• KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09156 -0.22%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 0.28%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09156 -0.22%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 0.28%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09156 -0.22%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 0.28%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09156 -0.22%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 0.28%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09156 -0.22%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 0.28%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09156 -0.22%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 0.28%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09156 -0.22%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 0.28%
  • KGS/USD = 0.01152 0%
  • KZT/USD = 0.00191 0%
  • TJS/USD = 0.09156 -0.22%
  • UZS/USD = 0.00008 0%
  • TMT/USD = 0.28571 0.28%
04 December 2024

Viewing results 7 - 12 of 16

Two Lost Silk Road Cities Unearthed in Uzbekistan

Aided by laser-based technology, archaeologists in south-east Uzbekistan, have discovered two lost cities that once thrived along the Silk Road from the 6th to 11th centuries AD. As reported  by Reuters, one was a center for the metal industry, and the other, indicates early Islamic influence. Located some five kilometers apart, these early fortified outposts are among the largest found on the mountainous sections of the Silk Road. “These cities were completely unknown. We are now working through historical sources to find possible undiscovered places that match our findings,” said archaeologist and lead author of the report, Michael Frachetti of Washington University in Saint Louis. The researchers state that the most expansive of the two, Tugunbulak, covered about 300 acres (120 hectares) and in existence from around 550 to 1000 AD, boasted a population of tens of thousands. As such, it was one of the largest cities of its time in Central Asia, rivaling even the famed trade hub Samarkand, situated about 110 km away, and according to Frachetti,  many times larger and more enigmatic than other highland castles or settlements that have been documented in high-elevation Central Asia." The other city, Tashbulak, inhabited from around 730-750 to 1030-1050 AD, was only a tenth the size of its neighbor, with a population perhaps in the thousands. After discovering the first signs of the cities' existence, archaeologists employed drone-based lidar -  a technology that floods the landscape with lasers to measure the topography - to map and establish the size and layout of the sites. Findings revealed highly defined structures, plazas, fortifications, roads, homes, and other urban features. An initial dig at one of Tugunbulak’s buildings, fortified with thick earthen walls, uncovered kilns and furnaces, suggesting it was a factory wherein, metalsmiths turned local iron ore into steel. During the 9th and 10th centuries, the region was known for its steel production and researchers are now analyzing slag found on-site to confirm their hypothesis that in addition to trade in livestock and related products such as wool, the metal industry may have been a central feature of Tugunbulak’s economy. According to Franchetti, “Tugunbulak, in particular, complicates much of the historical understanding of the early medieval political economy of the Silk Routes, placing both political power and industrial production far outside the regional ‘breadbaskets’ such as Samarkand." As stated in the report, Tashbulak lacked the industrial scale of Tugunbulak but boasted an interesting cultural feature: a large cemetery that reflects the early spread of Islam in the region. Its 400 graves—for men, women, and children—include some of the oldest Muslim burials documented in the area.“The cemetery is mismatched to the small size of the town," said Frachetti. "There's definitely something ideologically oriented around Tashbulak that has people being buried there." Tugunbulak and Tashbulak are especially remarkable given their altitude, which is roughly comparable to that of the later Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Peru, and as noted by Frachetti, “The key finding of this study is the existence of large, fortified, and...

Kazakhstan Listed as a Top Destination by Lonely Planet

Kazakhstan has been included in Lonely Planet's prestigious "Best in Travel 2025" ranking, earning it recognition as one of the year's best travel destinations. Lonely Planet, a leading international publisher, was established in 1973 and since then, has published comprehensive travel guides in 14 languages, covering 195 countries. Aimed to inspire people to explore the world, the organisation also publishes articles, lists, and rankings of the best places to visit, based on recommendations from experts and travelers and according to their unique cultures and natural diversity. Kazakhstan's high ranking in 'Best in Travel 2025', is largely attributed to its ancient traditions and modern achievements, and especially, its rich history and varied landscapes. Vice Minister of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan Yerzhan Erkinbayev warmly welcomed the country's inclusion in the list as validation of the growing international interest in Kazakhstan and stated that it emphasised the importance of promoting sustainable tourism. Lonely Planet's executive editor, Nitya Chambers, said the publication is proud of its choice and confident that this list will inspire travelers to make new discoveries. In its description of Kazakhstan, Lonely Planet focuses on the intertwining of ancient traditions and modern culture, hailing  the country a place where every visitor can discover something unique. The publication also mentions echoes of the ancient Silk Road, tangible in the vast steppes. Tourism in Kazakhstan has been actively developing in recent years, and the country is becoming increasingly popular among international travelers. Popular destinations include Almaty, Astana, and national parks. In the first six months of 2024 alone, 566,500 foreign tourists visited Kazakhstan, an increase of almost 10% compared to the same period in 2023. The demographics of foreign tourists is also on the rise. In the first quarter of this year, the average revenue of Kazakh companies working in the tourism sector - tour operators, travel agencies, and other organizations - increased five-fold. For January-March, it exceeded 160.3 billion tenge; the highest quarterly income indicator of tourism companies since the beginning of 2022. Kazakhstan's tourist potential has also been praised by other well-known travel publications. Earlier, “Conde Nast Traveler” and “Wanderlust” included Kazakhstan as one of the top world destinations for travel in 2024, and Almaty was included in a list of the 52 best tourist destinations issued by The New York Times.

Secret Spots Favored by Tashkent’s City Dwellers

Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, has a wealth of unique attractions, each with its own history and atmosphere. Residents, from students to entrepreneurs, have their favorite corners where they return again and again. Here some of a few recommended by locals to TCA.   [caption id="attachment_24632" align="aligncenter" width="1100"] photo: uzbekistan.travel Eco Park[/caption] Eco Park Located in the city center, the Eco Park is especially popular amongst students seeking somewhere to relax, take a break from their studies and immerse themselves in nature. “Here you can not only walk around, but also learn and be inspired by new ideas.” Saeed, 19, Programming student   [caption id="attachment_24625" align="aligncenter" width="900"] photo: www.tripadvisor -Seoul National Park[/caption] Seoul National Park Easily accessible by bus from the city center, Seoul National Park offers a taste of Korea in its landscaping and various pavilions. Passionate about Korean culture, Samira often visits the park to relax and socialise with friends. “This place has become my little world where I can enjoy nature and feel part of Korean culture.” Samira, 17, High school student   [caption id="attachment_24624" align="aligncenter" width="680"] photo: www.afisha -Patriki Coffee Shop[/caption] Patriki Coffee Shop For Dilshot, aside from its excellent coffee, the cozy atmosphere of Patriki is a perfect and inspirational spot in which to complete tasks on his computer. “There is always cool music here, and I can focus on my projects without being distracted by noise.” Dilshot, 22, Programmer   [caption id="attachment_24626" align="aligncenter" width="900"] photo: www.tripadvisor - Café 1991[/caption] Café 1991 Nasiba, prefers to chill in Cafe 1991; a venue renowned for its excellent menu and which she favors for its elegant and stylish atmosphere. “It is my place of rest. I like to relax here after work, enjoy delicious food and socialize with friends.” Nasiba, 30, Cafe Administrator   [caption id="attachment_24627" align="aligncenter" width="680"] photo: www.gazeta.uz - Chinorkent[/caption] Chinorkent Mountain Resort Lured by the great outdoors, Gafur likes to escape his daily routine and the hustle and bustle of the city by heading for the picturesque mountain resort of  Chinorkent. Located in Tashkent's  Bostanlyk district, 65 kilometers from the center, the resort has a cable car to transport visitors within ten minutes to an observation deck offering panoramic views. “The tranquil atmosphere makes it a perfect place to relax.” Gafur, 22, Entrepreneur  

Scientists Attempt to Unlock the Secrets of Turkic Runes in Altai

Russian scientists have started deciphering unique Turkic runic inscriptions in Altai, dating back to the VI-X centuries AD. Speaking at the International Conference “Mountain Altai - the ancestral home of the Turks,” Alexander Vasiliev, head of the Oriental History Department of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, reported that whilst some 120 such texts have been identified, a significant number has yet to be deciphered due to a lack of "keys". According to Vasilyev, problems in evaluating inscriptions arise as a result of the different graphic systems used by Turkic peoples in various historical periods. Hence, researchers face a difficult task in making these texts accessible and determining the exact nature of the archaeological objects found. Historians also note that with the emergence of Mongolian vertical writing, the influence of the Turkic writing system began to weaken. Previous attempts to decipher these texts using Iranian and Finno-Ugric languages, proved unsuccessful. Assuming that the key to understanding the inscriptions lies in one of the ancient Turkic languages, scientists are now focusing on the Chuvash language, which retains ancient features, or the Kypchak language group. The decipherment of Turkic runic inscriptions began with the discovery of the famous Orkhon-Yenisei texts in Mongolia in the 19th century. In 1893, Danish scholar Wilhelm Thomsen was the first to successfully decipher these ancient texts using analogies to ancient Turkic words such as “tengri” (sky). These inscriptions, dating from the 7th to 10th centuries, recount the lives of the Turkic kagans and their victories. In addition to the Orkhon texts, significant inscriptions have been found in the Yenisei Valley and the Altai Mountains. An international conference in Manzherok, in the Altai Republic, brought together scholars to discuss not only the problems of deciphering the Turkic script but also the formation of the Turkic civilization and the history of cultural interaction between the Turks and other peoples, including Slavic cultures.

Laughter Amidst Ruins: Rediscovering Tajikistan’s Resilience Through Comedy and Cultural Exchange

The UN General Assembly's Human Rights Council recently condemned the government of Tajikistan for its failure to implement the recommendations of a 2019 study by UN representatives. The study focused on the unreconciled atrocities and societal wounds caused by the civil war that swept through the republic after the collapse of the Soviet Union. More than 60,000 people died in this war, and more than 250,000 fled the republic. Reading this news, I was reminded of and reflected on post-war Tajikistan, which I visited in the late summer of 2000. At that time, the country had been in a state of fragile peace for two years, and you could still feel the tension in the air. Since my visit to the country in 2000, the Tajik Civil War has been reflected on by many people in the arts. In the same year that UN researchers were raking up the old tragedy, the film Kazbat was released in Kazakhstan. This movie is a military drama about the real deaths of 17 soldiers of the Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan (now the National Guard), who fell into an ambush in Tajikistan on April 7, 1995. A little earlier, in 2017, Russian writer Vladimir Medvedev released the novel Zakhok, which talks about the horrors of that six-year war through the struggles of a single family, where the mother is Russian, and the children are half Tajik. My visit to this war-torn country was for a reason most wouldn’t have expected - a comedy festival. The group that I traveled with consisted of my teammates, Almaty residents, as well as people from other Kazakh, Uzbek, and Kyrgyz cities. Despite coming from all over Central Asia, we ended up in Tajikistan for the first international СVN festival (СVN - Club of the Funny and Inventive) in Central Asia. СVN is an improv and sketch comedy competition involving students that originated in Soviet times, the point of which is to satirize the surrounding reality through theatrical skits and question-based improv. Due to its satirical nature, СVN was banned for two decades during the Soviet-era. It was later revived during Perestroika, and, in the shortest possible time, became a phenomenon in all universities in Russia and across almost all of post-Soviet space. In Kazakhstan, СVN was developed immediately after the collapse of the USSR. Alma-Ata, which was the capital city back then, organized its own league, which included teams from the leading national universities of that time - Kazakh State University, Narkhoz, Almaty Institute of Transport Engineers, and Almaty State Medical Institute. I belong to the second generation of СVN players. Our task was to popularize this game throughout the republic and attract not only universities but also colleges and schools. Later, the new СVN league went beyond Kazakhstan, starting with friendly meetings with universities from Bishkek, Tashkent, and other Central Asian cities. Then, the International League of СVN, which was created and headed by Alexander Maslyakov, who passed...

British Museum Opens Silk Roads Show – With Help from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan

The British Museum opened Silk Roads to the public on Thursday, delivering a highly anticipated exhibition about the vast, interlocking routes that connected cultures across Asia, Africa and Europe for centuries and includes ancient chess pieces and other items on loan from Uzbekistan as well as Tajikistan. The show, which runs until Feb. 23, 2025, aims to get beyond traditional notions of spices, camels and sand dunes, as well as the misconception that there was one “Silk Road” - a single pathway that ran across Central Asia, linking traders in the West with those in the East. While the Silk Roads network lasted for millennia, the British Museum is focusing on the period between AD 500 and 1,000, when contacts accelerated and religions and technology flourished across far-flung regions. “Rather than a single trade route from East to West, the Silk Roads were made up of overlapping networks linking communities across Asia, Africa and Europe, from East Asia to Britain, and from Scandinavia to Madagascar,” the museum says in its introduction to the London show. The British Museum worked with 29 national and international partners on the exhibition, which includes objects from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan that have never been on display in Britain and highlight the importance of Central Asia to the continent-sweeping saga of the Silk Roads. Uzbekistan, home to Khiva, Bukhara and Samarkand and other sites associated with the ancient network, is a big player in the exhibition. It is lending “the oldest group of chess pieces ever found” and a six-meter-long wall painting from the ‘Hall of the Ambassadors’ in Afrasiab, an ancient spot in Samarkand, according to the Uzbekistan Art and Culture Development Foundation. “The painting evokes the cosmopolitanism of the Sogdians from Central Asia who were great traders during this period,” the state foundation said. Saida Mirziyoyeva, a daughter of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and a senior presidential aide, attended the exhibition roll-out this week. “A must-see for anyone passionate about Silk Road history!” she said on X. The National Museum in Tajikistan, which started working with the British Museum on plans for Silk Roads in 2022, has said it is lending items “related to the Buddhist culture of the 7th and 8th centuries, found in the monuments of Ajinateppa, Kafarnihon, and Vakhsh.” Objects on display include a Buddha figurine found in Sweden; an Islamic-style map drawn for the Christian king of Sicily; a Chinese ceramic dish found in a shipwreck in Indonesia; a gilded silver cup whose components indicate links between Scotland and West Asia; a gold shoulder clasp with Indian garnets that was found at the Sutton Hoo ship burial in Suffolk; and a gold bowl found in Romania that was linked to the Avars, an originally nomadic group from the northeast Asian steppe. The exhibition is not just about physical objects. There are also stories about an African king, a Chinese princess and other characters whose lives were connected to the Silk Roads, and insights into religious encounters and the spread of...