short essay about uzbekistan

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Short essay on uzbekistan.

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Lying south and southeast of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan’s territory falls mainly be west of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and between Central Asia’s two major rivers north of Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan, Syr Darya and Amu Darya, though they only partly from its boundaries. Although the territory does reach the Caspian Sea, it includes the southern part of the Aral Sea. The Soviet government created the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic as a constituent unit of the USSR in 1924, but in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union it de­clared its independence.

With a population of 24.5 million, the largest in Central Asia, the nation is not only the most populous, but contains the largest number of the native Turkic peo­ples, overwhelmingly outnumbering the other ethnic groups, and have registered the highest growth rate in the region. The cultural and historic roots of the Uzbeks date back to the ancient times. Several cit­ies such as Bukhara, Khiva, Kokand, and Samarkand were cultural, political and trade centers for centuries.

Although a large part of the country is occupied by the extensive desert of Kyzl Kum, some of the world’s richest irrigated oases exist m a narrow band of densely populated area in the east. The most im­portant of the oases is the Fergana Valley, drained by the Syr Darya, and divided pri­marily between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

This and other oases such as Tashkent, Andizhan, Bukhara, Khiva, Kokand and Mary (Merv), Samarkand, and Zeravshan form the rich agricultural tracts that fulfill the nation’s major producer of high-grade cotton. Most of the major oases are located where mountain streams de­scend on to the lowland except such oases or Zeravshan that are located in the desert lowlands.

Uzbekistan is Central Asia’s largest ag­ricultural producer. In cotton production it ranks third in the world (China and In­dia rank higher). Besides cotton, rice, sugar beets, vegetables, fruits (particularly grapes, pomegranates, figs and melons are grown. Known for its orchards and vine­yards, Uzbekistan is also important for raising Karakul sheep and silkworms.

Plenty of sunlight, mild winters, fertile ir­rigated soil, and good pastureland make conditions suitable for the cultivation of these crops and for cattle raising. Raising silkworms is a traditional occupation among farmers, dating to the 4th century. The Fergana Valley is especially known for silk production. The country’s mineral resources in elude metallic ores such as copper, zinc lead, tungsten and gold. Uzbekistan possesses substantial reserves of natural gas oil, and coal. Most of the natural gas is con­sumed domestically, and gas pipelines link the important cities and stretch from Buk­hara to the Ural Mountains in Russia.

Petroleum fields exist in the Fergana Val­ley, in the vicinity of Bukhara, and in Karakalpakstan. Dams on the Syr Darya and its tributaries are utilized to produce hydroelectricity. The country is deficient in water resources. The existing canals— the Great Fergana, Northern Fergana, Southern Fergana and Tashkent now face shortfalls in irrigation waters due to depletion of the rivers.

In manufacturing, Uzbekistan is Cen­tral Asia’s major producer of machinery and heavy equipment. The manufactured items include machines and equipment for cotton cultivation, harvesting and process­ing, and for use in textile industry, irrigation, and road construction. Cement, textile, chemical fertilizers, and tea packing are some other industries. The country predictably exports cotton, natural gas, oil, silk and fruits, as well as manufactured goods such as machines, cement, textiles, and fertilizers.

The country is nearly self-sufficient in energy sources, and agricultural products development. The disruption of the Soviet trading system caused by the collapse of the USSR in 1991 did not particularly af­fect the nation. Since independence, the nation has followed a slow and cautious path of privatization.

Economic develop­ment in the future would depend largely on overcoming the current infrastructural handicaps such as the antiquated means of distribution and processing of raw materi­als. Neither surface nor air transport now available is adequate to handle the trans­port of the produce such as fruits and vegetables.

There are few well-developed highways. Most of the country’s trade was with the Soviet Union; the nation is con­sidering plans to enlarge the trading area to include the developing countries. The majority of Uzbekistan’s popula­tion lives in rural areas. In the early 1990s just over 40 percent of the population was registered as urban and only 16 of the cit­ies contain population over 100,000. Population comprised mostly of the non- Uzbeks.

With a population of a little over 2 million is the largest city of Central Asia, and the capital and the “primate” city of Uzbekistan. It lies in a large oasis along the Chirchik River on the Trans- Caspian railroad in the foothills of the Tien Shan Mountains. Dating back to the 1st century B.C., the city has been a his­toric trade and handicraft center on the historic caravan routes from the Orient to Europe during medieval times.

When the Russians occupied it in 1865, the walled city had a population of 70,000. Several old buildings, mausoleums, and religious shrines survive in the “older” section. Tashkent lies in the most industrialized part of Uzbekistan, and contains one of the largest textile mills in Asia.

Other in­dustries include food-and tobacco- processing plants, and factories that manu­facture machinery, electrical equipment, chemicals and furniture. The modern, planned section built during the Russian period, co-exists with the old Oriental quarters with its narrow, winding streets, numerous mosques, and bazaars.

Other major cities of Uzbekistan— Samarkand (370,000), Audizham (293,000), Bukhara (238,000), Fergana (198,000), and Kokand (176,000) are con­siderably smaller than Tashkent, but are just as important from the cultural and his­toric standpoint. Their histories extend back to ancient times, and they have served as political, and trade centers for centuries.

With the exception of Bukhara these cities are located in the industrial heartland of the nation; each, including Bukhara, on the historic route way (be­tween China and the Middle East) has a significant industrial component. It spe­cializes primarily in the manufacture of textiles, processed food, and machinery. The “old” sections of these cities were partially reconstructed during the Soviet period.

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• Cultural Attributes : Uzbekistan has a rich and diverse cultural heritage, influenced by its location along the Silk Road trading route and the... More
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• Personal Apperance : Western style clothing is worn and by many combined with the traditional Uzbek styles. Traditional clothing for men includes the... More
• Recreation : Soccer is the most popular sport. Kyrash, a type of wrestling is enjoyed by Uzbek boys. Another sport that is... More
• Diet : The Uzbek cuisine is a mix of Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and Russian influences, and it reflects the country's long... More
• Food and Recipes : Every guest takes his turn as toast master. The toast master stands up, his glass of vodka in hand and... More
• Visiting : Men will always shake hands with other men. Even if you are not introduced to everyone, a simple handshake substitutes... More

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Uzbekistan is a country in central Asia which boarders Kazakhstan in the northern side, Kyrgyzstan in the eastern side and Tajikistan in the southern eastern side. During the 4 th century B.C it was under the Persian rule that had been conquered by Alexander the Great.

The region incorporated Islam as a religion in 8th century when the Arab forces invaded the land. Around the 13 th century the region was taken over by the Mongols from the Seljuk Turks. The 16 th century saw the region been merged with their neighbors but was not to last for long as the region broke into principalities (Adams 19).

However, the city-states, which included khanates, Kokand and Bukhara were not to last for long as the Russians conquered them in the 19 th century. In 1924, the territory was a republic but it is in 1925 that it became an independent under socialist republic. However, in 1991 the country declared its independence making September 1 st their national holiday. The country today enjoys independence with a presidential rule.

Economically, the people of Uzbekistan are agriculturalist, however, the country is endowed with many minerals. Cotton has been their main produce but has recently been replaced by natural gas. The other minerals that the Uzbekistan people are involved with are gold and uranium. The country has recently grown to be a manufacturing country, especially in the automobiles industrial where they are a big exporter to Russian market.

The state has always been in control of most business enterprises, but in the recent past free market has been endorsed (Oliker 46). It is not easy to determine the growth rate of the country because the government keeps unreliable records. However, it is notable much of the wealth of the country is held by the elite in the society with almost a quarter of the population living below the poverty line.

The government has been instrumental in preventing the country from facing capital outflow by ensuring that the country adopts the policy of substitution of their imports. The actions of the government to control economic activities have even made convertibility of different currencies of the world. The low economy has transformed to some of the individuals in the country getting involved to human trafficking business. The business usually involves girls, as they are traffics to other countries as prostitutes (Boĭkova 181).

Amongst the people of Uzbekistan, the elders are the most respected people in the society. They have a mode of greetings where the men put their hands on the heart of other men when greeting them, while women usually put their right hands on each other’s elbow. The mode of dressing especially to women was such that they were to cover their bodies with their heads looking down to avoid any attention. The people of Uzbekistan are mostly Muslims with a small percentage of people enjoying other religions like Buddhist and Jewish.

Traditionally, matters of marriage were left to the man and the women but the approval of the parent was important. Virginity among the women was upheld and women were expected to be married much earlier than the men. Bride price had to be paid by the family of the man, and the cost incurred in the marriage ceremony was covered by the family of the wife (Hanks 83).

There were defined duties of both men and women. While men were expected to work outside, the house women were expected to work indoors engaging in activities like weaving and spinning using cotton. Women were expected to cover the whole of their bodies when in public and they viewed it as observance of their faith (Adams 17). Traditional medicine was also incorporated in their treatment where herbs were used for treatment.

There was also a taboo of drinking cold drinks since it was viewed as the reason why people caught cold. Arts performance that dated back during the soviet rule is still practiced. They include the crafts work as well as miniature painting. However, the practice of their music by the instruments they used in past is still in practice. Dotars that were put on the legs, flutes, and small drums are still used in the performance of their art.

Unlike other countries in central Asia, Uzbekistan has adhered to the principle of legal stability. The constitution gives rights to the people to own private property and it views it as a way of giving self-respect to the people as well as a way of developing the society. Solid constitutional bases have been laid down through the years to promote and upgrade political and social relations.

Economic freedom of the citizens has been highly promoted as well as the spirit of entrepreneurship with an aim of eliminating the repugnant old command-administrative system. The country has also incorporated a legal and organization environment where the society of Uzbekistan integrates with the world. Uzbekistan has adopted an open door policy that grants foreign investors reliable regal guarantee and broad economic opportunities in the economic activities.

The environment for foreign investors has continually been improved as well as simplification of the procedures that are involved in creation of manufacturing enterprise for foreigners (Karimov 172). Regulatory acts created by Uzbekistan have had a comprehensive system of taxation and incentive against poetical and commercial risk for the foreigners. In turn, there has been active participation by foreign investors in this country.

Some of their favorable policies to the foreigners are: freedom of buying property that the state has already privatized as well as ownership rights to these properties. Enterprises owned by foreigners are allowed to export without licenses as well to import duty free property from joint ventures (Karimov 173).

Economic relations between Uzbekistan and the United States have mostly been controlled by the bi-literal trade agreement signed by the two countries. The agreement was signed in 1994 and one of the benefits the agreements had to Uzbekistan was that it had an exemption provision to many of the United States importing tariffs.

In the year 2000, the two countries signed a bilateral investment treaty but it did not come into force because of the weak economic reforms in Uzbekistan. In terms of imports and exports, Uzbekistan imports machines and equipment. Also inclusive in the list of the imports are chemical products and food items, especially the ones that deal in plastics. The exports to the United States include inorganic chemistry products machines and equipment (Group Taylor & Francis 2548).

American companies have also been involved in investing in Uzbekistan economy in establishment of technological base in both agriculture and mining sectors.

Infrastructure and food processing are also other sectors of the economy where American companies have actively involved themselves in. The American company General Motors has also established a strong link with the government of Uzbekistan and collaborated in manufacturing of cars. It is also notable that Uzbekistan is the biggest export of uranium in United States (Zhukov 213).

The relation between United States and Uzbekistan can be traced back to 1991 when Uzbekistan was established as an independent nation. The following year saw the establishment of Uzbekistan embassy in United States. From that time, as part of the U.S policy, campaigns have been launched to support Uzbekistan upheld the rule of law.

The relationship between the two countries increased after September 11 attacks, which led to the war in Afghanistan. However, the closeness between the two countries went a drift when United States requested the international community to get involved in investigating the Andijon violence of 2005.

The reason behind sourness in the relations on was because Uzbekistan did not want involvement of United States or other European powers in influencing the government activities. However, year 2007 saw the two countries improving the relationship among them (Thackrah 240).

The relations were all round as they included security issues civil issues as well as economic issues. It is also an attempt by the United States to ensure that there is peace in central Asia since Uzbekistan is the country with the biggest population and the most instrumental in keeping stability.

The new relation between the two countries has since to improve to the best as in the United States assistance budget there was a provision that seeks to ensure better livelihood for the people of Uzbekistan (Group Taylor & Francis 554). The relationship between the two countries has also promoted the level of education in Uzbekistan as many students from Uzbekistan have studied in American universities.

Works Cited

Adams, Laura L. “The Spectacular State: Culture and National Identity in Uzbekistan.” Durham: Duke University Press , 2010. Print

Boĭkova Elena Vladimirovna, R. B. Rybakov. “Kinship in the Altaic world: proceedings of the 48th Permanent International Altaistic Conference, Moscow 10-15 July, 2005.” Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag , 2006. Print

Group, Taylor & Francis. “Eastern Europe, Russia and Central Asia 2004, Volume 4.” Lndon: Routledge , 2003. Print

Group, Taylor & Francis. “Europa World Year Book 2, Book 2.” London: Taylor & Francis, 2004. Print

Hanks, Reuel R. “Central Asia: a global studies handbook.” Califonia: ABC-CLIO, 2005. Print

Karimov, I. A. “Uzbekistan on the threshold of the twenty-first century: challenges to stability and progress.” New York: Palgrave Macmillan , 1998. Print

Oliker Olga, Thomas S. Szayna. “Faultlines of conflict in Central Asia and the south Caucasus: implications for the U.S. Army, Issue 1598.” Califonia: Rand Corporation, 2003. Print

Thackrah, John Richard. “Dictionary of terrorism.” New York: Routledge , 2004. Print

Zhukov, Boris Z. Rumer Stanislav Vi︠a︡cheslavovich. “Central Asia: the challenges of independence.” New York: M.E. Sharpe , 1998. Print

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• Countries and Their Cultures
• Culture of Uzbekistan

Culture Name

Alternative names.

Uzbeq, Ozbek

Orientation

Identification. Uzbeks likely take their name from a khan. A leader of the Golden Horde in the fourteenth century was named Uzbek, though he did not rule over the people who would share his name.

Modern Uzbeks hail not only from the Turkic-Mongol nomads who first claimed the name, but also from other Turkic and Persian peoples living inside the country's borders. The Soviets, in an effort to divide the Turkic people into more easily governable subdivisions, labeled Turks, Tajiks, Sarts, Qipchaqs, Khojas, and others as Uzbek, doubling the size of the ethnicity to four million in 1924.

Today the government is strengthening the Uzbek group identity, to prevent the splintering seen in other multiethnic states. Some people have assimilated with seemingly little concern. Many Tajiks consider themselves Uzbek, though they retain the Tajik language; this may be because they have long shared an urban lifestyle, which was more of a bond than ethnic labels. Others have been more resistant to Uzbekization. Many Qipchaqs eschew intermarriage, live a nomadic lifestyle, and identify more closely with the Kyrgyz who live across the border from them. The Khojas also avoid intermarriage, and despite speaking several languages, have retained a sense of unity.

The Karakalpaks, who live in the desert south of the Aral Sea, have a separate language and tradition more akin to Kazakh than Uzbek. Under the Soviet Union, theirs was a separate republic, and it remains autonomous.

Location and Geography. Uzbekistan's 174,330 square miles (451,515 square kilometers), an area slightly larger than California, begin in the Karakum (Black Sand) and Kyzlkum (Red Sand) deserts of Karakalpakistan. The arid land of this autonomous republic supports a nomadic lifestyle. Recently, the drying up of the Aral Sea has devastated the environment, causing more than 30 percent of the area's population to leave, from villages in the early 1980s and then from cities. This will continue; the area was hit by a devastating drought in the summer of 2000.

Population increases to the east, centered around fertile oases and the valleys of the Amu-Darya River, once known as the Oxus, and the Zeravshan River, which supports the ancient city-states of Bokhara and Samarkand. The Ferghana Valley in the east is the heart of Islam in Uzbekistan. Here, where the country is squeezed between Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, the mountainous terrain supports a continuing nomadic lifestyle, and in recent years has provided a venue for fundamentalist guerrillas. Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Afghanistan also border the country. In 1867 the Russian colonial government moved the capital from Bokhara to Tashkent. With 2.1 million people, it is the largest city in Central Asia.

Linguistic Affiliation. Uzbek is the language of about twenty million Uzbeks living in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. The language is Turkic and abounds with dialects, including Qarlug (which served as the literary language for much of Uzbek history), Kipchak, Lokhay, Oghuz, Qurama, and Sart, some of which come from other languages. Uzbek emerged as a distinct language in the fifteenth century. It is so close to modern Uyghur that speakers of each language can converse easily. Prior to Russian colonization it would often have been hard to say where one Turkic language started and another ended. But through prescribed borders, shifts in dialect coalesced into distinct languages. The Soviets replaced its Arabic script briefly with a Roman script and then with Cyrillic. Since independence there has been a shift back to Roman script, as well as a push to eliminate words borrowed from Russian.

About 14 percent of the population—mostly non-Uzbek—speak Russian as their first language; 5 percent speak Tajik. Most Russians do not speak Uzbek. Under the Soviet Union, Russian was taught as the Soviet lingua franca, but Uzbek was supported as the indigenous language of the republic, ironically resulting in the deterioration of other native languages and dialects. Today many people still speak Russian, but the government is heavily promoting Uzbek.

Symbolism. Symbols of Uzbekistan's independence and past glories are most common. The flag and national colors—green for nature, white for peace, red for life, and blue for water—adorn murals and walls. The twelve stars on the flag symbolize the twelve regions of the country. The crescent moon, a symbol of Islam, is common, though its appearance on the national flag is meant not as a religious symbol but as a metaphor for rebirth. The mythical bird Semurg on the state seal also symbolizes a national renaissance. Cotton, the country's main source of wealth, is displayed on items from the state seal to murals to teacups. The architectures of Samara and Bukhara also symbolize past achievements.

Amir Timur, who conquered a vast area of Asia from his seat in Samarkand in the fourteenth century, has become a major symbol of Uzbek pride and potential and of the firm but just and wise ruler—a useful image for the present government, which made 1996 the Year of Amir Timur. Timur lived more than a century before the Uzbeks reached Uzbekistan.

Independence Day, 1 September, is heavily promoted by the government, as is Navruz, 21 March, which highlights the country's folk culture.

History and Ethnic Relations

Emergence of the Nation. The Uzbeks coalesced by the fourteenth century in southern Siberia, starting as a loose coalition of Turkic-Mongol nomad tribes who converted to Islam. In the first half of the fifteenth century Abu al-Khayr Khan, a descendant of Genghis Khan, led them south, first to the steppe and semidesert north of the Syr-Daria River. At this time a large segment of Uzbeks split off and headed east to become the Kazakhs. In 1468 Abu'l Khayr was killed by a competing faction, but by 1500 the Uzbeks had regrouped under Muhammad Shaybani Khan, and invaded the fertile land of modern Uzbekistan. They expelled Amir Timur's heirs from Samarkand and Herat and took over the city-states of Khiva, Khojand, and Bokhara, which would become the Uzbek capital. Settling down, the Uzbeks traded their nomadism for urban living and agriculture.

The first century of Uzbek rule saw a flourishing of learning and the arts, but the dynasty then slid into decline, helped by the end of the Silk Route trade. In 1749 invaders from Iran defeated Bokhara and Khiva, breaking up the Uzbek Empire and replacing any group identity with the division between Sarts, or city dwellers, and nomads. What followed was the Uzbek emirate of Bokhara and Samarkand, and the khanates of Khiva and Kokand, who ruled until the Russian takeover.

Russia became interested in Central Asia in the eighteenth century, concerned that the British might break through from colonial India to press its southern flank. Following more than a century of indecisive action, Russia in 1868 invaded Bokhara, then brutally subjugated Khiva in 1873. Both were made Russian protectorates. In 1876, Khokand was annexed. All were subsumed into the Russian province of Turkistan, which soon saw the arrival of Russian settlers.

The 1910s produced the Jadid reform movement, which, though short-lived, sought to establish a community beholden neither to Islamic dogma nor to Russian colonists, marking the first glimmer of national identity in many years. With the Russian Revolution in 1917 grew hopes of independence, but by 1921 the Bolsheviks had reasserted control. In 1924 Soviet planners drew the borders for the soviet socialist republics of Uzbekistan and Karakalpakistan, based around the dominant ethnic groups. In 1929 Tajikstan was split off from the south of Uzbekistan, causing lasting tension between the two; many Uzbeks regard Tajiks as Persianized Uzbeks, while Tajikstan resented Uzbekistan's retention of the Tajik cities of Bokhara and Samarkand. Karakalpakistan was transferred to the Uzbekistan SSR in 1936, as an autonomous region. Over the ensuing decades, Soviet leaders solidified loose alliances and other nationalities into what would become Uzbek culture.

In August 1991 Uzbek Communists supported the reactionary coup against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. After the coup failed, Uzbekistan declared its independence on 1 September. Though shifting away from communism, President Islom Kharimov, who had been the Communist Party's first secretary in Uzbekistan, has maintained absolute control over the independent state. He has continued to define a single Uzbek culture, while obscuring its Soviet creation.

National Identity. The Soviet government, and to a lesser extent the Russian colonial government that preceded it, folded several less prominent nationalities into the Uzbeks. The government then institutionalized a national Uzbek culture based on trappings such as language, art, dress, and food, while imbuing them with meanings more closely aligned with Communist ideology. Islam was removed from its central place, veiling of women was banned, and major and minor regional and ethnic differences were smoothed over in favor of an ideologically acceptable uniformity.

Since 1991 the government has kept the Soviet definition of their nationhood, simply because prior to this there was no sense or definition of a single Uzbek nation. But it is literally excising the Soviet formation of the culture from its history books; one university history test had just 1 question of 850 dealing with the years 1924 to 1991.

Ethnic Relations. The Soviet-defined borders left Uzbeks, Kyrgiz, Tajiks, and others on both sides of Uzbekistan. Since independence, tightening border controls and competition for jobs and resources have caused difficulties for some of these communities, despite warm relations among the states of the region.

In June 1989, rioting in the Ferghana Valley killed thousands of Meskhetian Turks, who had been deported there in 1944. Across the border in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, the Uzbek majority rioted in 1990 over denial of land.

There is official support of minority groups such as Russians, Koreans, and Tatars. These groups have cultural centers, and in 1998 a law that was to have made Uzbek the only language of official communication was relaxed. Nevertheless, non-Uzbek-speakers have complained that they face difficulties finding jobs and entering a university. As a result of this and of poor economic conditions, many Russians and others have left Uzbekistan.

Urbanism, Architecture, and the Use of Space

In ancient times the cities of Samarkand and Bokhara were regarded as jewels of Islamic architecture, thriving under Amir Timur and his descendants the Timurids. They remain major tourist attractions.

During the Soviet period, cities became filled with concrete-slab apartment blocks of four to nine stories, similar to those found across the USSR. In villages and suburbs, residents were able to live in more traditional one-story houses built around a courtyard. These houses, regardless of whether they belong to rich or poor, present a drab exterior, with the family's wealth and taste displayed only for guests. Khivan houses have a second-story room for entertaining guests. Since independence, separate houses have become much more popular, supporting something of a building boom in suburbs of major cities. One estimate puts two-thirds of the population now living in detached houses.

The main room of the house is centered around the dusterhon, or tablecloth, whether it is spread on the floor or on a table. Although there are not separate areas for women and children, women tend to gather in the kitchen when male guests are present.

Each town has a large square, where festivals and public events are held.

Parks are used for promenading; if a boy and a girl are dating, they are referred to as walking together. Benches are in clusters, to allow neighbors to chat.

Food and Economy

Food in Daily Life. Bread holds a special place in Uzbek culture. At mealtime, bread will be spread to cover the entire dusterhon. Traditional Uzbek bread, tandir non, is flat and round. It is always torn by hand, never placed upside down, and never thrown out.

Meals begin with small dishes of nuts and raisins, progressing through soups, salads, and meat dishes and ending with palov, a rice-and-meat dish synonymous with Uzbek cuisine throughout the former Soviet Union; it is the only dish often cooked by men. Other common dishes, though not strictly Uzbek, include monti, steamed dumplings of lamb meat and fat, onions, and pumpkin, and kabob, grilled ground meat. Uzbeks favor mutton; even the nonreligious eschew pig meat.

Because of their climate, Uzbeks enjoy many types of fruits, eaten fresh in summer and dried in winter, and vegetables. Dairy products such as katyk, a liquid yogurt, and suzma, similar to cottage cheese, are eaten plain or used as ingredients.

Tea, usually green, is drunk throughout the day, accompanied by snacks, and is always offered to guests.

Meals are usually served either on the floor, or on a low table, though high tables also are used. The table is always covered by a dusterhon. Guests sit on carpets, padded quilts, chairs, or beds, but never on pillows. Men usually sit cross-legged, women with their legs to one side. The most respected guests sit away from the entrance. Objects such as shopping bags, which are considered unclean, never should be placed on the dusterhon, nor should anyone ever step on or pass dirty items over it.

The choyhona, or teahouse, is the focal point of the neighborhood's men. It is always shaded, and if possible located near a stream.

The Soviets introduced restaurants where meals center around alcohol and can last through the night.

Food Customs at Ceremonial Occasions. Uzbeks celebrate whenever possible, and parties usually consist of a large meal ending with palov. The food is accompanied by copious amounts of vodka, cognac, wine, and beer. Elaborate toasts, given by guests in order of their status, precede each round of shots. After, glasses are diligently refilled by a man assigned the task. A special soup of milk and seven grains is eaten on Navruz. During the month of Ramadan, observant Muslims fast from sunrise until sunset.

Basic Economy. The majority of goods other than food come from China, Turkey, Pakistan, and Russia. It is very common for families in detached homes to have gardens in which they grow food or raise a few animals for themselves, and if possible, for sale. Even families living in apartments will try to grow food on nearby plots of land, or at dachas.

Land Tenure and Property. Beginning in 1992, Uzbekistanis have been able to buy their apartments or houses, which had been state property, for the equivalent of three months' salary. Thus most homes have become private property.

Agricultural land had been mainly owned by state or collective farms during the Soviet period. In many cases the same families or communities that farmed the land have assumed ownership, though they are still subject to government quotas and government guidelines, usually aimed at cotton-growing.

About two-thirds of small businesses and services are in private hands. Many that had been state-owned were auctioned off. While the former nomenklatura (government and Communist Party officials) often won the bidding, many businesses also have been bought by entrepreneurs. Large factories, however, largely remain state-owned.

Major Industries. Uzbekistan's industry is closely tied to its natural resources. Cotton, the white gold of Central Asia, forms the backbone of the economy, with 85 percent exported in exchange for convertible currency. Agricultural machinery, especially for cotton, is produced in the Tashkent region. Oil refineries produce about 173,000 barrels a day.

The Korean car maker Daewoo invested $650 million in a joint venture, UzDaewoo, at a plant in Andijan, which has a capacity of 200,000 cars. However, in 1999 the plant produced just 58,000 cars, and it produced far less in 2000, chiefly for the domestic market. With Daewoo's bankruptcy in November 2000, the future of the plant is uncertain at best.

Trade. Uzbekistan's main trading partners are Russia, South Korea, Germany, the United States, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. Before independence, imports were mainly equipment, consumer goods, and foods. Since independence, Uzbekistan has managed to stop imports of oil from Kazakhstan and has also lowered food imports by reseeding some cotton fields with grain.

Uzbekistan is the world's third-largest cotton exporter.

Uzbekistan exported about $3 billion (U.S.), primarily in cotton, gold, textiles, metals, oil, and natural gas, in 1999. Its main markets are Russia, Switzerland, Britain, Belgium, Kazakhstan, and Tajikistan.

Division of Labor. According to government statistics, 44 percent of workers are in agriculture and forestry; 20 percent in industry; 36 percent in the service sector. Five percent unemployed, and 10 percent are underemployed. Many rural jobless, however, may be considered agricultural workers.

A particular feature of the Uzbekistan labor system is the requirement of school and university students, soldiers, and workers to help in the cotton harvest. They go en masse to the fields for several days to hand-pick cotton.

Many Uzbeks, particularly men, work in other parts of the former Soviet Union. Bazaars from Kazakhstan to Russia are full of Uzbek vendors, who command higher prices for their produce the farther north they travel. Others work in construction or other seasonal labor to send hard currency home.

About 2 percent of the workforce is of pension age and 1 percent is under sixteen.

Social Stratification

Classes and Castes. During the Soviet Union, Uzbekistani society was stratified not by wealth but by access to products, housing, and services. The nomenklatura could find high-quality consumer goods, cars, and homes that simply were unattainable by others. Since independence, many of these people have kept jobs that put them in positions to earn many times the $1,020 (U.S.) average annual salary reported by the United Nations. It is impossible to quantify the number of wealthy, however, as the vast majority of their income is unreported, particularly if they are government officials.

Many members of the former Soviet intelligentsia—teachers, artists, doctors, and other skilled service providers—have been forced to move into relatively unskilled jobs, such as bazaar vendors and construction workers, where they could earn more money. Urban residents tend to earn twice the salaries of rural people.

Symbols of Social Stratification. As elsewhere in the former Soviet Union, the new rich tend to buy and show off expensive cars and limousines, apartments, and clothes and to go to nightclubs. Foreign foods and goods also are signs of wealth, as is a disdain for shopping in bazaars.

Political Life

Government. Uzbekistan is in name republican but in practice authoritarian, with Kharimov's Halq Tarakiati Partiiasi, or People's Democratic Party, controlling all aspects of governance. On 9 January 2000 he was reelected for a five-year term, with a 92 percent turnout and a 92 percent yes vote. Earlier, a March 1995 referendum to extend his term to 2000 resulted in a 99 percent turnout and a 99 percent yes vote. The legislature, Oliy Majlis, was inaugurated in 1994. At that time the ruling party captured 193 seats, though many of these candidates ran as independents. The opposition political movement Birlik, or Unity, and the party Erk, or Will, lack the freedom to directly challenge the government.

Makhallas, or neighborhood councils of elders, provide the most direct governance. Some opinion polls have ranked makhallas just after the president in terms of political power. Makhallahs address social needs ranging from taking care of orphans, loaning items, and maintaining orderly public spaces, to sponsoring holiday celebrations. In Soviet times these were institutionalized, with makhalla heads and committees appointed by the local Communist Party. Then and now, however, makhallas have operated less smoothly in neighborhoods of mixed ethnicities.

Leadership and Political Officials. The president appoints the head, or khokim, of each of Uzbekistan's 12 regions, called viloyatlars, and of Karakalpakistan and Tashkent, who in turn appoint the khokims of the 216 regional and city governments. This top-down approach ensures a unity of government policies and leads to a diminishing sense of empowerment the farther one is removed from Kharimov.

Khokims and other officials were chiefly drawn from the Communist Party following independence—many simply kept their jobs—and many remain. Nevertheless, Kharimov has challenged local leaders to take more initiative, and in 1997 he replaced half of them, usually with public administration and financial experts, many of whom are reform-minded.

Corruption is institutionalized at all levels of government, despite occasional prosecution of officials. Students, for example, can expect to pay bribes to enter a university, receive high grades, or be exempted from the cotton harvest.

Social Problems and Control. The government has vigorously enforced laws related to drug trafficking and terrorism, and reports of police abuse and torture are widespread. The constitution calls for independent judges and open access to proceedings and justice. In practice, defendants are seldom acquitted, and when they are, the government has the right to appeal.

Petty crime such as theft is becoming more common; violent crime is much rarer. Anecdotal evidence points to an increase in heroin use; Uzbekistan is a transshipment point from Afghanistan and Pakistan to Europe, and access is relatively easy despite tough antidrug laws.

People are often reluctant to call the police, as they are not trusted. Instead, it is the responsibility of families to see that their members act appropriately. Local communities also exert pressure to conform.

Military Activity. Uzbekistan's military in 2000 was skirmishing with the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a militant group opposed to the secular regime, and numbering in the hundreds or thousands. Besides clashes in the mountains near the Tajikistani border, the group has been blamed for six car bombings in Tashkent in February 2000.

Uzbekistan spends about $200 million (U.S.) a year on its military and has 150,000 soldiers, making it the strongest in the region.

Nongovernmental Organizations and Other Associations

Most domestic nongovernmental organizations are funded and supported by the government, and all must be registered. Kamolot, registered in 1996, is the major youth organization, and is modeled on the Soviet Komsomol. Ekosan is an environmental group. The Uzbek Muslim Board has been active in building mosques and financing religious education. The Women's Committee of Uzbekistan, a government organization, is tasked with ensuring women's access to education as well as employment and legal rights, and claims three million members.

The government also has set up quasi nongovernmental organizations, at times to deflect attention from controversial organizations. The Human Rights Society of Uzbekistan, for example, was denied registration from 1992 to 1997, before the government set up its own human rights monitor.

The leaders of these groups may receive privileges once granted to the Soviet nomenklatura, such as official cars and well-equipped offices.

There are no independent trade unions, though government-sponsored unions are common. The Employment Service and Employment Fund was set up in 1992 to address issues of social welfare, employment insurance, and health benefits for workers.

Ironically, some truly independent organizations from the Soviet period, such as the Committee to Save the Aral Sea, were declared illegal in 1994. Social groups associated with Birlik also have been denied registration.

Gender Roles and Statuses

Division of Labor by Gender. Before the Soviet period, men worked outside the house while women did basic domestic work, or supplemented the family income by spinning, weaving, and embroidering with silk or cotton. From the 1920s on, women entered the workforce, at textile factories and in the cotton fields, but also in professional jobs opened to them by the Soviet education system. They came to make up the great majority of teachers, nurses, and doctors. Family pressure, however, sometimes kept women from attaining higher education, or working outside the home. With independence, some women have held on to positions of power, though they still may be expected to comport themselves with modesty. Men in modern Uzbekistan, though, hold the vast majority of managerial positions, as well as the most labor-intensive jobs. It is common now for men to travel north to other former Soviet republics to work in temporary jobs. Both sexes work in bazaars.

The Relative Status of Women and Men. Uzbekistan is a male-dominated society, particularly in the Ferghana Valley. Nevertheless, women make up nearly half the workforce. They hold just under 10 percent of parliamentary seats, and 18 percent of administrative and management positions, according to U.N. figures.

Women run the households and traditionally control the family budgets. When guests are present they are expected to cloister themselves from view.

In public women are expected to cover their bodies completely. Full veiling is uncommon, though it is occasionally practiced in the Ferghana Valley. Women often view this as an expression of their faith and culture rather than as an oppressive measure.

Marriage, Family, and Kinship

Marriage. Uzbek women usually marry by twenty-one; men not much later. Marriage is an imperative for all, as families are the basic structure in society. A family's honor depends on their daughters' virginity; this often leads families to encourage early marriage.

In traditional Uzbek families, marriages are often still arranged between families; in more cosmopolitan ones it is the bride and groom's choice. Either way, the match is subject to parental approval, with the mother in practice having the final word. Preference is given to members of the kin group. There is particular family say in the youngest son's choice, as he and his bride will take care of his parents. People tend to marry in their late teens or early twenties. Weddings often last for days, with the expense borne by the bride's family. The husband's family may pay a bride price. Polygamy is illegal and rare, but it is not unknown.

Following independence, divorce has become more common, though it is still rare outside of major cities. It is easier for a man to initiate divorce.

Domestic Unit. Uzbek families are patriarchal, though the mother runs the household. The average family size is five or six members, but families of ten or more are not uncommon.

Kin Groups. Close relations extends to cousins, who have the rights and responsibilities of the nuclear family and often are called on for favors. If the family lives in a detached house and there is space, the sons may build their homes adjacent to or around the courtyard of the parents' house.

Socialization

Infant Care. Uzbek babies are hidden from view for their first forty days. They are tightly swaddled when in their cribs and carried by their mothers. Men generally do not take care of or clean babies.

Child Rearing and Education. Children are cherished as the reason for life. The mother is the primary caretaker, and in case of divorce, she will virtually always take the children. The extended family and the community at large, however, also take an interest in the child's upbringing.

When children are young, they have great freedom to play and act out. But as they get older, particularly in school, discipline increases. A good child becomes one who is quiet and attentive, and all must help in the family's labor.

All children go to school for nine years, with some going on to eleventh grade; the government is increasing mandatory education to twelve years.

Higher Education. Enrollment in higher-education institutions is about 20 percent, down from more than 30 percent during the Soviet period. A major reason for the decline is that students do not feel a higher education will help them get a good job; also contributing is the emigration of Russians, and declining standards related to budget cutbacks. Nevertheless, Uzbeks, particularly in cities, still value higher education, and the government gives full scholarships to students who perform well.

Elders are respected in Uzbek culture. At the dusterhon, younger guests will not make themselves more comfortable than their elders. The younger person should always greet the older first.

Men typically greet each other with a handshake, the left hand held over the heart. Women place their right hand on the other's elbow. If they are close friends or relatives, they may kiss each other on the cheeks.

If two acquaintances meet on the street, they will usually ask each other how their affairs are. If the two don't know each other well, the greeting will be shorter, or could involve just a nod.

Women are expected to be modest in dress and demeanor, with clothing covering their entire body. In public they may walk with their head tilted down to avoid unwanted attention. In traditional households, women will not enter the room if male guests are present. Likewise, it is considered forward to ask how a man's wife is doing. Women generally sit with legs together, their hands in their laps. When men aren't present, however, women act much more casually.

People try to carry themselves with dignity and patience, traits associated with royalty, though young men can be boisterous in public.

People tend to dress up when going out of the house. Once home they change, thus extending the life of their street clothes.

Religious Beliefs. Uzbeks are Sunni Muslims. The territory of Uzbekistan has been a center of Islam in the region for a thousand years, but under the Soviet Union the religion was heavily controlled: mosques were closed and Muslim education was banned. Beginning in 1988, Uzbeks have revived Islam, particularly in the Ferghana Valley, where mosques have been renovated. The call to prayer was everywhere heard five times a day before the government ordered the removal of the mosques' loudspeakers in 1998.

The state encourages a moderate form of Islam, but Kharimov fears the creation of an Islamic state. Since the beginning of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan's terror campaign in February 1999, he has cracked down even further on what he perceives as extremists, raising claims of human rights abuses. The government is particularly concerned about what it labels Wahhabism, a fundamentalist Sunni sect that took hold in the Ferghana Valley following independence.

Nine percent of the population is Russian Orthodox. Jews, Baptists, Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Seventh-Day Adventists, evangelical and Pentecostal Christians, Buddhists, Baha'is, and Hare Krishnas also are present.

Religious Practitioners. Most Sunni Uzbeks are led by a state-appointed mufti. Independent imams are sometimes repressed, and in May 1998, a law requiring all religious groups to register with the government was enacted. In addition to leading worship, the Muslim clergy has led mosque restoration efforts and is playing an increasing role in religious education.

Death and the Afterlife. Uzbeks bury their deceased within twenty-four hours of death, in above-ground tombs. At the funeral, women wail loudly and at specific times. The mourning period lasts forty days. The first anniversary of the death is marked with a gathering of the person's friends and relatives.

Muslims believe that on Judgment Day, each soul's deeds will be weighed. They will then walk across a hair-thin bridge spanning Hell, which leads to Paradise. The bridge will broaden under the feet of the righteous, but the damned will lose their balance and fall.

Medicine and Health Care

Current health practices derive from the Soviet system. Health care is considered a basic right of the entire population, with clinics, though ill-equipped, in most villages, and larger facilities in regional centers. Emphasis is on treatment over prevention. Yet the state health care budget—80 million dollars in 1994—falls far short of meeting basic needs; vaccinations, for example, fell off sharply following independence. Exacerbating the situation is a lack of potable water, industrial pollution, and a rise in infectious diseases such as tuberculosis.

Perhaps the most common traditional health practices are shunning cold drinks and cold surfaces, which are believed to cause colds and damage to internal organs, and avoiding drafts, or bad winds. Folk remedies and herbal treatments also are common. An example is to press bread to the ailing part of the body. The sick person then gives a small donation to a homeless person who will agree to take on his or her illness.

Secular Celebrations

The major secular holidays are New Year's Day (1 January); Women's Day (8 March), a still popular holdover from the Soviet Union, when women receive gifts; Navrus (21 March), originally a Zoroastrian holiday, which has lost its religious significance but is still celebrated with Sumaliak soup, made from milk and seven grains; Victory Day (9 May), marking the defeat of Nazi Germany; and Independence Day (1 September), celebrating separation from the Soviet Union.

Uzbeks typically visit friends and relatives on holidays to eat large meals and drink large amounts of vodka. Holidays also may be marked by concerts or parades centered on city or town squares or factories. The government marks Independence Day and Navrus with massive outdoor jamborees in Tashkent, which are then broadcast throughout the country, and places of work or neighborhoods often host huge celebrations.

The Arts and Humanities

Support for the Arts. During the Soviet period, the government gave extensive support to the arts, building cultural centers in every city and paying the salaries of professional artists. With independence, state funding has shrunk, though it still makes up the bulk of arts funding. Many dance, theater, and music groups continue to rely on the state, which gives emphasis to large productions and extravaganzas, controls major venues, and often has an agenda for the artists to follow.

Other artists have joined private companies who perform for audiences of wealthy business-people and tourists. Some money comes in from corporate sponsorship and international charitable organizations—for example UNESCO and the Soros Foundation's Open Society Institute. Yet many artists have simply been forced to find other work.

Literature. The territory of Uzbekistan has a long tradition of writers, though not all were Uzbek. The fifteenth-century poet Alisher Navoi, 1441–1501, is most revered; among his works is a treatise comparing the Persian and Turkish languages. Abu Rayhan al-Biruni, 973–1048, born in Karakalpakistan, wrote a massive study of India. Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna, 980–1037, wrote The Cannon of Medicine. Omar Khayyam, 1048–1131, came to Samarkand to pursue mathematics and astronomy. Babur, 1483–1530, born in the Ferghana Valley, was the first Moghul leader of India, and wrote a famous autobiography.

Until the twentieth century, Uzbek literary tradition was largely borne by bakshi, elder minstrels who recited myths and history through epic songs, and otin-oy, female singers who sang of birth, marriage and death.

The Jadids produced many poets, writers, and playwrights. These writers suffered greatly in the Stalinist purges of the 1930s. Later the Soviet Union asked of its writers that they be internationalists and further socialist goals. Abdullah Qahhar, 1907–1968, for example, satirized Muslim clerics. But with the loosening of state control in the 1980s, a new generation of writers renewed the Uzbek language and Uzbek themes. Many writers also were active in Birlik, which started as a cultural movement but is now suppressed.

Graphic Arts. Uzbekistan has begun a revival of traditional crafts, which suffered from the Soviet view that factory-produced goods were superior to handicrafts. Now master craftsmen are reappearing in cities such as Samarkand and Bukhara, supported largely by foreign tourists. Miniature painting is narrative in character, using a wide palette of symbols to tell their stories. They can be read from right to left as a book, and often accompany works of literature. Wood carving, of architectural features such as doors and pillars and of items such as the sonduq, a box given to a bride by her parents, also is regaining a place in Uzbek crafts. Ikat is a method of cloth dying, now centered in the Yordgorlik Silk Factory in Margilan. Silk threads are tie-dyed, then woven on a loom to create soft-edged designs for curtains, clothing, and other uses.

Performance Arts. Uzbek music is characterized by reedy, haunting instruments and throaty, nasal singing. It is played on long-necked lutes called dotars, flutes, tambourines, and small drums. It developed over the past several hundred years in the khanates on the territory of modern Uzbekistan, where musicians were a central feature of festivals and weddings. The most highly regarded compositions are cycles called maqoms. Sozandas, sung by women accompanied by percussion instruments, also are popular. In the 1920s, Uzbek composers were encouraged, leading to a classical music tradition that continues today. Modern Uzbek pop often combines elements of folk music with electric instruments to create dance music.

Uzbek dance is marked by fluid arm and upper-body movement. Today women's dance groups perform for festivals and for entertainment, a practice started during the Soviet period. Earlier, women danced only for other women; boys dressed as women performed for male audiences. One dance for Navruz asks for rain; others depict chores, other work, or events. Uzbek dance can be divided into three traditions: Bokhara and Samarkand; Khiva; and Khokand. The Sufi dance, zikr, danced in a circle accompanied by chanting and percussion to reach a trance state, also is still practiced.

Uzbekistan's theater in the twentieth century addressed moral and social issues. The Jadidists presented moral situations that would be resolved by a solution consistent with Islamic law. During the Soviet period dramatists were sometimes censored. The Ilkhom Theater, founded in 1976, was the first independent theater in the Soviet Union.

Admission to cultural events is kept low by government and corporate sponsorship. It also has become common for dancers to perform for groups of wealthy patrons.

The State of the Physical and Social Sciences

Uzbekistan has several higher-education institutions, with departments aimed at conducting significant research. Funding, however, has lagged since independence. The goal of the Academy of Sciences in Tashkent is practical application of science. It has physical and mathematical, chemicalbiological, and social sciences departments, with more than fifty research institutions and organizations under them.

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—J EFF E RLICH

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The 9 best places to visit in Uzbekistan

Aug 15, 2024 • 8 min read

Get to know Uzbekistan with this guide to the top places to visit, like the historic center of Bukhara. Shutterstock

Set at the crossroads of the ancient Silk Road, Uzbekistan is famed for its stunning historical architecture and beautiful mosques and medressas, alongside Soviet modernism, a flourishing arts and crafts scene, a rich traditional culture, and the genuine hospitality of local people. 

The continental climate brings four distinct seasons, and escaping into nature and visiting off-the-beaten-track destinations are adventures that will leave lifetime memories.

Here are our top recommendations of places to visit in Uzbekistan for architecture, culture, nature and immersion in the arts.

1. Registan, Samarkand

Best for dramatic architecture

The historic  Registan  Square in Samarkand impresses first-time visitors more than any other attraction in Uzbekistan. Included on the UNESCO World Heritage list, the square consists of three striking medressas – the Ulugbek, Sherdor and Tilla-Kori – which together served as a university for Islamic scholars. The name Registan means "a sand place". Since the Timurid period, this has been a place where people have met, important decisions were announced, and crucial events in Uzbekistan’s history occurred. 

Samarkand is blessed with many other historical attractions, including the Bibi-Khanym Mosque , the Shah-i-Zinda Necropolis , the Gur-e-Amir mausoleum and Ulugbek’s Observatory – all of them well worth visiting. One day might be enough to cover most important stops, but if you want to enjoy the pace of life in Samarkand, wander around talking to local craftspeople and leave some time for tea and local cuisine, allow two days or more.

Local tip: Opened in 2022, Samarkand International Airport is the second-biggest airport in the country and a good entry point to Uzbekistan. Turkish Airlines, WizzAir, AirDubai, FlyAirstan, Jazeera Air and several Uzbek airlines operate regular flights to this modern airport, and from Samarkand, it’s easy to travel around the country by rail – to Bukhara, Khiva and Nukus and then fly back to the capital Tashkent.

Best for history 

In Samarkand, an ancient mosque might sit alongside an office tower or a modern neighborhood, but Bukhara ’s old city really makes you travel in time. Protected by UNESCO, the historical part of the city still feels completely authentic, with timeless mosques, minarets, medressas, craft workshops, caravanserais and local eateries. Set around an artificial pool called Labi Hovuz, the central square has a unique atmosphere and is a great place to admire the architecture, enjoy local food, sip tea, slurp ice cream, bargain with souvenir sellers, or just have a breather sitting on a bench in the sun.

There are many must-visit stops in Bukhara. Be sure to make time for the Ark , a former residence of Bukhara Emir, the eye-catching medressas of Mir-i-Arab , Nadir Divanbegi and Abdul Aziz Khan , the Kalon Minaret , and the inspiring Sitorai Mohi Hosa summer palace. 

While the old city might seem compact on the map, Bukhara deserves at least two full days. This is one of those cities where you can discover endless new layers each time you return.

Planning tip: Multicultural, ancient and packed with interesting experiences, Bukhara is best enjoyed in spring and autumn when the weather is not too hot or too cold.

3. The Savitsky Museum in Nukus

Best stop for art lovers

Karakalpakstan, an autonomous republic in the west of Uzbekistan, lures many visitors thanks to the unusual landscapes of the Aral Sea , the Ustyurt Plateau and the ancient fortresses in the surrounding desert. But one of the most interesting destinations is the Savitsky Museum  (or the Nukus Museum of Art) in the regional capital, Nukus. It displays a vast collection of Russian avant-garde art, secretly preserved during Soviet times. Its founder, Igor Savitsky, was an art connoisseur who saved roughly 100,000 artworks, showcasing the rich lifestyle and heritage of people in this area. 

Planning tip: Trains from Tashkent to Nukus can take more than 20 hours; many travelers arrive by air to maximize time for sightseeing.

4. Ichan Kala, Khiva

Best for stepping into the past

The open-air museum that is the city of Khiva used to be the capital of the Khorezm Shakhs and later the hub of the Khiva Khanate, and it still preserves its own language, traditions and culture. The fascinating Ichan Kala (which means “inner city”) is the fortress in the heart of Khiva, and most of the architectural attractions are located inside of it. Visit the atmospheric Juma mosque, the Tosh-Hovli Palace (with its harem rooms for wives of the ruler), and the Kalta Minor minaret, and you’ll feel the grandeur and tranquility of Central Asia in the Middle Ages.

Some of the historic buildings have been transformed into boutique hotels – it’s a very unusual feeling to stay overnight in a room of medieval features, but with all the modern facilities you could want, such as air-conditioning and a hot shower. Get to know the culture of Khiva through classes, from baking bread all the way to lessons in energetic Khorezm dancing. 

5. Margilan

Best for lovers of traditional art forms

Moving from historical to artistic sites, the city of Margilan in the Fergana Valley is a great place to discover the history of  ikat  fabric the weaving of textiles with designs pre-dyed into the fibers. This unique weaving technique has independently developed in many different parts of the world, including in Indonesia, Japan, India and Latin America, but the Silk Road made Uzbek ikat particularly famous, thanks to its quality and the variety of the fabrics produced in silk, cotton and velvet. 

Margilan is a cozy small town where you can visit long-established makers of Central Asian ikat at the Yodgorlik Silk Factory , speak to modern weavers at local crafts centers, or just enjoy the abundance of the local farmers market and the laidback lifestyle of this mainly agricultural area.

Planning tip: Margilan has been a hub for silk production since the time of the Silk Road; get here easily by shared taxi from Fergana or train from Tashkent. Come on Thursday or Sunday for the local market. 

Best for ceramics fans

There is probably no other city in the world with quite so many ceramic artists as Rishtan. As soon as you enter the town, you will see pottery items for sale on both sides of the highway, but don’t rush to buy here because you will find better quality and more authentic works in the studios of local craftspeople.

Rishtan was already famous for glazed ceramics 1000 years ago, thanks to the unique soil – the richest source of terracotta clay in the region. The workshops of Alister Nazirov and Rustam Usmanov are famous for preserving and popularizing the ancient techniques of Uzbek ceramics art. However, there are many skilled crafters and ceramics centers for all tastes and budgets in the city.

7. Tashkent

Best stop for city slickers

The Uzbek capital, Tashkent , is not just an entry point to the country, but a diverse and fascinating destination in its own right. Islamic architecture, vibrant avenues, art and history museums, theaters, international gastronomy and nightlife make for a modern, cosmopolitan experience.

Start with a visit to central Amir Timur square, where you can drop into the Amir Timur Museum , view the Amir Timur monument and the Tashkent clock tower (which now hosts two quirky restaurants), and visit a famous piece of Soviet monumental architecture, the Hotel Uzbekistan . 

Nearby, so-called Broadway Street is especially colorful in the evening with souvenir shops, street food and amusements. A short hop west, Tashkent City Park offers plenty of ways to keep busy, with an aquarium, planetarium, dancing fountains and street shows, as well as diverse restaurants, modern hotels, shopping malls and an open-air cinema. For a shopping treasure hunt, head to the vast Chorsu Bazaar , Tashkent’s best-loved marketplace, or the Navruz Ethnopark to discover traditional clothing and accessories, local crafts and authentic Uzbek food. 

8. Konigil Village 

Best crafts stop if you’re short on time

On the outskirts of Samarkand, the village of Konigil is an atmospheric destination. This village is an amazing place to learn about the crafts of the region in one place. The Meros Paper Mill specializes in traditional silk paper, and you can also see the production of vegetable oil, ceramics, carpets and other local crafts. There are places to sample local food and even a small guest house, conveniently located in one tranquil space near the small, tree-shaded Siab River. Time slows down here, and it’s a beautiful escape for a half day or more. 

9. Zaamin National Park 

Best escape for nature lovers

Among the many picturesque mountain areas in Uzbekistan, Zaamin National Park holds a special place in the hearts of locals, thanks to its unspoiled natural scenery. Until recently, this picturesque destination east of Samarkand was off the radar of foreign tourists but well-explored by the people of the area. The air of Zaamin is considered to have healing properties, and nature here is pure and abundant – indeed, the area is often compared to Switzerland.

Many unique types of flora and fauna are found here, including black storks, black bears, lynx and snow leopards, and locals are warm and sincere. There’s a beautiful lake-like reservoir and great trails for hiking, and people come there in both summer and winter to stay in the area’s new international hotels and run in the Zaamin Ultramarathon in June. 

This article was first published Sep 27, 2023 and updated Aug 15, 2024.

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• General information
• History of Uzbekistan
• Culture of Uzbekistan
• Arts and Crafts in Uzbekistan
• Festivals in Uzbekistan
• Customs and Traditions
• Uzbek Cuisine
• Climate of Uzbekistan
• Reasons to visit Uzbekistan
• Border crossings
• Uzbekistan Embassies
• Uzbekistan Consulates
• Embassies in Uzbekistan
• Consulates in Uzbekistan
• Useful information
• Shakhrisabz
• Muynak (Aral Sea)
• Kala (Citadels)
• Chimgan mountains
• Nurata mountains
• Navoi region
• Active tours
• Combined tours
• Cultural tours
• Eco/Rural/CBT Tourism
• Religious tours
• Extension/short tours
• Special Tours
• Guaranteed Departures
• MICE tourism
• Tailor made tours
• Tashkent hotels
• Samarkand hotels
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• Kokand hotels
• Nukus hotels

CULTURE OF UZBEKISTAN / UZBEK CULTURE

The culture of Uzbekistan is rich in very different cultural heritages because of its strategic location and noteworthy history which has been coming through various civilizations. A wide mix of different ethnic groups and cultures along with sequential numerous conquests of ancient Persians, Greeks, Chinese, Arabs, nomadic Turkic tribes, Mongols, later, Russians in various periods of Uzbekistan history have considerably contributed Uzbek culture and lifestyle. That’s why it is very colorful and considered not only a cradle of the culture in Central Asia but also of the East.

Additionally, in the development and prosperity of Uzbek culture, the Great Silk Road has also played an important role. Being on the crossroads of the Great Silk Road has created favorable conditions to trade goods and at the same time exchange languages, customs and traditions , religions, ideas, and cultures of different nations for a long period in the present-day territory of Uzbekistan.

The culture of Uzbekistan can also be reflected in traditions, dance, music, songs, clothes, entertainment, and some other aspects as the cultural elements.

But, due to the peculiar cultural characteristics of each region of Uzbekistan which are obviously demonstrated in dialects, national clothes, and dresses, it is impossible to experience the whole Uzbek culture at a time. The most efficient way of getting acquainted with the culture of Uzbekistan widely is to participate in particular f estivals in Uzbekistan . It is a good choice to witness and compare the cultural representatives of all regions in one place through their local songs and dances, national dresses, folk arts, and crafts in Uzbekistan .

Uzbek hospitality / Hospitality in Uzbekistan / Hospitality of Uzbek nation

Uzbek hospitality is an inseparable part of Uzbek culture. Throughout history, Uzbekistan was located in the heart of Silk Road. It used to host numerous passing by caravans. Thus, hospitality has become nature for the Uzbek nation! You can knock any door; a dweller opens immediately with a warm smile and invites you for a cup of tea in the house not knowing you and even without asking your aim of a visit. Hospitality in Uzbekistan is the honor of Uzbek people and the main quality of the culture of Uzbekistan!

Oriental Uzbek bazaars (markets)

Oriental Uzbek bazaars are one of the best and suitable places to observe Uzbek culture more vividly!

Do you know what name else Sunday has? Believe us; almost all Turkic nations know it. Sunday means “shopping day” or “bazaar day”. Monday is also described as “the next day after Bazaar”.

Although it is already the XXI century, bazaars are still an essential part of Uzbek culture and Central Asian people’s lifestyle. And it has not changed significantly from its form of medieval ages.

People cannot imagine the East without its bazaars! The role of oriental bazaars in local people’s life is vital!  It is not only a place of shopping but also a center of communication, an exchange of news, emotions, and experiences, and even the relief of depressions! One can hear the latest unofficial news in the bazaar before it appears in Mass Media; if one is depressed, he or she can get rid of it by sharing with sellers. Because sellers make compliments to buyers to attract while buyers make compliments to sellers to get the lowest prices!

One of the main features of bazaars is bargaining! There is a saying: “A purchase without bargaining is not halal!” So, you can buy products even with discounted prices up to 40-50% by bargaining. This is a peculiarity of oriental bazaars which plays one of the main roles in the culture of Uzbekistan!

Each region of Uzbekistan has its own bazaars but we suggest visiting the following ones:

• Chorsu bazaar in Tashkent ;
• Oloy (Alay) bazaar in Tashkent;
• Siyab (Siyab) bazaar in Samarkand ;
• Urgut bazaar of handicrafts in Samarkand region.

Music and songs of Uzbekistan

Traditional Uzbek music is one of the means of understanding the peculiarity of the Uzbek nation. Because music and a song express a nation’s dreams, wishes, nature, mood, and intentions. As an example, we can mention the song “Sust Khotin” which has been sung throughout history to call rain during a drought period or a song “Oblo baraka” which has been sung by men in summer and autumn asking for a good harvest.

We can witness the deep history of traditional Uzbek music by seeing images of musicians, relating to the culture of the Kushan period, depicted on the frieze with a stringed instrument in the form of a harp in his hand, the other with a wind instrument similar to a flute, and the third with an oblong double-sided drum. From this, we can conclude that the Kushans and Sogdians knew the main types of instruments and used them both solo and in an ensemble.

Due to the numerous types of musical instruments, Uzbek national music is one of the most colorful not only among Central Asian countries but also in the whole world. Here are some main Uzbek musical instruments: Kayrok/Qayroq (stone castanets), doira/doyra (tambourine), Nay/Nai (flute), Rubab/Rubob (a lute-like instrument), Tanbur (a fretted string instrument), Dutor/Dutar (long-necked two-stringed lute), Sato (long-necked lute), Qobuz /Kobuz/Kobyz (Two-string fiddle), Karnai/ Karnay (a long wind instrument), Surnai /Surnay (a wind instrument), Nogora/ Nagara (drum with a rounded back and a hide head, usually played in pairs), Gijjaz/ Ghijak (a group of related spike fiddles).

Many genres of traditional music have been formed and developed over the centuries. Traditional Uzbek music and songs have been accompanying all significant events in the life of the people for centuries. Uzbek folklore includes family rituals, labor, lullabies, holiday, and other songs. For example, at weddings they perform “Yor-Yor”, “Ulan”, “Kelin Salom”, etc., at funerals – “Sadr” and “Yigi”, there are also labor songs such as “Maida” and “Yozi”, lullabies – “Alla”, songs performed during such holidays as Navruz (the day of the vernal equinox), etc.  Uzbekistan can boast with its following ancient genres passing from ancestors to generations: Shoshmaqom/ Shashmaqam , Lapar (a dialogue song), Khalfa (Khorezmian genre), Katta ashula (two or more men sing by waving plates near their mount but without any other musical instruments), and Bakhshi genre (a folk narrator, creator, and promoters of epic traditions playing in single). UNESCO already included Shoshmaqom/Shashmaqam and Katta ashula into its Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Soon Bakhshi genre is going to join the list.

Music not only keeps up spirits but also symbolizes the friendship and unity of nations. Thus, the Uzbek government has been hosting a well-known international music festival “Sharq Taronalari” (Eastern melodies) in Registan Square of Samarkand  every second year at the end of August since 1997.

Dance art of Uzbekistan

Uzbek dance has been formed mostly by the ritual gestures of different religions and imitation of animals for thousands of years. UNESCO listed the Khorezmian dancing style Lazgi describes the imitation of Adam’s first move after a soul placed on him by staying still and starting to move with the tips of fingers.  We can find exactly the same description in all holy books believing in Adam .

We can see the evidence of it ancient age in the archeological items, frescos of citadels and ceramic dishes, miniatures: wall paintings of dancing couples in Toprak Kala ruins (II-VI centuries); rock picture “Dancing lady” of Chelak region (Samarkand) (V century); a religious ritual dance carved on the Yakkabog stone (Kashkadarya) (VII century); miniature of Mahmud Muzakhhiba – “Dancers” and others.

Ancient dances like “Katta uyin” (by the rhythm of doira), family dances “Khona bazm uyin”, Khorezm dance with flames –“Otash uyin”, Bukhara female dance (performed only on knees),  “Besh karsak”  (performed by the men of Samarkand mountains) have reached to us and rural people are still keeping to them. There are 5 dancing style schools in Uzbekistan and each of them is unique:·        

• Ferghana-Tashkent school (smoothness and softness of gestures describing lyric stories)·        
• Bukhara school (a wide variety of gestures and a sharp change in the mood)·        
• Khorezm school (sharpness and complex of movements)·        
• Surkhandarya school (lightness and the vigorousness of gait. Use household attributes-spinning wheels…)·        
• Karakalpakstan school (tremulous movement of the body, including virtuoso leg movements, sophisticated and complex arm gestures, and unusual shoulder and head gestures) 

Both genders can choose a dancer’s profession. Mostly, their dancing styles and categories are disparate. But sometimes lady dancers can dance by men’s style! Believe us, it is really amazing! The following dances “Dilkhiroj”, “Andijon polkasi”, “Tanovar”, “a dance with plov”, and “Khorazm lazgisi” have become the business card of Uzbekistan in the World arena. The Uzbek nation is an event-lover. Any type of event (weddings, anniversaries, festivals, holidays….) cannot be arranged without a dance! Thus, there is a big demand for dance and it is developing quite noticeably. To promote the charm of Uzbek dance art, every year in September Uzbekistan arranges the International festival “Magic of Dance” in historical Khiva.

Askiya (the art of cuteness) is a genre of oral folk art based on demonstrating the beauty of the language through play, the formation of words of direct meaning to a figurative meaning. It is a debate or exchange of cuteness in a joking manner between two or more men over a certain subject. At the same time, participants should be extremely careful in using every word and phrase so that Askiya should not touch the opponent’s personality. One cannot find Askiya genre in any part of the world except Ferghana valley and Tashkent regions.  One of the most unique genres of folklore, Askiya, which has improved over the centuries, has risen to the level of oral art. Askiya, as an intangible cultural heritage of mankind, was included in the Representative List of UNESCO in 2014.

National clothes of Uzbekistan / Traditional Uzbek clothes / Uzbek national dress

The peculiarities of the climate of Uzbekistan have been reflected in the national clothes of Uzbekistan. Here are the Traditional Uzbek male clothes: a shirt (koylak) with long vertical, wide pants (ishton), a quilted robe (chapan) without lining, with a thin or wadded lining, basing on the season, which was tied with a textile belt (belbog), leather footwear. A skullcap (doppi) is considered a must-have item of clothing. Wearing a headdress is an Islamic influence, which forbade going out bareheaded. Nowadays Uzbek men wear skullcaps for any events: mosques, burials, and marriage events. Male quilted robes (chapans) were the same for all ages. But also there was a “zarchapon” – a darkened velvet robe with flowery or geometrical designs made with golden thread. Previously, only the emir and his entourage could afford such robes. Today, such a brocade robe and turban are an integral part of a man’s wedding suit. Here are the Traditional Uzbek female clothes: a tunic (koylak) dress and wide at the top and wide trousers (lozim). Usually, the tunic dress and its trousers are from the same fabric. As outerwear, they used to wear a robe (chapan) of the same cut like a man’s, later a fitted camisole with short sleeves came to replace it, and vests (nimcha) began to appear. Their heads had two shawls – one was tied over the forehead, and the second one was thrown over. The headscarves of noble persons had a decoration of gold or silver threads. By the end of XIX century skullcaps (doppi/doppa/ tubeteika ) with golden or silk thread embroidery replaced scarves. Women, going out, used to throw a men’s robe over their heads with a collar on their heads so that strangers would not look at her. Although, the sleeves of the robe were kept back, and later they began to sew them. They had a face covering – horsehair net (chachvan). In this form, all women had to go out, even girls who had reached maturity. It is worth mentioning about jewelry of Uzbek women. Silver or gold rings with multi-colored stones, bracelets, earrings in the shape of a circle or with fringes in the shape of domes, coral beads, necklaces from rings, a tall “tillyakosh” (translated as “golden eyebrow”), which got its name due to its form, repeating a woman’s eyebrow – all this was an indispensable adjunct to the garments of Uzbek women of all ages. Nowadays women wear a more modern version of the traditional clothes on the second day of the marriage and afterward 40 days. The customs of wearing a traditional dress have remained in rural areas, and mostly elder people keep to it. Uzbek national clothes mostly were from cotton, silk, corduroy. The Uzbek silk “khan-atlas”, meaning “royal silk”, was created most probably for a king. Its threads are dyed using national dyes by ikat manner. The thread for the fabric was dyed with natural dyes of bright colors using the ikat technique. Atlas is perfect for hot summer, does not irritate the skin, and keeps the form of the product well. Nowadays it is not uncommon to find Adras (cotton and satin fabric) on fashion catwalks all over the world.

Certainly, above we wrote about the Uzbek traditional clothing. But it does not mean that all people dress up like this. Mostly, local people wear modern clothes nowadays.  Uzbekistan is a liberal country and one can find people dressed up in religious, modern, and national clothes.

We hope you have some idea about the culture of Uzbek people!

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Samarkand , city in east-central Uzbekistan that is one of the oldest cities of Central Asia . Known as Maracanda in the 4th century bce , it was the capital of Sogdiana and was captured by Alexander the Great in 329 bce . The city was later ruled by Central Asian Turks (6th century ce ), the Arabs (8th century), the Samanids of Iran (9th–10th century), and various Turkic peoples (11th–13th century) before it was annexed by the Khwārezm-Shāh dynasty (early 13th century) and destroyed by the Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan (1220). After it revolted against its Mongol rulers (1365), Samarkand became the capital of the empire of Timur (Tamerlane), who made the city the most important economic and cultural centre in Central Asia. Samarkand was conquered by Uzbeks in 1500 and became part of the khanate of Bukhara . By the 18th century it had declined, and from the 1720s to the 1770s it was uninhabited. Only after it became a provincial capital of the Russian Empire (1887) and a railroad centre did it recover economically. It was briefly (1924–36) the capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic. Samarkand today consists of an old city dating from medieval times and a new section built after the Russian conquest of the area in the 19th century.

The old city’s plan has streets converging toward the centre from six gates in the 5-mile- (8-km-) long, 11th-century walls. The walls and gates were destroyed after the capture of the town by the Russians, but the plan of the medieval period is still preserved. The old city contains some of the finest monuments of Central Asian architecture from the 14th to the 20th century, including several buildings dating from the time when Samarkand was Timur’s capital city. Among the latter structures are the mosque of Bībī-Khānom (1399–1404), a building that was commissioned by Timur’s favourite Chinese wife, and Timur’s tomb itself, the Gūr-e Amīr mausoleum, built about 1405. To the second half of the 15th century belongs the Ak Saray tomb with a superb fresco of the interior. Rīgestān Square , an impressive public square in the old city, is fronted by several madrasahs (Islamic schools): that of Timur’s grandson, the astronomer Ulūgh Beg (1417–20), and those of Shirdar (1619–1635/36) and Tilakari (mid-17th century), which together border the square on three sides. Samarkand has several other mausoleums, madrasahs, and mosques dating from the 15th to the 17th century, though they are not as impressive as the structures from Timur’s day. The principal features of Samarkand’s ancient buildings are their splendid portals, their vast coloured domes, and their remarkable exterior decorations in majolica, mosaic, marble, and gold. The historic city was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2001.

The newer, Russian section of Samarkand, construction of which began in 1871, expanded considerably during the Soviet period, and public buildings, houses, and parks were built. There are Uzbek and Russian theatres, a university (established 1933), and higher-educational institutions for agriculture, medicine, architecture, and trade.

Samarkand derived its commercial importance in ancient and medieval times from its location at the junction of trade routes from China and India . With the arrival of the railway in 1888, Samarkand became an important centre for the export of wine, dried and fresh fruits, cotton, rice, silk, and leather. The city’s industry is now based primarily on agriculture, with cotton ginning, silk spinning and weaving , fruit canning, and the production of wine, clothing, leather and footwear, and tobacco. The manufacture of tractor and automobile parts and cinema apparatus is also economically important. Pop. (2007 est.) 312,863; (2022 est.) 561,700.

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5 Interesting Historic Sites in Uzbekistan

With humans having lived in uzbekistan as early as the paleolithic period, uzbekistan is home to a number of fascinating historical sites. here's our pick of 5 of the best..

Lucy Davidson

30 sep 2021, @lucejuiceluce.

Having once been both a central point of the Silk Road and part of the Soviet Union, Uzbekistan is a country which is rich in history. Today, the double-landlocked country is emerging from the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, and is home to among the most devout Muslim populations in Asia.

Though it is a fairly isolated country, Uzbekistan is full of relatively unknown sites which hark back to its diverse history. From stunning mosques which punctuate the skyline alongside Soviet-era architecture, to older sites such as ancient cities and mausoleums, here are 5 key historic sites in Uzbekistan for any history enthusiast.

1. Guri Amir

Guri Amir, in the former Silk Road city of Samarkand in modern Uzbekistan, is the mausoleum of the Mongol leader Timur (1369-1405), also known as Tamerlane. Timur was responsible for building many of Samarkand’s most impressive sites, including the Registan trio of madrassahs.

A blue-domed building encrusted with Samarkand’s trademark clay tiles, Guri Amir is the final resting place not only of this famous leader, but of his two sons and two grandsons.

2. Registan of Samarkand

Registan is one of the main sites in the ancient city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan. Samarkand was founded in approximately 700 BC and its location along the vital trade route known as the ‘Silk Road’ transformed it into a prosperous centre of commerce.

Now made up of three ornate madrassahs – centres of learning – facing onto a central courtyard, Registan was the medieval centre of Samarkand. Of these three symmetrical buildings, each of which is elaborately adorned with glazed clay tiles, the Ulugh Beg Madrassah is the oldest, dating back to 1420. The other two madrassahs, Sher-Dor and Tillya-Kori, were built in the seventeenth century under the rule of Yalangtush Bakhodur. Registan is part of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Samarkand.

3. The Bibi-Khanym Mosque

The Bibi-Khanym Mosque in Samarkand in Uzbekistan was originally constructed by Timur (1369-1405), a warrior and Mongol leader who ruled this important Silk Road city.

A vast structure crowned by a blue dome and overlooking a courtyard, the Bibi-Khanym Mosque was built by Timur for his wife between 1399 and 1405. Much of the Bibi-Khanym Mosque was destroyed in an earthquake in the nineteenth century and has since been reconstructed.

4. Shah-i-Zinda

Shah-i-Zinda in the UNESCO-listed city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan is an incredible complex of mausoleums, mosques and madrassahs. The most important of these shrines, alluded to by the name ‘Shah-i-Zinda’, meaning ‘living king’, is what is thought to be the mausoleum of Kusam ibn Abbas, cousin of the Prophet Mohammed.

Like many of the buildings in Samarkand, the structures are adorned with geometric shapes created using colourful glazed tiles. Some of the buildings of Shah-i-Zinda have undergone significant (and controversial) renovations and reconstructions.

5. Itchan Kala

Itchan Kala is the inner town (protected by brick walls some 10 m high) of the old Khiva oasis, which was the last resting-place of caravans before undergoing the extensive desert crossing to Iran. Although few very old monuments still remain, it is a rounded and well-preserved example of the Muslim architecture of Central Asia.

Today, there are several outstanding structures such as the Djuma Mosque, the mausoleums, and the madrasas as well as the two stunning palaces built at the beginning of the 19th century by Alla-Kulli-Khan.

EMBASSY OF UZBEKISTAN IN THE UNITED STATES

Uzbekistan and caterpillar, inc. are strengthening partnership.

Ambassador Furqat Sidikov’s had meeting with Caterpillar Inc., a world-leading manufacturer of construction and mining equipment.

It was highlighted that our cooperation with Caterpillar Inc. transcends traditional boundaries and extends to a variety of industries including construction, mining, and energy. This collaboration not only enhances the quality of infrastructure and resources in Uzbekistan, but also promotes sustainable economic growth and stability.

Importantly, the partnership also underscores our commitment to education. New programs are in the pipeline to equip Uzbek specialists with the knowledge and skills to optimize the use of Caterpillar’s cutting-edge equipment. These initiatives reflect our mutual dedication to education, skill development, and capacity-building in Uzbekistan.

oreover, the meeting also had an air of cultural exchange. Ambassador Sidikov was deeply touched to see beautiful traditional Uzbek handcrafted items adorning the Caterpillar office. This gesture stands as a testament to the deep respect and appreciation the company holds for Uzbek culture, heritage, and craftsmanship.

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Ambassador furqat sidikov’s conversation with the new lines institute, ambassador furqat sidikov discusses constitutional reforms and human rights with acting assistant secretary erin m. barclay, a new program aimed at reducing poverty to be implemented.

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