UZBEKISTAN PEARL OF THE EAST

Uzbekistan, with its numerous ancient monuments, rich nature, and the present-day rapid progress, attracts the whole world’s attention. For centuries the country was at the intersection of the Great Silk Road routes, along which merchants, geographers, missionaries, and later tourists traveled. It is striking how the history, traditions and cultures of the nationalities populating present-day Uzbekistan have been entangled with the history of Great Silk Road.

World famous cities Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, and Shakhrizabs are Uzbekistan’s main urban centres, and have long been places where cultural and spiritual values are concentrated; outstanding scientific centers and schools are established; and architecture, craftsmanship, and applied art flourish. The creative work and various

scientific achievements of the local scientists, thinkers, and poets of these urban centres have proven to invaluable to the development of world civilization. Abu Ali ibn Sino, al-Khorezmiy, Mirzo Ulugbek, Bakhouddin Nakshband, al-Bukhoriy, at-Termeziy, Abu Raikhon Beruniy, Alisher Navoiy - this is but a short list of names of prominent figures of Uzbekistan.

The monuments of legendary Samarkand are majestic and wonderful. In this town one can feel the breath of history itself. It can be traced in the ancient ruins as well as in the medrassahs, mausoleums, and minarets, which have decorated the city since ancient times. In 1370 Amir Timur (Tamerlan) designated Samarkand as the capital of his great state that spread from Mongolia and Siberia to Syria and India. From his campaigns he brought many skillful architects and craftsmen whose works of art have outlasted the ages. The legendary Samarkand square of Registan continues to be considered one of the most important architectural sights of Central Asia.

During ancient times Bukhara was the center of a densely populated oasis. Archeologists have noted that the city was constantly growing, both in width and in height. Ruins of dwellings, public buildings, and defense structures dating back to different periods of the city’s history were found in the earth’s stratum at a depth of 20 meters. There are more than 140 monuments of ancient architecture in Bukhara altogether. Minaret Kalyan, the striking symbol of the city, towers over it. Everyone who has seen “Great Minaret” built in 1127 will long keep the impression of its greatness and original beauty in their memory.

Once you have visited Bukhara, the majesty of the Ark fortress and the many other monuments of antiquity that surround you almost everywhere in the city make a lasting impression in your mind. Craftsmen will reproduce ancient patterns on copper and silver right before your eyes, jewellers will make replicas of unique adornments, which local beauties used to wear thousands of years ago. Involuntarily you ask yourself: how many centuries has this town survived? How many pieces of the past material cultures are buried in it?

Khiva is the only town of the period of the Great Silk Road which has remained fully undamaged till now. Time seems to go centuries back here. That is why the town has rightly gained fame as “the open-air museum”. In Khiva, with its narrow alleys where legends of old seem to be reflected in stone and wood, you can easily imagine the life of former generations, which will never repeat itself, but has left us its old and cherished traditions, legends, and precepts.

Uzbekistan, where monuments of ancient cultures of different ages are concentrated, is rightly called a treasury of history. Ichan-Kala complex in Khiva

and the historical centers of Bukhara, Shakhrizabs and Samarkand are included in the UNESCO World Heritage list. Many unique monuments and architectural constructions in these towns have remained in a good state up to the present day and are of a great significance to mankind.

Most of the architectural monuments of Ichan-Kala complex in Khiva date back to the late 18th - first half of the 19th centuries. But excavations on its territory revealed more ancient layers, dating back to the 3rd and even earlier centuries B.C. Ichan-Kala is surrounded by a thick wall which is 2100 meters long and has several gates. The silhouette of the huge Islam-Khodzha minaret stands out over the town.

Shakhrizyabs is the birthplace of Amir Temur, where everything, one way or another, is connected with his name. Having established the Movarrounnakhr empire and having become an absolute ruler - or emir, Timur designated Samarkand as his capital, but he always remembered and took care of his hometown. In fact, Shakhrizabs was the second capital of his empire. Many beautiful constructions known as Timurids were constructed here during his time as emir. The empire’s best architects, construction workers, and masters of architectural decoration were sent here by the emir’s orders. Alongside local masters they built majestic constructions thus realizing the experience and traditions of different countries in physical form.

Ancient monuments in the territory of present-day Uzbeksitan have been put on the list of the treasures of world civilization. These monuments situated along the Great Silk Road traditionally attract the attention of the public: both specialists who study the Orient and international relations of the ancient world and ordinary people who seek knowledge of the unknown world.

Tashkent, the capital of the present-day Uzbekistan, is one of the biggest cities of Central Asia and is called “Star of the Orient” and “Messenger of Peace”. These names amazingly reflect the very essence of the city, which for more than 20 centuries has been symbolically illuminating, with the light of peace and kindness. the lives of both its inhabitants and the road for travelers.

Tashkent is rich in archeological monuments. None of the towns of Central Asia have been studied so thoroughly by scientists as the capital of Uzbekistan. As recently as ten years ago there were only 39 known archeological monuments in the territory of the city, today more than 240 monuments have been excavated. In the past Tashkent had different names: Yuni, Chach, Shash, Binkent. Its present name was first introduced in the 11th century works by scientist and thinker Beruniy and scholar, philologist Makhmud Kashgariy

The architectural look of old Tashkent has been developing for centuries, both under the influence of the many-sided Oriental culture and due to natural factors. The need to find ways of protection from the hot climate and earthquakes gave rise to peculiar and particular elements in construction. An interesting type of dwelling arose very particular to the region with covered yardsand sliding shutters called “keshgarcha”. Mosques, madrassahs, and mazars (cemeteries) stood out of residential areas with a maze of narrow alleys. The many-sidedness of the history of Uzbekistan is brightly reflected in its geographical location. Termez, located in the very south of the country serves as a good example of this. Temez came into being at the end of 19th century and had the appearance of a typical semi- Asian semi-European town. It was a one-storied town, with public buildings made of baked bricks and dwellings made of adobe, with flat Oriental-style roofs in and Western-style windows facing the street. The greenery of gardens, with customary acacias, elms and planes, lined the pavement. Today Termez is a modern town and the center of the Surkhandarya Viloyat Province.

Many years of scientific study have revealed that this peaceful and quiet town has a long and eventful history. It was in Surkhandarya region that the most famous Central Asian sites of primitive man were found. The territory of Surkhandarya region was a part of many states: the empire of Alexander the Great, Bactria, and the empire of Chenghiz-Khan and Amir Temur. Archeologists have

found unique traces of the might and power of each of these empires in the region. Founded on the right bank of the Jeyhun River (the Amudrya River) at a convenient crossing place, at a crossroads of caravan routes of the Great Silk Road and 5 km north-west from the present-day Termez, Old Termez was one of the leading towns of the region. Later it was destroyed by hostile raids and internal wars.

The name “Pearl of Central Asia” has been positively attributed to rich and picturesque Fergana Valley, which always played a significant role in the history and culture of Central Asia. Fergana Valley is truly a unique part of the Orient. In ancient times the valley was the center of various civilizations, which is proven by evidence of antique settlements and monuments of the Middle Ages.

Today Fergana Valley is the most flourishing region of the country. Its astonishing nature enchants with a variety of colors. The Sirdarya River, formed by the Karadarya and the Naryn River, flows along the northern border of the valley. These rivers feed main canals: the Big Canal, the Northern Canal and Southern Canal, created as a result of national construction projects of the 20th century.

Fergana Valley, the big and flourishing oasis with the most fertile land in Central Asia, where the towns of Fergana, Kokand, Andizhan, Namangan are situated, is rightly called “Golden Valley”.

Nukus, the capital of Karakalpakstan, is a beautiful modern town and the center of the economic and cultural life of the republic. Everyone who is visiting Nukus should certainly see Karakalpakistan State Museum of Art named after its founder, the famous artist Igor Savitskiy. The museum displays not only works of painters, but also a wide variety of local artifacts found in the region, which attest to continuity of cultures.

Karakalpakistan truly proves to be a vivid example of the past’s correlation with the future. Beautiful and tempting, promising surprising meetings and discoveries, it is ready to impart its mysteries and share its legends.

Uzbeksitan today is the country where thousands-old antiquity exists in harmony with modern civilization. This harmonious meeting of past and present is seen everywhere. Ancient monuments and Old Town houses made of adobe bricks stand next to many-storied sky-scraping buildings constructed in accordance with the unique designs worked out by architects of the 20th century. The traditions of the Uzbek people are being carefully preserved.

Arts and crafts have been developing in Uzbekistan throughout the centuries; their secrets have been passed from generation to generation as a great treasure. Unique works of unknown masters strike you with awe. Inpresentday Uzbekistan traditional cultural values are treated with great care, the state supports the revival of ancient and traditional arts and crafts, supporting to their further development. Uzbek ceramics, embossing, wood carving, golden embroidery, carpets, varnished miniature, and jewelry are well known far outside our country.

Uzbekistan’s non-material heritage is no less unique and has been acknowledged by UNESCO. For example, the folklore singing of the Baysun district, Surkhandarya Province, Uzbekistan, is included as a cultural object included on the UNESCO list to be protected by the international community. Melodiousness and oriental rhythms of ritual songs and musical compositions sung and played in other regions of the country are amazing too.

Uzbekistan is truly an amazing land with original national culture where the heritage of ancient times is being carefully preserved and a society with modern economy and developed science and art is being simultaneously built.

In the present-day Uzbekistan a lot is being done in order to restore its unique monuments - witnesses of the country’s past. Owing to programmes of restoration and preservation work, many of these monuments have been given a second birth.

For all the flavours of its storied past, its cultural mosaics and unique natural beauty, and the warmth, hospitality and enthusiasm of its people, Uzbekistan is the country to visit and behold.