The World’s Cheapest Country¿ (My First Day In Uzbekistan)

We are in Uzbekistan, a country located in Central Asia, home to around 30 million people. Now, three years ago, this country was closed off to tourists, but now, they are open for the world to see. So today, we take a look at this beautiful country. But first, we need to look the part, and I'm here at the Charsu Bazaar in Tashkent to dress up like a traditional Uzbekistani. This is a national costume, you know, oh, look at this. Oh, class A service. Oh, I could wear this, man. So in terms of the temperature, it's about 15 degrees right now. So this, what it feels like, is a combination of a jacket and a blanket rolled into one. Oh, it's a pillow, too. Now, we're getting a national dope. Which one, green or blue? Blue, right? Yes, I feel great. So this cloak, or the local chapar, will cost you on average about $25, and the dopey hat, about five bucks. So $30, looking clean. As they say, if you want to really explore a city, you have to go to its bazaar, the market. So the heart and soul of Tashkent is the Charsu, so we're about to explore it. Now that we're dressed to impress, it's important to feel energized and get ready for the day ahead. So we need to grab a little something to eat. So my favorite food in the world is bread, and we're going to a place called Bread Paradise at the Charsu Market. There are around 20 different types of bread. This one is for daily usage. Also, they bake the bread, traditional bread there. We're going to go in the bakery. Here we can get it fresh. As I was eating, the guy told me, hey, do you want to make one? And I'm like, hey. Thank you, thank you. So this is our breakfast, and this piece of bread costs 15 cents. So this is a different version of naan. This is the naan with the sheep fat. It's more aromatic. No, it says yoga. It's the buttocks of the sheep? Yes. In the bread? In the bread. Why of all the parts, why the sheep buttocks in the bread? She's saying it's like a natural. We don't use like margarine. We don't use... Oh, so these are like a fat. Yeah, and it's like a buttery type thing. Oh, and this bread can apparently last for months if it's taken care of properly. I just heard a beautiful story about those two musicians who are, you know, differently abled, who have challenges in life. They choose not to sit and wait for help, but to go out and learn a craft and use that craft to be able to make money. That's why you see people being so supportive, giving them money. So they come here every day to entertain the crowds. It's very beautiful. So in the old times of the Silk Road, spices were pretty much gold. That's what was getting traded. That's what was getting moved. That's what was getting exchanged and creating value. So when you see all these trade happening, all these different mixes of cultures coming together, that's when you saw the mix of the food and things happening. And that's when you literally saw dishes get spiced up. Everything came together along this road. All I see is steam cooking and meat. We've been called over by this family. So I'm going to have some chickpeas and sheep fat and a kebab with sheep fat, one. And one of these costs 60 cents. That's it. So here we've got some bread with the chickpeas, a bit of meat and, you guessed it, sheep fat. It all just melts. So here we've got a piece of kebab, a piece of fat and the nut. Oh my goodness. We are now at the Hast Imam Memorial Complex in the heart of Tashkent that has just been named one of the centers of Islamic civilization. And Islam at its core has always been about the growth of innovation, education, of science. And beautiful places like this bring Islam to the forefront of pushing humanity and the world forward. And how much does it cost to come visit this place? Zero. It is absolutely free of charge. So when we were given a list of places that we need to visit when we're here in Tashkent, one of the places was the metro, which kind of caught me off guard because it's like just a metro, right? But this is no regular metro. So a ticket to ride on the metro here, 13 cents. As soon as you walk in, there's just this bright blue of all the domes that you see and then all this architecture on the side of where the metro passes. Three years ago, you were not allowed to film in public, but now they are open for tourists. They're open for people to come and document their experience here. It's such a beautiful place. So they decided it's better to open up in public. So now we can enjoy it. So we have just gotten off the metro and we are here to end the day at the peaceful Independence Square. And this has been an incredible day one of Uzbekistan, filled with culture, filled with history, filled with incredible architecture. And here's what I learned. It is not going to cost you a fortune to do that. You saw how little I had to spend to experience the best that this country had to offer. And even though it's only been three years since Uzbekistan opened up to the world, the people are ready for it. They are welcoming. They are kind. They want you to be part of their lives and be part of their culture. And I hope you all got to see it through this video. And I hope you take the chance to come and see it for yourself. And this is just day one. This is just day one in Uzbekistan. There is so much more to come. So if you enjoyed this video, please give it a thumbs up. Please like the page. Stay tuned for more because we are exploring the beauty of the Silk Road through Uzbekistan. Much love. God bless. Please come to Samarkand. There are many historical monuments and places of interest there. We're going to be there soon, Inshallah. We shall meet you. Inshallah, we're coming. We're coming. Thank you.