The old town — what little of it survived the 1966 earthquake and Soviet rebuilding — runs west and north of the centre, around Chorsu Bazaar and the Khast Imam Complex. It is genuinely an old quarter: narrow streets, low mud-brick walls, hidden courtyards, and the traditional mahalla neighbourhood structure that still organises social life.
Spend a morning wandering. The streets are not laid out on any grid and getting lost is part of the experience. Tea houses and small mosques are tucked between the houses; women in bright dresses haul bread back from the tandoor. It is the only part of Tashkent that feels Uzbek rather than Soviet.