Uzbekistan’s Tourism Ambassador to the UK - Sophie Ibbotson
Sophie Ibbotson is a Central Asia specialist who has worked in the region since 2008, focusing on economic development — in particular tourism development — and water security. Through her company Maximum Exposure, she is a consultant to national governments and to the World Bank, and is Uzbekistan’s Tourism Ambassador to the UK.
Sophie is the author of six guidebooks for Bradt Travel Guides, and has written for Lonely Planet, National Geographic Traveller, and Culture Trip, amongst many other publications.
She is also Chairman of the UK’s Royal Society for Asian Affairs, founded in 1901 as the Central Asia Society.
On this episode of the show, Sophie shares her one way ticket destination is to Samarkand in the early 1420s, when Ulugbek - a grandson of Amir Timur (Tamerlane) - was governor. Sophie points out that at this point, before he became the Timurid Emperor, Ulugbek had just finished constructing his madrassa and astronomical observatory, solidifying Samarkand as one of the great intellectual and cultural centers of the Islamic world.
In our conversation, Sophie also highlights:
We wind down the conversation with Sophie sharing her philosophy on travel which is: “If you have the opportunity, go”!
Follow Sophie on Instagram & X: @uzambassador
For more on Sophie, visit: www.uzbekistan.travel/en &
www.maximumexposure.co
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