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HISTORY
Ancient Khorezm...
Alexander the Great
     In 334 B.C., Alexander began marching to Asia. Having conquered the Minor Asia, Syria, Phoenicia, Egypt, and Iran Alexander, entered the territory of Central Asia in spring 329, crossing Hindukush Mountains. Bess, the Satrap of Bactria and Sogd, who had accepted the title of King and name of Artakserks, left Bactria and ran to the other side of Amudarya, territory of Sogdiana, after he had known that Alexander had come near. Alexander crossed Amudarya surreptitiously. Bess could not avoid him because at that time his recent supporters - Spitamen and Datafern - imprisoned him. They sent their messengers to Alexander with offer to send his force to capture Bess. In Nautak (north-western part of Kashkadarya Valley) Alexander conquered several fortresses. Having left his garrison in Marakand, he took a tour to the Land of Saks, Syrdarya. On their way to Marakand, the Macedonians had faced tough resistance of local population - the Usturshan highlanders. Alexander was hardly wounded. The "riverside barbarians" began to revolt from back with defeating the Macedonian garrisons. At the same time, Sogdians led by Spitamen began to revolt. The Sogdians adjoined Baktrians. Spitamen had stood openly against Alexander and halted the Macedonian garrison in Marakand. Over the short period of time, on the bank of Syrdarya, the Macedonians built their fortress of Alexandria Distant (Alexandria Eskhata). Alexander hurriedly accomplished peace with Saks and threw his basic forces against Spitamen. The regular retaliatory actions of Greek-Macedonian armies in the territory of Sogd from autumn 329 till the same period in 328 did not bring results, which Alexander expected. After two years of wearisome and unsuccessful struggle he changed his tactics and went for rapprochement with local elites. Kwint Kursye Roof writes: "He ordered to give cities and lands of those who persisted in insubordination to those barbarians, who have obeyed". As a result, Alexander could involve a significant number of local dynasties and formed military contingencies from Sogdians and Baktrians in his campaign. In autumn 328 the decisive battle between Alexander and Spitamen took place, in which Spitamen had lost and ran to desert, where his recent allies executed him. Having conquered the mountain fortresses of Horien and Oxiart in Gissar mountains, Alexander married the daughter of Oxiart - Roxanne, thus related with local elite. Having appointed the king of Sogd, Oropiya, one of the representatives of Sogdian elite, who took sides with Alexander, he finished the conquest of Central Asia. Crossing through Amudarya, in the very summer of 327, he passed through Hindukush and began his famous Indian campaign.

The State of Selevkides
     After the death of Spitamen and the consensus with Sogdian-Baktrian crest in 327 BC, Central Asia had become a part of the Great Empire of the Alexander the Great. The military groups of local elite were included in his army. In 323 BC, when the message about Alexander's death had reached Central Asia, the Greek settlers in Sogd and Bactria gathered group of 20,000 infantrymen and 3,000 cavalrymen, intending to return home. The commander Perdikka, Alexander's comrade-in-arms, was sent to stop them. He managed to disarm and interrupt the runners. A Sogdian satrap from local grandees, who sympathized with Macedonian retreat, was displaced with Macedonian Phillip, ruling for some time two satrapies - Sogdiana and Bactria. After 315 BC, the Greeks and Macedonians replaced all the appointed local satraps, with exception of Oxiart (Alexander's father-in-law) and Iranian Atropat (Perdikk's father-in-law). In 312 Selevk, one of the commanders of Alexander, secured Babylon. Soon, he expanded his possessions up to Syrdarya and Ind, and his son - Antioch 1 Soter (born from a marriage of Selevk and Apama, who was Spitamen's daughter) had possessed even more Asian territories, which belonged to Alexander. In Central Asia, only one satrapy, which included Sogdiana and Bactria with Margiana, was formed. Khorezm did not belong to Selevkids. During the period of Achaemenids and Alexander, it kept its independence. Selevk and Antioch paid much attention in strengthening their position in Central Asia. The fortresses and cities, settled by Greeks, had been built actively. The historical tradition imputes building of 75 new cities to Selevk. In keeping in line with Pleniy, Antiochia behind Yaksart was one of the most distant cities. Supposedly, it was situated in the area of modern Tashkent (Kanka town) or the Ferghana Valley. Till the sixties of 3rd century B.C., in Bactras, there was a selevkian mint, which issued mainly large nominal gold and silver coins. From the beginning of Selevkian Antioch II (261-247 BC) governance, Diodod, his strap in Bactria, issued coins of Selevkian sample, which witnesses of relative autonomy. Bactria, Sogdiana and other areas of Central Asia kept living with their economic life, significantly differing from the western regions of Selevkian kingdom.

Greece and Bactrian Kingdom
     In 256 B.C. Parphia, Bactria and Sogdiana separated from Selevkides. In response to this, the Arshakids captured power in Parphia. Sogdiana went under Bactria. In 230 B.C. Sogdiana's satrap (leader) Evtidem overthrew Diodot's descendent. There was a constant struggle between Greece-Bactrian kingdom over the possession of the trading roads. During 208-209 B.C. Selevkian king Antioch III the Great went on eastern crusade for re-establishment of the past powerful orb of Selevkids. Delivering defeat on Parphs, he has raged fierce attacks against Greece-Bactrian kingdom. As Evtidem's troops suffered much and Antioch besieged capital town of Baktri. A siege lingered for two years. Fighting for Bactri, Evditem cut peace agreement with Antioch, and left all his elephants to him. In the meantime, Evditem's son Demetriy married a Selevkien princess. Defeat delivered to Selevkians by Romans during the fight at Magnesia opened new chance for Greece-Bactrian kingdom in its quest for domains in southern territories - former allies of Selevkids. Around 187 B.C. Demetriy with inheriting father's throne conquered Arahosia and went further to India. In 171 B.C. during Demetriy's long absence, who was delayed in northern India, due to Bactrian power was conquered by one of his military commanders - Evkratid. Evkratid's kingdom was named "The Kingdom of Thousand Cities". Chinese sources assert that in 165 B.C. yuetji came from the land between two rivers (present Syrdarya and Amudarya). They managed to conquer Bactria. In 155 AD Evkratid was killed by his son during his military campaigns. Greece-Indian kingdom has been formed during these times. During 141-129 A.D. Greece-Bactrian kingdom collapsed. Presumably, after yuetji's conquest of Bactria King Geliokl kept power in Paropamisads or Arahosia. Two centuries of Hellenic rule world left behind a deep track in the territory of Central Asia. Sogd and Bactria became satraps (municipalities), backed up by Greek - Macedonian military command troops. New cities have been built (Herat and Merv). The Greek was a communication tool for governors and military officials. Greek standard money was issued in the area. The pantheon of Greek lords/gods, Greek literature and Greek theater became accessible to local elites. Synthesis of local and Greek tradition has occurred.

Kangyuy
     Chinese historian Si Ma-tsyan in his chronicle writes about nomadic state of Kangyuy or Kadzyuy and Kangha, where "traditions were similar to those of yuetji". Ancient authors do not mention about State of Kangha, but it was told in Avesto and Mahabharat, mentioned as Saks, Tohars and Kanghs. Later Chinese chronicles maintained that Kangyuy occupied the entire territory to the north of Amudarya: Bukhara, Shakhrisabz, Kattakurgan region, Tashkent oasis, where governors of Kangyuy were called "Chao-vu". Probably, "jabru" is the Chinese transcription for "Chao-vu". The second half of 2 century BC and 1 century AD are the period when the state of Kangyuy has seen its peak. The short-lived crisis in Kangyuy, when southern hegemony belonged to yuetji and northeastern part to Hun, Kangyuy re-established its power with the help of weak yuetji government in Bactria. In 2-1 BC Kangyuy issued the currency exchange. The Greek-Bactrian currency types were selected for the issue, as an example. Recovery from the territory of Khorezm, particularly at right side of Janbas-Kala, testifies about the level of material culture. The castle with a 200x170 m size is a 10-11 m high, and was built from the silver bricks. There is a wide street inside. At the end of street there are remains of buildings, community fire in the oval metal altar. There were many religious beliefs during Kangyuy era: Zoroastrianism, Anahita cult, Mitra cult - embodied on the horse. One of the great achievements of the period in the military field, which was related to the Kangyuy cult was the tactics that later were widespread. They were the metal worn riders on metal covered horses in a tightly lined fight. Rider arms were pommel, lance and long sworn. There is little information on the later history of state of Kangyuy. It is uncertain, whether it was included into Kushan state later. According to Chinese sources, from the beginning AD Kangyuy safekept its independence and conquered yantsay (aorsi-alans) and other tribes (areas).

Kushan Kingdom
     Invasion of yuetji in middle 2nd century BC. Initial possessions of yuetji was in the north of Bactria (in the south of modern Uzbekistan and Tajikistan). Kushan Kingdom emerged in the first half or in the middle of the 1st century AD, as a result of rising of yuetji the Kingdom of Kushan, which corresponds with the name of yuetji tribe.
     Founder of the kingdom was Kudzula Kadviz I, under whom Kushans conquered the largest part of now Afghanistan and Pakistan. Under his successor, Vina Tok, the considerable part of India was annexed to the territory of Kushan.
     In Kanishka's time Kushan Kingdom has seen its highest rise (78-123 AD) The capital has been transferred from Bactria to Peshavar, that stretched the territory to India and Hotan. In Central Asia the northern part of Kushan ownership passed through Ghyssar Mountain Range, in the south of Uzbekistan, where huge borderline walls were erected.
     New cities were built with trade relations established with India, China, and Roman Empire. Kushan coins and figures made of bones, made by Kushan masters, were discovered during excavations in Pompeii. The architecture reached its highest level of development in Kushan Kingdom. Particular attention has been paid in construction of palaces and temples. The high artistic work in wall painting and sculptures in the palace of governor's in Halchayan and Buddhist temple in old Termez and Dalvarzintepa are still preserved. The archaeologists revealed bronze vessel, graceful candlesticks, morrows, fine jewelry products by brilliant Kushan masters, concerning high masters of Kushan craftsman. The main economy of Kushan was land irrigation. Fertilizers were used in a bid to increase the harvest of crops.
     The cattle breeding evolved in foothills and steppes. The excavations in ancient Termez also revealed inscription in Aramaic writing. Kushan Italic letters characterized in combination with acute-angled, quadrate and rounded form of letters that were wide spread.
     In Kanishka's time the Kushan Kingdom accepted the religion of Buddhism, which later remained as a main state religion of Kushans.
     However, simultaneously existed Zoroastrianism and also local Central Asian minor beliefs. In the third century the Kushan Empire began to face its gradual downfall and suffered a number of defeats from the Sassanid monarchies. By the fourth century, the empire no longer existed.

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UZBEKS
     The roots of the Uzbek people stretch back for many millennia, while the identity of modern Uzbeks was shaped by events during the early 2nd millennium CE. Different tribes and peoples have inhabited Central Asia and have made contributions to the modern Uzbek population.
     Many of the ancient peoples who lived in Central Asia were Iranian peoples including Sogdians, Bactrians, Ferganians and the Saka - Messagetae tribes. It is believed that these populations were either absorbed into larger invading Turkic tribes and/or were pushed into smaller pockets, as in Tajikistan, or retreated further south into Iran and Afghanistan.
     In ancient times, various Turkic - speaking tribes began to move to the area between the Amu Darya (Oxus in Greek) and Syr Darya (Jaxartes in Greek) rivers. Some of these early tribes included the Huns who eventually occupied this region around the 3rd century BCE and continued their conquests further south and west.
     Following Arab incursions into the region, Islam supplanted Buddhism and other religions in Central Asia (such as Nestorian Christianity), while local Iranian languages survived into the next 2nd millennium. What drastically changed the demographics of Central Asia was the invasion of the Mongols led by Genghis Khan in the 13th century. Numerous native populations were wiped out by the Mongols and a process of population replacement began in earnest. During this period numerous Turkic tribes began to migrate and ultimately replace many of the Iranian peoples who were largely killed, absorbed by larger Turkic - Mongol groups, and/or pushed further south and Central Asia came to be known as Turkestan. Much of modern Uzbekistan took shape during the reign of Tamerlane, a prominent Turkic - Mongol conqueror who reigned over a vast empire from his capital at Samarkand. Later, between the 15th and 16th centuries, various nomadic tribes arrived from the steppes including the Kipchaks, Naymans, Kanglis, Kungrats, Mangits and others and these tribes were led by Muhammad Shaybani who was the Khan of the Uzbeks. This period marked the beginnings of the modern Uzbek nationality and formation of an Uzbek state in what is today Uzbekistan. So powerful was this early Uzbek state that it challenged much larger empires, the Safavids and Mughals, for control over Khorasan and Afghanistan. The origin of the very name "Uzbek" is in dispute. One view holds that the name derives from Uzbek Khan (1282 - 1342), the last powerful ruler of the Golden Horde and responsible for its conversion to Islam, though the nomadic Uzbeks were never subject to him. On the other hand, entomological argument states that the name "Uzbek" means Independent, "Uz" – the man himself, "Bek" a noble title of leadership. Their language Changatai or Uzbek, evolved in the 14th century.
     Following Shaybani, the Uzbek state broke up into three major khanates based in Bukhara, Khiva, and Kokand until the early 19th century. The Russian Empire eventually infiltrated Central Asia and the khanates were annexed to the empire during the mid to late 19th century. Uzbekistan, under Russian and then later Soviet administration, became multi - ethnic as populations from throughout the former Soviet Union moved (or were exiled) to Central Asia.

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THE UZBEK LANGUAGE
     Everyone traveling around Uzbekistan can hear a smoothly sounding language-Uzbek. Uzbek, is the official language of Uzbekistan, which is an Eastern Turkic language and is similar to other Turkish Languages as Kazak, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Azerbaijani with about 23.5 million speakers mainly in Uzbekistan, but also in Australia, China, Germany, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey (Asia), Turkmenistan, Ukraine and the USA. Uzbek belongs to the Qarluq family of Turkic languages, and consequently its lexicon and grammar are most closely linked to the Uighur language, while other influences rose from Persian, Arabic and Russian.The influence of Islam, and by extension, Arabic, is evident in Uzbek, as well as the residual influence of Russian, from the time when Uzbekistan was under czarist and Soviet domination. Most of the Arabic words have found their way into Uzbek through Persian. Uzbek shares much Persian and Arabic vocabulary with neighboring languages such as Persian and its dialects (Tajik and Dari).
     The Uzbek language has many dialects, varying widely from region to region, but three main dialects, namely, Qarluq (spoken in the Ferghana Valley, Tashkent, the Kashka-Darya region, and in some parts of the Samarkand province. It contains a heavier admixture of Persian and Arabic), Kipchak (closely related to Kazakh and spoken in Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya and in the regions around Bukhara and Samarkand) and Oghuz (closely related to Turkmen and spoken in Khorezm and Karakalpakstan) are differentiated. The commonly understood dialect Qarluq is used in mass media and in most printed material. Some linguists consider the language spoken in northern Afghanistan by ethnic Uzbeks to be a dialect of Uzbek.
     An early form of Uzbek, known as Chagatai Uzbek (one of the sons of Genghis Khan) and written with the Arabic script, emerged as a literary language in the 14th century. A version of the Latin alphabet replaced the Arabic script in 1927, and was in turn replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet in 1940. Until 1992, Uzbek almost everywhere continued to be written using the Cyrillic alphabet, but now in Uzbekistan the Latin script has been officially re-introduced, although the use of Cyrillic is still widespread.

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CULTURE
The Uzbek Cuisine.
     The Uzbek cuisine is one of the most colorful Oriental Cuisines. You will be amazed to find some of the recipes are centuries old. There are about 1000 different dishes and these include national drinks, cakes and confectionary products.
     The development of the cuisine benefited much from the new crops which had come from the countries of the Great Silk Road. Moreover, the local rulers used to bring the best culinary experts from the conquered lands.
     Uzbek plov is a very solemn dish. It can be considered as an everyday dish as well as dish for solemn and great events like weddings, parties and holidays. Its recipe varies from one locality to another. But the basic ingredients for all kinds of plov are the same: meat (preferably mutton), rice, carrots (yellow or red), onions and three spices: pepper, barberries and cumin seeds, which create its characteristic taste. Other special spices, raisins, peas or quince may be added to give it extra flavor. It makes this dish very tasty and useful especially after long illnesses. However, locals believe that the best plov is always prepared by a man. Salads called "achchichu", made of tomato and onion, are served as additional dishes to the plov. One very famous Uzbek appetizer is "kazy" horse sausage.
     Special importance is placed on soups. Uzbek’s soup is rich with vegetables and seasonings and contains lots of carrots, turnips, onions and greens. Popular soups available are mastava, qaynatma sho’rva (boiled soup) and mokhora (chick pea soup).
     To cook a qaynatma sho’rva, large pieces of fatty mutton (the ribs or the brisket) are put into cold water, brought to a boil and coddled, removing the foam from time to time. When the foam is no longer formed, pods of Chile peppers and cumin seeds are put into the broth. Some 45 to 50 minutes before the meat is cooked you add fresh tomatoes and whole or cut carrots. Some 10 or 15 minutes later you put in whole or halved potatoes, and 15 to 20 minutes before the soup is ready you add onions cit in rings, and salt. Cooked meat ant potatoes are taken out of the broth and cut into smaller pieces. The broth is poured into the serving bowls, and the meat and potatoes are either put into the broth or served separately. The soup is seasoned with finely cut herbs. The sho’rva is served along with hot flat - cakes.
     Traditionally any Uzbek feast treatment finishes with the mutton or beef kebab Shashlik (skewered chunks of mutton barbecued over charcoal - kebabs - served with sliced raw onions). Gourmets especially value jigar - kebab made of sheep's liver. The most tasty shashliks (shish kebabs) in Uzbekistan are cooked in a small town Gizhduvan, 45 km away from Bukhara. Gizhduvan is also famous for other types of national dishes. You can also find cafes serving Bukhara and Gizhduvan dishes in other towns and cities of Uzbekistan too.Uzbek cuisine can't be considered as such without the flaky pasty somsa, which has minced meat and a piece of fat of sheep's tail inside; or the original ravioli - like Uzbek manty, which are filled with meat, potatoes or sweet pumpkin, and cooked in steam. Besides them, in hotel restaurants and other cafes you can find some food which shows a strong Russian influence: borsch is a cabbage soup , entrecote is well - done steak, cutlet are grilled meat balls and strogan is the local equivalent of Beef Stroganoff. Pelmeni originated in Ukraine and are small boiled noodle sacks of meat and vegetables, similar to ravioli, sometimes served in a vegetable soup. So, If you visit Uzbekistan, try the local cuisine, and don't forget to ask the hosts for the recipe of the dish which You liked best.
     One of the famous Eastern candies is halva made of wheat flour, sugar with nuts or sesame seeds as toppings. Halva is especially sweet and delicious and is considered a must at weddings. It is customary for an Uzbek youth during courtship, to bring halva for his fianc?e. When a baby girl is born into an Uzbek family, she is usually refers to as "halva". There are 50 different types of halva in Uzbekistan.
     Fragrant, oven - hot, with a crisp crust and an inside so tender and soft that it seems weightless… These are all about appetizing Uzbek flat cakes. Flat cakes in Uzbekistan are of two varieties: common and fancy. Common flat cakes (obi - non) are baked from wheat flour with leaven. Their surface is glossy and sprinkled with sesame or poppy seeds. Fancy flat cakes, called "Patyr", may be baked from either fancy pastry or puff - pastry dough into which mutton fat is added giving them their characteristic taste and keeping them fresh for a long time. There is quite a number of recipes of Uzbek flat cakes, and as many different names. Samarkand flat cakes, which include about 20 varieties, are famed throughout Uzbekistan. They all have different names and recipes as well as nourishing and aromatic qualities. Each flat cake is decorated with its own pattern, often very intricate and beautiful.
     Bread is considered to be holy for the Uzbek people. According to the tradition, when someone leaves the family he bites a small piece of Obi - non and it is kept until the traveler comes back and eats the whole bread. Anyone who finds a piece of bread that is unfortunately left on the ground, should take it up and kiss it before attaching it to the forehead three times and leave it there for a while.Traditionally Uzbek breads are baked inside the stoves made of clay called tandyr.

The Uzbek Tea ceremony.
     Tea is the staple drink of Central Asia, and chai - khanas (tea houses) can be found almost everywhere in Uzbekistan, full of old men chatting the afternoon away with a pot of tea in the shade. In every Uzbek house a guest is always offered a piala (a small bowl) of aromatic green tea. According to the original Uzbek tea ceremony the tea from the teapot that has just been filled with boiling water to brew is to be poured into the piala and returned to the teapot three times. The first returning is called "loy", the second "moy" and only after the third time it becomes "choy" or tea. Only in this way all the aroma and flavor of the tea is believed to emerge. As a token of respect for the guest the host fills only one - half of the piala, and then, putting the left hand to his heart, with his right hand holds out this piala to the guest. At the same time the fresh flat round Uzbek bread is served.

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EDUCATION
     From the early days of independence, Uzbekistan had a great need to introduce reforms in the educational sphere, in staff training, in the education of spirituality to the youth and in the development of intellectual potential.
     In 1997, under the leadership of the President Islam Karimov, a National Programme for Staff Training was worked out. The basic principles of staff training in new conditions come out of the Programme. These are the priorities, continuation and indissolubility of education and training.
     Great importance is paid in the country to establish an educational system in accordance with generally accepted international standards. The Uzbek educational system includes pre - school, elementary school, general education, special and higher education.
     The pre - school education covers the spiritual and moral education of children under school age, effectively preparing them for school.
     The elementary education includes classes 1 - 4 and begins from 6 to 7 years of age. On the basis of all the regional (municipal) educational departments, centres were established to study professional orientation and to determine the school preparation level of 6 - 7 years old children.
The general education is compulsory for everybody in the republic. It begins from 10 - 11 years old.
     There are three - year secondary special, professional education in Uzbekistan. In professional colleges, along with basic general education programme, students learn modern professions and deep theoretical knowledge on general, professional and special subjects. Professional college graduates further can apply to higher educational institutions.
     Higher education, as a rule, begins from 18 - 19 years old and continues for no less than 4 years. It is divided in two stages - bachelor's and master's and foresees the enlargement of independent activity of higher education institutions, introduction of public administration, modern technology and tools for individual study, self - education, a distance learning system, providing with humanitarian and humane direction of education.
     The Bachelor's is one of the ways to get the basic higher education. To get the bachelor's degree one studies no less than four years, then he receives a diploma of higher education.
     The Master's is a higher special education on a concrete specialisation. On the basis of the bachelor's degree, it lasts for two years. Then, students sit through a qualification state attestation and defend their thesis.
     The last stage is a post - graduate course (which lasts for three years following the master's) and doctorate (three years on the basis of a scientific degree of Doctor of Science).

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THE GREAT SILK ROAD
     Longing for traveling, desire to learn the world inhere a man from time immemorial. While traveling a man has an opportunity to compare the culture of his own people with spiritual values of other peoples and countries. Each culture is unique: it can be observed by comparing cultures of the East and the West. Simultaneously we can see a certain similarity and interrelation typical to these cultures, reflected in art, science, language and even in customs. It is not out of place to mention here about the influence of the East and the West, and interdependence of these cultural areas.
     So here in Uzbekistan during your itinerary you will here a lot of "THE GREAT SILK ROAD" which played a great role in the history of our country.
     For many centuries peoples of the East and the West were connected by a trading route stretching from South- East Asia to the countries of the Mediterranean Sea, and only in the XIX century this road entered to the science as "THE GREAT SILK ROAD" by the German geographer and geologist Ferdinand Von Richthofen. Until that time the Road was called as "Western Meridianal Road".
     Traveling the Silk Road has never been easy. Merchants would often travel at night to avoid the heat in caravans of up to 1000 camels, carrying the major commodity - silk along steppes, deserts and mountainous paths during those dangerous travels. According to the manuscripts, silk was first discovered by the Chinese. It was one of the most valuable fabrics, and its production technology was kept in secret by Chinese masters for thousands of years. It is said that once the wife of the yellow Emperor, Princess Si Ling Chi watched a silk cocoon fall from mulberry tree into her cup and unravel in the hot tea before her very eyes. And the princess tried hard to remove it from her cup, but she could not manage to do it as it was very long.
     However, caravans of camels carried not only silk. For centuries from the East to the West and from the West to the East they carried a great amount of raw materials and goods made from: bronze, porcelain, wool, cobalt. Besides that the Silk Road served as a channel for spreading ideas, technologies, art and religions, promoting mutual enrichment of cultures and form tuition of a common legacy of mankind. The history of "THE GREAT SILK ROAD" numbers not less than 2 thousand years - approximately from 500 B.C. to its decline by the XVI century.
     The main well - studied part of the road done by UNESKO’s representatives stretched from Italy via Turkey to Iraq and Iran, where wells and reservoirs for caravans and merchants were built; then the road led to Central Asia and over the North Pamirs to Kashqar and Yarkand where it was divided into two, passing round Takla - Makan desert from the North and South and met near Labnor Lake, then it went to steppes inhabited by nomadic people and further to China. Only in its middle part - Central Asia - the Great Silk Road got narrow and further nearer to the end it divided into many paths which led to different cities and countries. From one side they ended near the shores of Ireland and Norwegian fiords, in Portugal and Denmark, Suzdal and the Urals, from other side it stretched to Japan, to the Spices islands behind Indonesia, to Ceylon and Philippines.
     The volume of trade along the Great Silk Road was amazingly large. Today archeologists still discover articles which get there from far away countries along the Great Silk Road. They are silver sauces of Sassanid period (224 - 651) in Taiga and the North Urals and Chinese porcelain sauces at the foothills of the Caucasus and nephrite in Ireland. The trading route was a busy artery of the Middle Ages, a source of goods and information and an object of discords and wars. For example, one of the reasons for the expansion marches of Chingizkhan (XIII cent.) was the desire to dominate on the Great Silk Road.
     Medieval Arab historians (X th century) considered that it took 200 days to get from the Red Sea to China. Actually nobody could cover the distance so fast because any caravan had to stop in cities and oases for trading. Chinese written sources convey a very interesting story about the discovery of the eastern path of this route. In the second century B.C. an ambassador of the Khan Empire Chan Tezyan was the first to get over the mountainous paths between West China and the Eastern city of the Fergana valley - Uzgan.
     Thus, two great roads were connected: one, leading from West to Central Asia, trodden by ancient Greeks and Macedonians during Alexander the Great’s marches (336 - 323 B.C.) and Seleucid military leader Antioch 1 (280 - 261 B.C.) up to the Yaksart (the Syr - Darya) and the other, leading from East from Khan Empire to Central Asia.
     Ancient and ever - young cities of Central Asia like Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Merv, Termez, Khodjent, Charjou and others were important capillaries of this network. Thanks to its favorable location Uzbekistan held a central place on the Road.
     The Great Silk Road passes through all our basic cities which have great tourism potentials. The most ancient part of it, built as far back as the VI th to V th centuries B.C. by Indio - Europeans, to be more specific, by Indo - Iranian tribes (scythe -sakas, sogdians, bactrians, khorezmians, massagets), connects Bukhara with Samarkand through Vabkent, Gizhduvan, Karminah.
     An arrival of Turish nomadic tribes from the north - west (III - IV th centuries) heralded a new stage in the development of the Great Silk Road. They played a great role in strengthening cultural, trade and political relations between Sogd, Parthia, Khorezm on one hand and China and Eastern Turkistan on the other one. During the Samanids’ (IX - X th centuries), Khorezm Shahs’ (IX - X th) and Gaznevids’ (X - XI th centuries) rule this trading route was highly busy and important. As known, this period in the development of Central Asia came down in history as the "Eastern Renaissance". This period gave the world such scientists of encyclopedic knowledge as Khorezmi, Fergani, Farabi, Beruni, Avicenna, and others. Bukhara, Samarkand, Gurgenj (Kunya Urgench) used to be large political, scientific and cultural centers. During the Mongol conquest (XIII th century) Maveranahr’s cities were devastated. But it did not stop the movement of caravans. Passing through Syria, Iran, Iraq, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Armenia the caravan routes led to the territory of Uzbekistan. The period of Amir Timur’s rule (1371 - 1405) is also characterized by strengthening and expansion of interstate economic, cultural and trading relations. The book "Traveling to Samarkand" by Spanish ambassador De Clavicho testify to it. He says that at that time Samarkand was "a warehouse of goods". After the Sheybanids (XVI - XVII th centuries) came to power, Shaibani Khan implemented essential economic and political reforms. Though at that period trading caravans on the Great Silk Road kept getting rare, however, international relations in Maveranahr strengthened. In the course of the Shaibanids’ rule unique architectural monuments were built too.
     The subsequent years are characterized by the decline of the Great Silk Road. However, cultural and economic relations between different countries of the West and the East had never been ceased. They were maintained by other means and existed in other forms.
     The Great Silk Road, which united people of the West and The East in the course of many centuries, played a great role in the creation of a common culture legacy of mankind. As it is known, the best types of silk were produced in Central Asia, particularly, in Fergana Valley. Good name of Marghilan’s silk weaving masters have been coming from ancient times. As early as in the X th century the Arab manuscript said: "all lands of Bukhara can be given for one silk curtain woven in Marghilan". Since then only the name of the city has been changed a little and its good name as of a silk - producer has grown and strengthened. Besides silk, weapons, instruments, different articles from iron and other metals made by craftsmen of Bukhara, Samarkand, Fergana and Khorezm were in demand. Thus, the Great Silk Road played a great role in the cultural exchange of peoples of countries through which it passed. A complex investigation of trading routes, conducted by UNESCO, includes the study and restoration of historical caravansarays. Nowadays, about 1500 caravan - sarays in Turkey, Iraq, Egypt, and Iran are being investigated. Since 1989 UNESCO’s delegation and scientists of Uzbekistan have been conducting investigations related to the study of caravan - sarais on the territory of Uzbekistan. Besides, Tourism Ministry of Uzbekistan put forward a proposal on the development of a joint inter - state transcontinental touristic route connecting the countries where the Great Silk Road used to pass.

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MUSEUMS
Fine Arts Museum of Uzbekistan.
     Contains a major collection of art from the pre - Russian period, including Sogdian murals, Buddhist statues and Zoroastrian artifacts, serene 1000 - year - old Buddhist statues along with a more modern collection of 19th and 20th century Uzbek applied art, such as suzani embroidered hangings. There is also Russian and Asian art upstairs. Of more interest is the large collection of paintings "borrowed" from the Hermitage by Grand Duke Romanov to decorate his palace in exile in Tashkent, and never returned. Behind the museum is a small park, containing the neglected graves of the Bolsheviks who died in the Russian Revolution of 1917 and to Ossipov's treachery in 1919, along with first Uzbekistani President Yuldash Akhunbabayev. The ground floor often has exhibitions by local artists.

Museum of Applied Arts.
     Housed in a traditional house built in XIX and originally commissioned for a wealthy tsarist diplomat Polovstev, the Museum of Applied Arts opened in 1937 as a showcase for turn - of - the - century applied arts. Full of bright carved plaster decorations and carved wood, the house itself is the main attraction. More than 4 thousand artifacts and exhibits (rare ceramics, gold embroidery, carpets, pictures, silk, textiles and jewellery, musical instruments and toys) of the best master craftsmen from all over Uzbekistan are exhibited here.

The History Museum of the Peoples of Uzbekistan.
     The History Museum of the People of Uzbekistan, Tashkent's biggest museum has 8000 exhibits in the former Lenin Museum. One highlight in the museum is a small, peaceful Buddha figure from a Kushan temple excavated at Fayoz - Tepe near Termiz.

The Amir Timur Museum.
     The Amir Timur Museum, Tashkent's newest museum, stands just north of the Amir Timur Monument. It is an impressive structure with a brilliant blue ribbed dome and a richly decorated interrior. Amir Timur Museum is one of the newly built museums in Tashkent. Marvelous architecture, gorgeous interior and rare displays of the museum produce a vivid impression for visitors and guests. The museum was devoted to the 660th anniversary of Amir Timur, the prominent statesman and general. He was the founder of Movaraunnahr Empire. The museum collection mainly consists of ancient manuscripts, paintings and engravings of Timurid's age.

Navoi Literary Museum.
     A commemoration of Uzbekistan's adopted literary hero, Alisher Navoi, with replica manuscripts, Persian calligraphy and 15th century miniature paintings.

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ARAL SEA
     The Aral Sea in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan was one of the largest inland seas in the world. Just short time ago it was the world‘s 4th in size drainless water reservoir and was famous for its fish deposits. Both the sea itself and the rivers that flowed into it (Amudarya (Oxus) and Syrdarya (Yaksart) were of primary ecological and economical importance. These rivers and their flow cross borders on six countries; one of them is Afghanistan, which hasn't started the serious use of the Amudarya water yet because of a long war. Water of Syrdarya and its tributaries is being shared among Kyrgizstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Water of Amudarya and its tributaries is being divided among Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Flows of these two rivers are being formed in Pamir and Tyan-Shan Mountains.
     Deltas of Amudarya and Syrdarya rivers that were falling into it were flourishing oases. Until 1961 year the sea level stood stable with depth of 16 meters in average and 69 meters in maximum. The original surface area of the sea was 65,000 square kilometres - equal to the combined surface area of the Netherlands and Belgium, spreading on 435 kilometers from north to south and 290 kilometers from west to east. The sea volume was equal to 1 thousand cubic kilometers. The Aral Sea received Amudarya and Syrdarya river waters in 55 cubic km. annual volume. 22 kinds of fish inhabited the Aral Sea. The sea level began to drop quickly as a result of water distributing for irrigation purposes. In 1989 the sea became split into two parts, the water volume decreased by 80 %, the surface decreased by 35 thousand square kilometers, and the sea shore shrunk by 100 - 150 km. The sea flora and fauna eliminated completely, the salt concentration reached 70%. The salinity of the Sea reaches 60 g/l. If in the beginning of the 1950’s the amount of the flow from both rivers in the Aral Sea was 100 cubic km per a year, now Aral gets only about 2 - 3 cubic km of water yearly.
     The small island Vozrojdenie in the center of the Sea has become a peninsula which is very dangerous because it used to be a test site for biological weapons. The sea itself is surrounded by three deserts. By Kyzylkum (that means Red Sands) on the East, by Karakum (Black Sands) on the South, and by stone plateau Ustyurt on the West, Kazakh steppes to the North. What was once a sea has now been reduced to a dry and polluted desert. Quite soon the place used to be the Sea is going to be called Aralkum (that means Aral Sands). According to specialists‘ forecasts the sea can flee its shores forever until 2010 - 2015.
     Population, living in the basin of both rivers is about 45 million people. Among them there are 5 million who are living in the both deltas where namely the catastrophe are developing.
     Shrinkage of the Aral Sea is resulting in growing concentrations of chemical pesticides and natural salts; these substances are then blown from the increasingly exposed lake bed and contribute to desertification; water pollution from industrial wastes and the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides is the cause of many human health disorders; increasing soil salination; soil contamination from buried nuclear processing and agricultural chemicals, including DDT.
     If you visit Karakalpakistan in the summer, you get the impression that you have wandered into a snow - covered steppe instead of a desert covered with salt. The local population maintains that twenty years ago or so this was still unusual for the area. Around the capital of Karakalpakistan you can see the former course of the Amu - Darya, over three kilometers wide; today most of this territory is covered in sand and the river, even in the wettest years, is no more than 100 meters across.

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KARAKUL SHEEP AND KARAKUL PELTS
     Karakul breed of sheep appeared hundreds of years ago on desert pastures around the Kara - Kul, or Black lake, near ancient Bukhara. Arab historian Ibn - Haukal was the first to use the term "karakul" in 978 AD. Karakul sheep is really a miracle. It drinks water so salty nothing else will accept. It regulates its breathing rate and blood corpuscle count according to the air temperature. It does not damage the desert pastures of Uzbekistan that take up 20 million hectares or nearly 50% of Uzbekistan. The desert is the first and main regulator of lamb lives and deaths. Temperatures in the Kyzylkum vary from 50 degrees above zero to 30 below. Plants are so coarse that only born survivors like camel, nannies, and karakul sheep find them sufficiently sustaining.
     A newborn karakul lamb takes its first steps on desert sand speckled with dung pellets and fresh grass; its curls form a ridged pattern as unique as human fingerprints. In a few days, the curls will unfurl and get rough, turning the precious karakul pelt into cheep sheepskin. That is why the lamb will be slaughtered before the first sunset of its life. At dawn lambs are herded to the slaughterhouse, where men butcher them and peel the pelts "like a stocking".
     The lambs' ten - pound bodies will be utilized too meat cooked as a low - fat delicacy, hooves processed for glue, maw sold to cheese makers or pharmaceutical companies.
     When sheep is already 6 - 7 years old, its teeth are worn down to stumps by coarse fodder. It then begets her last lamb - source of krimmer. This is the most precious kind of karakul whose undeveloped fur resembles wet silk. Sheep is slaughtered a fortnight before it is due. Fetus is retrieved and skinned, and the rest is processed into bone flour for poultry and pigs.
     Pelts are processed, mostly manually. Men and women sitting on the ground outside the slaughterhouse rub the pelts clean with knives and scrapers. Then, the pelts are pickled in coarse salt and heaped on wooden scaffolds. For a week, fat and other fluids leach out, coloring the salt pink. Then they are dried and fermented with barley flour in a rotating barrel filled with tepid water.
     After another cleaning and grading by size, pattern and tint, the pelts are dispatched to a sewing factory or state - affiliated export companies.
     Velvet - thin and suede - soft, it came in a range of colors from black to platinum, rose and even lilac with names like "Sundown", "Candlelight", and "Apricot Flower".
     Karakul for Bukhara was what silk was for China. Until early twentieth century, the rulers of Bukhara held world monopoly on production and export of their golden fleece. The pelts were exported via Iran or Astrakhan, a town on the Volga River. Hence the Western names - Persian lamb or astrakhan.
     The last Bukhara emir recklessly gave a herd of karakul sheep to the British ambassador in 1907 as a present. The British promptly shipped it to Namibia where it became known as swakara, or Southwest African Karakul.
     Currently, Uzbekistan is the second largest manufacturer of karakul fur in the world these days, while other Central Asian countries like Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan lag far behind. Pelts from Uzbekistan go at $18 wholesale (swakara or Southwest African Karakul at $24). Fur coats, each of them made of 30 pelts and more, go at hundreds and thousands dollars.

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SPORTS IN UZBEKISTAN
     The national sport Kupkari (in some areas of Uzbekistan, namely in Ferghana valley, it is called uloq ) is a team game in which the two mounted teams attempt to deliver a headless and legless goat's or ram’s carcass weighing 30 - 40kg over the opposition's goal line. A line of horsemen flies off at the sign of the judge. One of them outrides the others and at full speed picks up the carcass of a goat from the ground. Tat fraction of a second is enough for the other riders to catch up with him and try to take away his trophy. This game called ulak or kupkari in Uzbek, means "the game of many people". In Russian the game is also called "flaying the goat".
     Kupkari is the most popular kind of the equestrian sport not only among Uzbeks but also among some neighbouring people such as Kazakhs, Kirghizs, Afghans, Tajiks and Karakalpaks. They have different names for it, but despite some difference, it all boils down to picking up the carcass of a goat and bring it to the finish.
     Horses begin to be trained for the kupkari when they are four or five years old, and they remain active until the age of 20 or 25. The largest number of participants competes in the kupkari. The game continues for 60 minutes, three periods of 20 minutes each. Victory goes to the team that succeeds in throwing the goat's carcass into the rival's finish ring more times than the other teams. And the horseman who throws the greatest number of carcasses into the toy - kazan (finish ring) becomes the champion. The rules are rather strict. Horsemen are allowed to wrestle the goat from an opponent, but physical assault is frowned upon. They are not allowed to ride in the direction of the spectators, and spectators are not allowed to help them pick up the carcass from the ground. No one is permitted to ride over a horseman who has bent to pick the carcass off the ground. The prizes are camels, bulls, goats, car, carpets & household appliances.
     Kurash is the traditional upright wrestling originated in Uzbekistan more than 3500 years ago. It is similar to free - style wrestling, but one of the advantages of Kurash rules is that they prohibit ground wrestling. Once the knee of one of the players touches the floor the referee stops the action and players should restart action from the initial upright standing position. It is also not allowed to grapple below the waist. This makes Kurash a truly speedy, dynamic and interesting to watch sport.
     Besides that, the rules of Kurash strictly prohibit players to use any armlocks, chocking and strangling techniques. It helps players to avoid many injuries and makes Kurash one of the safest types of martial art to practice.
     The original translation of the word "Kurash" from the Uzbek language is grappling or wrestling. Kurash as a type of martial art or public sport entertainment is mentioned in many ancient oriental historical sources. The legendary 1000 - year - old Central Asian epos "Alpomish" describes Kurash as one of the most respected and beloved sports widely practiced by the ancient people in Central Asia. The names of the strongest Kurash players became legendary, like the Pahlavan Mahmud who lived in XII century. His grave located in Khiva, is still considered by people of Central Asia as a holy pilgrimage place.
     According to the statistics, now there are 2 million wrestlers all over Uzbekistan. On 6th September 1998 representatives of 28 states of Europe, Asia and America gathered in Tashkent to establish the International Kurash Association - the official international sport body to represent and coordinate Kurash in the world of sport. Presently the IKA unites five Continental federations and more than 70 national Kurash federations in Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania and America.
     Other sports are as follows: Football is most popular in Uzbekistan. National footbal team of Uzbekistan is one of the best in Asia. There is skiing in the mountains above Tashkent.
     The martial arts, particularly Taekwon - Do and Boxing are also popular.

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PROVINCES AND DISTRICTS
     Uzbekistan is divided into twelve provinces (viloyatlar, singular viloyat, compound noun viloyati e.g., Toshkent viloyati, Samarqand viloyati, etc.), one autonomous republic (respublika, compound noun respublikasi e.g. Qaraqalpaqstan Avtonom Respublikasi, Karakalpakistan Autonomous Republic, etc.), and one independent city (shahar. compound noun shahri, e.g., Toshkent shahri). Names are given below in the Uzbek language, although numerous variations of the transliterations of each name exist.

POLITICAL MAP OF Uzbekistan

     The statistics for Toshkent Viloyati also include the statistics for Toshkent Shahri.
     The provinces are further divided into districts (tuman).

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COMMUNICATIONS
     According to the official source report, as of 10 March 2008, the number of cellular phone users in Uzbekistan reached 7 million, up from 3.7 million on 1 July 2007. The largest mobile operator in terms of number of subscribers is MTS-Uzbekistan (former Uzdunrobita and part of Russian Mobile TeleSystems) and it is followed by Beeline (part of Russia's Beeline) and UCell (ex Coscom) (originally part of the U.S. MCT Corp., now a subsidiary of the Nordic/Baltic telecommunication company TeliaSonera AB).
     As of 1 July 2007, the estimated number of internet users was 1.8 million, according to UzACI.

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TRANSPORTATION
     Tashkent, the nation's capital and largest city, has a three-line rapid transit system built in 1977, and expanded in 2001 after ten years' independence from the Soviet Union. Uzbekistan is currently the only country in Central Asia with a subway system, which is promoted as one of the cleanest systems in the former Soviet Union. The stations are exceedingly ornate. For example, the station Metro Kosmonavtov built in 1984 is decorated using a space travel theme to recognise the achievements of mankind in space exploration and to commemorate the role of Vladimir Dzhanibekov, the Soviet cosmonaut of Uzbek origin. A statue of Vladimir Dzhanibekov stands near one of the station's entrances.
     There are government-operated trams, buses and trolley buses running across the city. There are also many taxis, both registered and unregistered. Uzbekistan has car-producing plants which produce modern cars. The car production is supported by the government and the Korean auto company Daewoo. The Uzbek government acquired a 50% stake in Daewoo in 2005 for an undisclosed sum, and in May 2007 UzDaewooAuto, the car maker, signed a strategic agreement with General Motors-Daewoo Auto and Technology (GMDAT). The government also bought a stake in Turkey's Koc in SamKocAuto, a producer of small buses and lorries. Afterwards, it signed an agreement with Isuzu Motors of Japan to produce Isuzu buses and lorries.
     Train links connect many towns within Uzbekistan, as well as neighboring former republics of the Soviet Union. Moreover, after independence two fast-running train systems were established. There is also a large airplane plant that was built during the Soviet era – Tashkent Chkalov Aviation Manufacturing Plant or ТАПОиЧ in Russian. The plant originated during World War II, when production facilities were evacuated south and east to avoid capture by advancing Nazi forces. Until the late 1980s, the plant was one of the leading airplane production centers in the USSR, but with collapse of the Soviet Union its manufacturing equipment became outdated, and most of the workers were laid off. Now it produces only a few planes a year, but with interest from Russian companies growing in it, there are rumors of production-enhancement plans.

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ENVIRONMENT
     Decades of questionable Soviet policies in pursuit of greater cotton production have resulted in a catastrophic scenario. The agricultural industry appears to be the main contributor to the pollution and devastation of the air and water in the country.
     The Aral Sea disaster is a classic example. The Aral Sea used to be the fourth-largest inland sea on Earth, acting as an influencing factor in the air moisture. Since the 1960s, the decade when the misuse of the Aral Sea water began, it has shrunk to less than 50% of its former area and decreased in volume threefold. Reliable – or even approximate – data have not been collected, stored or provided by any organization or official agency. The numbers of animal deaths and human refugees from the area around the sea can only be guessed at. The question of who is responsible for the crisis – the Soviet scientists and politicians who directed the distribution of water during the 1960s, or the post-Soviet politicians who did not allocate sufficient funding for the building of dams and irrigation systems - remains open.

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