Most often for recreation we choose long-trodden paths: seaside resorts, European cities-museums, snowy peaks. However, if you look to the east, you can discover the unique culture of such a little-known country in terms of tourism as Uzbekistan.
Basic information
Uzbekistan is located in Central Asia, in its central part, and has several neighboring countries. An interesting fact is that to access the sea it is necessary to overcome two neighboring countries. The second such state is located in Europe. This is the familiar Liechtenstein. Uzbekistan was part of the USSR and after the collapse, following the neighboring republics, declared independence. For those who are interested in the question of whether a foreign passport is needed for Uzbekistan, we answer: yes, it is needed. But the visa is not.
Most cities and towns are located along the banks of rivers. The country is considered agro-industrial - Uzbekistan occupies one of the leading positions in the supply of vegetables, fruits and nuts.
The capital is Tashkent. Many people live in peace and harmony on the territory of the country.nationalities. The main part, of course, are Uzbeks. Next come Russians, Koreans, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Kirghiz, Germans. Religion - Islam, which exists in friendship with other faiths, such as Christianity, Catholicism, Lutheranism, Baptism, Buddhism.
The country has many ancient attractions associated with the nomadic period, as well as with the time of the existence of the Great Silk Road, and tourism in Uzbekistan is mostly associated with them. Many mosques, tombs. Ancient buildings have been preserved and are protected and supported by the state.
Capital
A trip to Uzbekistan cannot do without getting to know the main city of the country - Tashkent. This is the largest city in the republic, in which most of the public and private companies are concentrated, and the government is also located. Tashkent proudly bears the title of the fourth city in terms of the number of inhabitants not only in Central Asia, but throughout the CIS. The capital of Uzbekistan is very ancient. In 2009, the 2200th anniversary of Tashkent was widely celebrated.
The city has a difficult history. Over the years of its existence, he had to endure bloody political events, terrorist attacks, environmental and technical disasters, one of which is an unprecedented plane crash in 1979, when the national football team died.
Winters in Tashkent are very warm, spring starts early. Thanks to a large number of orchards, the city is buried in the flowers of apple trees, apricots, cherries, and peaches in spring. The fragrance fills the air with everyoneshades of nature, making a trip to Uzbekistan unique and memorable. Acquaintance with this Asian country should begin with the capital. Tashkent today is the flagship of the country's tourism development.
Samarkand
Samarkand can be safely attributed to one of the first centers of civilization. Like the first cities of ancient Europe - Alexandria, Rome, Byzantium, Samarkand from the day of its birth in the steppes of Asia was destined to become the center of the cultural and political life of that time, despite the fact that catastrophes awaited it ahead. The city survived the captures of the Macedonian army, the invasion of the Arabs, withstood the countless hordes of Genghis Khan.
Samarkand reached its highest prosperity with the coming to power of the famous conqueror Timur, who, by the strength of his spirit and military victories, conquered the lands up to the Bosphorus. Thanks to scientists - Jami, Navoi, Ulugbek and many others - Samarkand stood in line with European centers of science, literature and art.
The development of tourism in Uzbekistan began precisely in such ancient cities that have preserved unique historical monuments. All the sights of the architectural direction amaze the eye with their unusual direction, woven from several cultures. For example, the mausoleum of Khoja Abdu Darun and the mausoleum of Bibi-Khanym. Both monuments of architecture have a classical, at first glance, structure of forms, but Arabic and classical Chinese motifs are woven into them. The walls and domes are decorated with magnificent mosaics and hand-painted. Many parts of the original design have survived to this day.
Bukhara
You need to go to Bukharacome for at least a couple of days. After all, this is a concentration of buildings unique in their historical significance.
One of the symbols of Bukhara is the oldest mosque Kalyan, with a minaret that rises 47 meters above the city. It was built in the twelfth century and served as a kind of beacon for caravans heading to Bukhara with trade or other business. The minaret remains the symbol of Bukhara even now. For lovers of antiquity, there is something to see in the city, because almost one hundred and forty buildings have survived to this day in their original form, which have not undergone any changes, including four domes, under which there were shopping arcades. They still function, and merchants offer tourists fur products, gold-embroidered clothes, jewelry and, of course, spices and silk. Silk of this quality can be found in Bukhara and Tashkent. Take a walk to the beautiful pearl of the city - the Lyabi Hauz reservoir, which has been the center of the cultural and commercial life of the city since ancient times. It was from here that water was taken for watering gardens and for drinking.
Khiva
Travel agencies of Uzbekistan offer trips to the wonderful city of Khiva. The town is quite small in scale, but is famous for its interesting legend, according to which the town grew up around an ordinary well dug by the son of Noah. It is noteworthy that the old city, which is called Ichan Kala, was the first in the history of Asia taken under the protection of UNESCO. Khiva is famous for its ancient mosques, squares, shopping malls, where, if you dig, you can getreal treasures of textile and jewelry art.
Mausoleum of Tamerlane
If you are passing through an Asian country and are thinking about what to see in Uzbekistan without losing time, include Gur-Emir, the most famous mausoleum in the world - named after Tamerlane, in your itinerary. A masterpiece of medieval Islam was erected at the beginning of the 15th century in Samarkand. Initially, the complex consisted of an ordinary madrasah, where the children of we althy citizens studied, next to which a building was built with separate cells for students. According to the idea of the then ruling Muhammad Sultan, the mosque was to become the center of education. But the unexpected death of the Sultan made adjustments to the purpose of the building. After the death of the Sultan, his grandfather, Amir Timur, ordered the construction of a mausoleum and the burial of the remains there. The mausoleum became the finishing touch in the architectural composition. But Tamerlane himself did not see the end of construction. He was also buried in Gur-Emir, which eventually turned into a ancestral burial place for the descendants of Tamerlane.
Charvak reservoir
To the north of Tashkent, in the foothills of the Western Tien Shan, there is a magnificent artificial lake with blue waters and steep banks. The lake arose due to the fact that the leadership of Uzbekistan decided to build a hydroelectric power station on the banks of the Chirchik River. When the workers erected a dam, the water of the mountain rivers began to collect and turned into a wonderful lake. However, the sad fact remains that ancient settlements found by archaeologists were located in the valley. FROMAt the beginning of the construction of the station, water flooded all the finds. The memory of them remained exclusively in books and archaeological reference books.
Tashkent TV tower
The capital's TV tower is really amazing and bears the title of the highest open observation deck in Central Asia and the second highest free-standing structure. The first place belongs to the Kazakhstan State District Power Plant, the height of the exhaust pipe of which is 420 meters.
The construction of the tower began in 1978 and lasted six years. The tower can be called one of the pillars of tourism in Uzbekistan. Interestingly, the project was originally intended for construction in Iraq. However, the hostilities unfolding there did not allow this to happen, and the President of Uzbekistan, Sharaf Rashidov, agreed to the construction. People involved in construction recall that the time spent on coordinating and approving all documents exceeded the time of construction itself.
Arc Citadel
One of the symbols of tourism in Uzbekistan and part-time state power is the Ark citadel. It is not known for certain when the construction of this gigantic structure was started, but historical documents indicate that the structure is more than one and a half thousand years old. Already in those distant times, the rulers had their own impregnable fortress. The supreme ruler - the emir - lived in this citadel. In addition to him, the inhabitants were scientists, artists, philosophers and poets, among whom were Ferdowsi,Avicenna, Omar Khayyam, Al Farabi.
The fortress has seen many wars, survived several bloody raids, among which was the raid of Genghis Khan. When the Mongols captured Bukhara, Genghis Khan ordered his soldiers to capture the citadel. The soldiers penetrated the fortress, which was considered impregnable, killed all the defenders, and plundered the valuables. The fortress itself was destroyed almost to the ground. Thus, the myth of the invincibility of the Ark citadel was debunked.
During the uprisings, Ark was subjected to tyranny by the inhabitants of the city: stones and cobblestones flew at the gates. Before the Great Revolution, the walls of the Ark served as a refuge for more than two thousand inhabitants, but with the arrival of the Red Army soldiers in Uzbekistan, the citadel was destroyed.
Ulugbek Observatory
Few people know this name - Muhammad Taragay. But everyone knows the pearl of medieval Asia, the Ulugbek Observatory. However, it is one and the same person. Ulugbek was very lucky. He was the grandson of the powerful Tamerlane, he had all the items necessary for life, which were concentrated around the exact sciences. Unlike his grandfather, Ulugbek hated war and threw all his strength into the development of science in his native lands. He was trained by the geniuses of the time, among whom was Rumi. The construction of the observatory began in 1420 and lasted three years.
