About UzOz Tours

A Life Between Two Worlds

I was born in Tashkent in 1972, with roots deep in the Fergana Valley — one of the most fertile and culturally vibrant regions of Central Asia. Though I have called Australia home since the 1980s, building a career as a secondary school teacher in Melbourne, the traditions, language, and stories of Uzbekistan have never left me.

In Uzbek homes, the dasturxon — the shared table — is the centre of everyday life. For years I hosted Australian friends around my own dasturxon, introducing them to steaming plov, endless glasses of tea, and the kind of hospitality that cannot easily be explained, only experienced. Every time, the same words followed: "You have to take us there."

Carrying On What My Father Started

My family has been sharing Uzbekistan with the world for decades. In 1991, just as the country gained independence, my father and brother joined some of the very first small-group tours into a destination that was, at the time, almost completely unknown to Western travellers. My father later spent seven years living in Uzbekistan, deepening our family's ties to the land and its people.

I made my own visit in 1997 — and returned in 2024, reconnecting with distant relatives in the Fergana Valley and with my longtime friend Aziz, whom I had not seen for nearly twenty years. The ancient cities of the Silk Road, the warmth of the people, and the sheer depth of history confirmed what I had always believed: Uzbekistan is one of the world's most remarkable destinations, yet it remains almost entirely unknown to Australian travellers.

It was time to carry on what my father started.

More Than a Travel Company

UzOz Tours is more than a travel company. It is a bridge between cultures — an opportunity to experience the Silk Road through the eyes of someone who calls it home, and to leave the communities you visit genuinely better for your presence.

When I return to the Fergana Valley, I do not arrive empty-handed. In 2025 I carried donated books from Melbourne schools and sporting equipment for village children. The reaction from those children, their families, and the women in the community was something I will never forget. It confirmed a simple idea: travel can be a genuine force for good.

Through UzOz Tours, a portion of every journey directly supports educational resources in the communities we visit.

Buck — Your Host

I am a Melbourne secondary school teacher with a background in engineering and a deep interest in history, archaeology, and sustainability — particularly water sustainability in Central Asia. I have lived and worked across Uzbekistan, South Korea, Middle East and Australia, and I have been sharing Uzbek culture with Australian friends for more than two decades.

UzOz Tours is the result of a lifetime of connection to one of the world's great civilisations. I hope you will let me introduce you to it.

Every Journey Gives Back

UzOz Tours is more than a travel company. It is a bridge between cultures — an opportunity to experience the Silk Road through the eyes of someone who calls it home, and to leave the communities you visit genuinely better for your presence.

A portion of every journey directly supports free educational resources — books, materials, and equipment — for schools in the communities we visit. Travel can be a genuine force for good. On a UzOz journey, it is.