Things to Do in Urgench

Early-morning produce market near the canal bridge

By 6am the canal-side market explodes with bleating karakul sheep and pomegranates bleeding ruby juice onto crates. Taste tiny yellow Khorezm dates, sticky-sweet and nothing like supermarket fruit, while women in brilliant kurta dresses haggle over dill that smells of crushed lemon peel.

Trolley ride to Khiva's Itchan Kala at sunset

The rickety blue trolley outside Urgench's bazaar costs next to nothing and reaches Khiva's northern gate as adobe walls blush peach. Jostle with schoolkids clutching plastic bags of non while cotton fields blur past open windows and the electric motor whines.

Regional history museum in the former Soviet cinema

Inside the 1960s cinema on Al-Xorazmiy ko'chasi dinosaur footprints from the Aral seabed sit beside ceramics glazed with the cobalt that once funded Khorezm's caravans. The air smells of old projector dust and lacquer on reconstructed pottery while crackly loudspeakers play desert folk songs recorded on reel-to-reel tape.

Evening promenade along Amir Timur ko'chasi

When the temperature drops, families stroll the broad central avenue where fountains throw lit arcs against the darkening sky. Charcoal smoke from shashlik grills drifts with pop music from neon cafés. Cool spray drifts across pavement like desert mist.

Friday animal bazaar on the city's southern edge

Goats tug rope halters while auctioneers in leather slippers rattle off prices beneath corrugated tin. Dust, hay and animal musk mingle under fierce morning sun. Step aside for a camel whose lashes are long as paintbrushes.

Near the canal bridge: older Soviet hotels with high ceilings and surprisingly leafy courtyards.

Amir Timur avenue: newer mid-rise business hotels, handy for cafés

Southern micro-rayon: family guesthouses in converted courtyard homes

Station district: basic but cheap, good for dawn train departures

Northern outskirts: modern chains on the road toward Khiva

City centre backstreets: budget homestays where breakfast bread arrives warm from the tandoor.