Banks in Uzbekistan
Banks are open from Monday to Friday from 9:30 to 17:30, some are open on Saturday from 9:30 to 15:00.
Money in Uzbekistan
According to TOP-MEDICAL-SCHOOLS, the official monetary unit of Uzbekistan is sum. 1 sum is equal to 100 tiyins. In circulation there are banknotes of 1, 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 soums and coins of 1, 5, 10, 25 and 50 soums and 1, 3, 5, 10, 20 and 50 tiyin.
You can exchange foreign currency at branches of the National Bank, at exchange offices and at hotels in large cities, and only US dollars, euros, pounds sterling and yen are officially exchanged in the country. When exchanging, preference is given to US dollars and euros, and it is desirable that the banknotes be no older than 1993. Also, do not take large bills with you on a trip. Russian rubles in Uzbekistan are exchanged only by private “changers”, however, the exchange of currencies on the “black market” is punishable by law. Be sure to keep the exchange receipts before leaving the country, because they will be needed when you exchange the remaining sums back. Many hotels accept US dollars and euros for payment. Non-cash payment for services is developed only in the capital of the country. Traveler’s checks can only be exchanged at branches of the National Bank,
Rate: 10000 Uzbek Sum (UZS) = 0.91 USD (28.05.2022)
Cuisine in Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan, the process of eating is different from standard meals, starting with the first course and ending with dessert. The meal here begins and ends with tea drinking, and the process of making tea is entrusted exclusively to men. Tea promotes digestion, so Uzbeks drink it throughout the meal. The most common green tea is “kok-choy”, there are also varieties such as black tea “mizhoz-choy” and “kora-choy”, brewed in a hot place “rais-choy”, tea with sugar “kand-choy”, tea with rayhonli choi basil, zafaronli choi saffron tea, murch choi pepper tea and sedanali choi nigella seed tea.
The sequence of dishes in the country is as follows: first, sweets, pastries, dried fruits, nuts, fruits and vegetables are served on the table, only then there are snacks, and at the end of the traditional pilaf and other “main” dishes.
On the Uzbek table there are always hot cakes “non”. They are baked in a clay oven and sprinkled with various spices. The main national dish is pilaf, it is cooked only by men. In different regions of the country, the recipe for its preparation is different, but the main components for all types of pilaf are the same: meat (preferably lamb), rice, carrots, onions, peppers, barberries and caraway seeds. Also in Uzbek cuisine there is a more liquid variety of pilaf “shavlya”, cooked with a lot of fat, onions and water. Pilaf is served with fresh vegetables, as well as a salad of tomatoes and cucumbers.
The first courses are represented by thick soups: “shurpa-chaban” (meat soup made from potatoes, onions and tomatoes), “shurpa-mash” (soup of lamb and a special kind of beans “mash”), “kaurma-shurpa” (soup with turnips, potatoes and carrots), “kiima-shurpa” (soup with meatballs), “sholgom-shurpa” (mutton soup with turnip), “kifta-shurpa” (soup with meat sausages, peas and other vegetables), “mastava” (a soup made from meat and vegetables similar to shurpa, to which sour milk, pepper and herbs are added when served), “mashkhurda” (soup with mung bean, rice and potatoes, also seasoned with sour milk, herbs and onions), “umach” (soup from masha and corn noodles), “mash-atala” (soup of fried bacon, onions and carrots with beans and flour), “cholop” (cold soup of cucumbers,radishes and herbs in sour milk), “moshubirinch” (thick soup of lamb, tomatoes, mung bean and rice) and “khamrashi” (minced lamb soup with mung bean and noodles).
Meat dishes are very diverse: cutlets “tukhum-dulma”, boiled cold meat “yakhna-gusht”, “manti”, dumplings “barak-chuchvara”, meat stewed in a cauldron with herbs “kazan-kebab”, all kinds of kebabs and kebabs, ” langman” (noodles with meat), roast “zharkop”, “samsa” (puff pastry pies with meat) and meat pies “balish”.
The famous Uzbek sweets deserve special mention: halva, zangza cheesecakes, liquid halva khalvaitar, curly biscuits “kush-tili”, puff pastry “katlama”, butter balls “bugirsak”, quince stuffed with nuts “behi-dulma”, processed sugar “novat”, nuts in sugar “chak-chak”, cotton candy from caramel “pashmak” and meringue “nishold”. Dried fruits and nuts are always on the table. Fruit, grapes, melons and watermelons are also served for dessert.
Compotes (“meva-suvi”), infusions (“suvi”), sherbets (“sharvati”), sour-milk drinks (“airan”) or yogurts (“katyk”) are popular among drinks in addition to tea in Uzbekistan. Local alcoholic drinks are represented by dry and vintage wines and beer.
