This is lifestyle photography at its most intense. The colors (purples, golds, deep reds), the emotions, the sheer volume of it all—it defines modern Uzbek entertainment.

Photographically, the Choyxona offers a feast for the eyes. Picture low wooden tables set on tapchans (raised platform beds) adorned with colorful carpets. The centerpiece is always a steaming kettle of green tea and mountains of fresh fruit, nuts, and sweets.

While nightclubs are secular and legal, the new entertainment is the "Hippie Market" (Bazaar) after dark and the underground moshrab rooms. Musical tastes have evolved too. While maqom (classical music) is revered, young bands in Tashkent are mixing throat singing with electronic beats.

Unlike the sterile supermarkets of the West, an Uzbek bazaar is a sensory overload. Sellers shout prices, donkeys cart melons, and the smell of non (bread) sticks to everything.