Ouzbékistan - Oʻzbekiston - Узбекистан

Journal of Nomads

Capital of Uzbekistan
This  unique city has important architectural and historical value – its architecture harmoniously fits the buildings of different epochs beginning with ancient settlements, medieval buildings, Soviet era buildings, modern luxury apartments and business centers.

Today, there are 2 International airports and a Railway stations in Tashkent. One of the main attractions of the city is the Metro, which stands out for the unique design of each station.  
In Tashkent, you can see the monuments of the Middle ages, modern mosques, visit the Eastern bazaars, get acquainted with the centuries-old history and culture of the people in numerous museums, as well as walk and relax in the parks and on the central streets of the capital.

Samarkand

For more than two thousand years, the city was main center of trade on the Silk road route between China and Europe, as well as one of the main centers of science of the medieval East.

In the 14-th century Samarkand was the capital of the Empire of Tamerlane and the Timurid dynasty. The most of the architectural masterpieces of the city were built in this period.

Special architectural and cultural importance in the city has Registan square. This place is one of the main attractions of the country, thanks to the historical architectural ensemble of the three madrassahs, each of which has its own unique design. The square has existed for over 600 years, some of its buildings have been preserved in their original form since the 15-th century.

In the Samarkand region, much attention is paid to the development of certain types of tourist’s attractions, such as cultural and historical, eco and agro, gastronomic, extreme and other. In particular, ziyorat (religious) tourism occupies a special place. Such pilgrimage sites of Samarkand as Imam al-Bukhari and Shakhi Zinda memorial complexes are considered to be the most visited places.

Bukhara

Khiva

Shahrisabz

Festival City
Situated in 80 km to Samarkand, Shahrisabz, which translated as  a “Green city”, is one of the most attractive ancient cities of Uzbekistan.

Shahrisabz is known as the birthplace of the great Tamerlane, who became the city an important center of science and art.

The city has a large number of architectural buildings, and the historic city center is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The most famous are the Ak-Saray palace, Dor-ut Tilovat memorial complex, Kok-Gumbaz mosque, the mausoleums of Dor-us Saodat, Shamsuddin Kulal, Gumbazi-seyidan.

The government of Uzbekistan is actively implementing the concept of “Shahrisabz – city of festivals”, which reveals the huge potential of the city as a center of culture and tourism. Thus, by the initiative of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev, in September 2018, the First International Festival of Art  of Maqom was held in Shakhrisabz, and now will be held in the city every 2 years.

Muynak was a rich port island in the Amu Darya river — the main sea gate of Uzbekistan. Ships came in with a cargo of fuel, fish and food, and left with bales of cotton. In the second half of the XX century, the Aral Sea began to disappear,  the Soviet government decided in the 1960s to divert the Amu Darya and Syr Darya rivers so that they could irrigate the desert region surrounding the Sea in order to favor agriculture, and today the once huge lake and the former port town are separated by about 100 kilometers.

All that remains of the fishing fleet of the city is a Ship Graveyard – at the bottom of the former sea at the border of the city,  becoming an object of interest of photographers and filmmakers. Today Muynak has the status of a city-museum and is a silent reproach for all mankind, evidence of an ecological catastrophe.

It is interesting that even after the Aral tragedy in the region, nature seems to help people – a couple of kilometers from the city formed a freshwater lake, which solved the problem for the local population with drinking water.

jeu équestre d'origine mongole