a more personal experience than staying in larger hotels.

Tashkent: guesthouses in historic neighbourhoods

Even in the capital, guesthouses continue the tradition. In Tashkent, some are hidden inside historic mahallas, neighbourhoods where traditional houses remain part of daily community life.

One such guesthouse was created inside a former teahouse and built around a mulberry tree that has grown there for more than a century.

“The idea was to keep the mulberry tree inside the courtyard,” explains owner Otabek Karshiyev. “It became the heart of the house.”

Karshiyev believes guesthouses offer travellers a different way to experience the country.

“In hotels, everything can look similar,” he says. “But a guesthouse allows visitors to feel the atmosphere of traditions, culture and family life.”

A tradition that continues to welcome travellers

Across Uzbekistan, guesthouses reveal a different side of travel. Visitors share meals, stories and daily routines with the families who host them.

For many travellers, these small moments become the most memorable part of their journey.

More than simply a place to stay, guesthouses offer a window into everyday life, and into the tradition of hospitality that has welcomed travellers along the Silk Road for centuries.