Pilgrimage tourism in Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan - a rich tapestry of architectural wonders, diverse natural reserves, and modern booming development attracts the attention of the whole world.

For centuries, Uzbekistan sat at the intersection of the Great trade routes along which merchants and discoverers, geographers and missionaries, invaders and conquerors passed cross each other on their journeys to east or west. In modern times, Uzbekistan is top on travel agenda for adventurous people interested in culture and history, traditions, natured exotic destinations.

Heritage sites

Uzbekistan is gently proud of its traditionally classic architecture. The Ichan-Kala complex in Khiva and the historical centers of Bukhara, Shakhrisabz, and Samarkand are UNESCO World Heritage sites. Many unique monuments and architectural constructions in these towns still remain genuine and are samples of an era that played a significant role in history.

Tashkent

Tashkent is the Capital of present-day Uzbekistan and one of the largest cities of Central Asia. An important international transport junction, both in ancient past and in the present, nowadays directly linked to many countries of the world by local carrier Uzbekistan Airways and international airlines.

Tashkent is one of the ancient cities of the world. In 2009 it celebrated its 2200th anniversary. No other Central Asian town has been studied so thoroughly by scientists as this modern capital of Uzbekistan. During the years of Independence, more than 240 architectural and archaeological monuments within the city boundary have been brought to light. Today the images of olden times such as mosques, madrassahs, and minarets stand in elegant grandeur among parks, museums, fountains, modern skyscrapers made of glass and metal, and highway flyovers.

Today in Uzbekistan there are about 100 museums with almost half of them being located in the capital of the country. Each of them reflects Uzbek land’s rich cultural and spiritual heritage. In the center of the Uzbek capital, the building crowned with the huge blue dome, which reminds ancient domes of Samarkand structures, accommodates the State Museum of Timurids. Its exhibits testify to the formation in the Middle ages of statehood within the territory of Uzbekistan and highlight the development of science, culture, and art from the time of Amir Temur.

Samarkand

Over the centuries, Uzbekistan’s cities played a major role in the life of the Great Silk Road, the ancient, transcontinental thoroughfare. But, one city stands out as being "the Heart of Great Silk Road"; that city is Samarkand.

“The Radiate Point of Globe”, “The Jewel of Islamic Architecture”, “The Mirror of the World” are oriental titles bestowed upon Samarkand from earliest times. A contemporary of Rome, Athens, and Babylon, this city has already celebrated its 2750th anniversary, who`s golden age occurred during the Timurid dynasty as this very city was chosen by Emir Temur, the greatest warlord and ruler of Central Asia after Chingiz Khan, as the capital of his powerful Empire, Movarounnahr. Emir Temur carried out a vast program of town-planning during his rule. Here in Samarkand, the great ruler gathered skillful architects and craftsmen whose works of art have outlasted the years. His grandson Ulughbek continued these construction traditions. Today the monuments of 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 madrassahs, mausoleums, and minarets, which have been decorating the city until now.

The legendary Samarkand square of Reghistan ranks amongst the key architectural sights in Central Asia. Since ancient times, this square has been the trade and public center of Samarkand. Three grandiose madrassahs-Ulughbek, Sher Dor and Tillya Kari madrassahs—proudly dominate the square.

Gur-Emir Mausoleum – is another gem of ancient Samarkand. The remains of the Great sovereign, his two sons and two grandsons, including a prominent scientist and thinker of the East, Mirzo Ulughbek, rest in this mausoleum. From a distance, the dome of Gur Emir mausoleum looks like a blue tulip, with gently folded turquoise petals. The architectural décor of the monuments is grand, opulent and worthy of being the setting for any Scheherazade fairy tale.

Registan Square, Gur-Emir mausoleum, Bibi-Khanum Mosque, Shakhi-Zinda Ensemble, Ulugbek’s Observatory, this is not the complete list of all those monuments that fascinate the visitors of the ancient city.

Noble Bukhara

Bukhara, the famous trading post on the Silk Road, stirs the romantic in many travelers.

With over 2500 years of history and a welcoming atmosphere, Bukhara is one of the tourists’ favorites. More than 140 monuments of ancient architecture and these sights are located within a compact area and are best seen on foot.

Ismail Samani Mausoleum, the 9th-century monument whose exterior is an intricate pattern of delicate masonry resembling the lace; majestic Ark fortress, once a fortified residence of the rulers of Bukhara; Kalyan Minaret whose vertical lines mark the city skyline at about 50 metres; a living maze of numerous mosques and madrassahs, caravanserais, baths and multi-domed market buildings - all these monuments are inimitable gems of Holy Bukhara.

Khiva

Khiva, “the museum in the open”, is the only town along the Great Silk Road, which has remained intact through centuries and has retained the exotic flavor of a medieval town which time has not destroyed but has just frozen. Today Ichan Kala, the nucleus of ancient Khiva offers the visitors the most stunning homogeneous collection of the architecture of the late 18th century - the first half of the 19th century.

Khiva is crammed with historic buildings. City’s ancient gates, a chain of minarets, including the 45-meter tall Islam-Hojja Minaret, the architectural complex of Pakhlavan-Makhmud, the patron saint of Khiva, congregational Juma Mosque with carved columns of astonishing beauty, the exquisite Tash-Hauli Palace built in the 19th century as a residence for the emir, his entourage, and harem… You would need days rather than few hours to discover this ‘museum in the open’, to explore its tiny streets, to lose yourself hundreds of times and "find" yourself gazing at another splendor.

Termez

The multi-faceted history of Uzbekistan is undoubtedly a reflection of its geographical location particularly in the case of the city of Termez - the southernmost city of the country. Termez was founded on the right bank of the Amu Darya at the crossroads of Silk Road caravan routes, as the main port and for more than 2,500 years centuries it has retained this capacity.

At the beginning of our era, Termez acquired one more function, ideological, having become the main center of Buddhism in Central Asia from where Buddhist spread to China and Japan. Such sites in the vicinity of modern Termez as Kara-Tepe rock-hewn Buddhist cave monastery, Fayaz-TepeBuddist temple, 16-meter-high brickZurmala Tower - the remnant of a large Buddhist stupa are very popular among tourists and Buddhist pilgrims.

But Termez is famous not only for its Buddhist antique relics. The historical monuments of early Middle Ages are no less fascinating. Among them, we can name one of the greatly valued monuments of the Muslims world - the burial-vault of Khakim at-Termezi, Sultan Saodat Ensemble (10th-17th centuries) and legendary Kyrk-Kyz fortress of the 9th century.

Karakalpakstan

Today Karakalpakistan is an alive communication between the contemporary and ancient world. With its wonderful and unique sites, it is ready to share its legends and secrets with you.

The ancient castles of “Kyrkkyz-Kala”, “Ayaz-Kala”, “Djanbas-Kala”, the mausoleums of “Ichan-Kala”, a beautiful town of “Toprak-Kala” and other historical and archaeological statues, located in the territory of Karakalpakistan, present a great intellectual and cultural interest that attire a number of tourists from the other regions of the country as well as the foreign countries.