When I lived in Uzbekistan, most of my food shopping was done at outdoor markets. I really came to appreciate the social interaction and feel of community at these markets where each vendor specializes in selling only one or two types of products. This forces you so interact with so many people just to make a pot of soup. There are the onions and garlic vendor, the spice vendor, the meat butcher or the chicken vendor, and vendors for each kind of vegetable like the tomatoes pictured above. As a stranger living in a strange land the markets gave me an automatic community to interact with. My market routine became an essential part of my daily life.

Whether you're visiting Uzbekistan to see the famous sites in Samarkand, Bhukara or Khiva, make sure you take in the vibrant and friendly outdoor markets, too.