Madina Kasimbaeva Suzani Embroidery Workshop, Tashkent Uzbekistan

If you travel to Central Asia you will almost certainly come across suzani, the large embroidered wall-hangings typical to Uzbekistan and parts of Tajikistan. Intricately stitched with bright colours and lunar motifs, suzani were traditionally the centrepiece of a young woman’s dowry, with the art handed down from generation to generation. But by the 1980s, the skills and tradition of suzani embroidery were almost lost.

But in the last few decades, Uzbek embroiderer extraordinaire Madina Kasimbaeva has pioneered the revival of Tashkent’s palyak school of suzani, mixing traditional motifs with her own modern style. Some of Madina’s suzanis take years to complete, and one even hangs in our very own British Museum.

You can visit Madina’s home studio, and meet this amazing woman, on our ‘In the Footsteps of Joanna Lumley’ small-group tour, or on a tailor-made trip to Uzbekistan. We defy you to return without one of her beautiful chapan coats!