Above ground, Uzbekistan’s capital, Tashkent, stretches out in broad avenues edged with chinar trees. Descend the marble steps through an unassuming concrete entrance, and the city opens into a metro station that feels like an immersive passage through a subterranean gallery. It is not just an ordinary underground commute, but an encounter with Ubekistan’s art, history, and layered evolution.
Chandeliers flare overhead, casting a warm glow across polished floors, while mosaics and sculpted surfaces carry stories across walls and ceilings. Local guide Khikmatilla Juraev of the Orient Star group explains, the metro opened in 1977 during the Soviet era, following the devastating 1966 earthquake that reshaped the city. “It was the first subway system in Central Asia, built by Uzbek workers and Soviet engineers to withstand earthquakes,” he says. What emerged was not merely infrastructure, but an artistic and ideological statement in stone, glass, and light.
Each of its stations was conceived as a distinct narrative. Columns rise in marble, ceilings bloom with intricate mosaics, and chandeliers scatter light across vast halls.
It’s a great way to learn about our 3,000-year-old history, especially for the younger generation. Whenever I take the metro, I am proud to be an Uzbek.Farruk, a young doctor in the city
Each station unfolds a chapter, and together they narrate the country’s layered evolution. The October Revolution station, for instance, became Amir Timur. Geometric patterns draw from Islamic art traditions, while bronze sculptures and bas-reliefs celebrate workers, scholars, and visionaries. At Chilonzor Station, ceramic murals depict scenes of Uzbek life—farmers at work, men gathered over glasses of chai, conversations unfolding in painted detail. Mustaqillik Maydoni Station, once Lenin Station, opens towards Independence Square in a palette of white and gold. Built almost entirely from marble sourced in the Kyzylkum Desert, it reflects both purity and proclamation, marking Uzbekistan’s independence. Star patterns embedded in the floor reference the astronomical legacy of Ulugh Beg, the 15th-century scholar and grandson of Timur.
Farruk, a young doctor in the city, puts it simply: “It’s a great way to learn about our 3,000-year-old history, especially for the younger generation. Whenever I take the metro, I am proud to be an Uzbek.” At Kosmonavtlar Station, green glass columns catch the light, while deep blue walls unfold a cosmic vision of the Soviet space dream. Ceramic medallions depict pioneers of space exploration, including Yuri Gagarin, the first human in orbit. Constellations shimmer across tiled surfaces, turning the station into a celestial chamber.
At Alisher Navoi Station, named after the 15th-century poet and statesman, carved arches and ceramic panels in cobalt and emerald evoke the grandeur of Timurid architecture. Domed ceilings and floral motifs echo the madrassas and mosques of Samarkand and Bukhara, elevating the station into a monument rather than a transit point.
Themes across the network range from industry and agriculture to science and literature. At Pakhtakor Station, mosaics in green and blue depict cotton capsules—“white gold” that once defined Uzbekistan’s economy—rendered in stylised relief across the walls.
For decades, photography inside the metro remained prohibited due to its strategic significance, Cold War anxieties, and its function as a nuclear shelter. When restrictions were lifted in 2018, the world encountered what locals had always known—an architectural jewel hidden beneath the city.
Today, the network has expanded to more than 50 stations, with newer additions weaving contemporary design into traditional motifs. The stations also double as theatres of daily life. Elderly women in patterned headscarves sit alongside students absorbed in their phones. Office workers stand beneath ceilings inspired by celestial maps, briefcases in hand. Mothers guide prams across gleaming floors with practised ease.
Built for more than just functional purpose, this unique underground communte in Tashkent affirms that beauty can inhabit the everyday life— offering something far more layered with art, history, and identity.
FACT FILE The Tashkent Metro is open every day from 5 am until midnight. Visitors can buy tickets at the kassa window outside each station in cash and just scan the QR code while boarding.