More monuments! This time in Tashkent.

In the National Square storks adorn this archway. They are the bringers of peace and stability - Uzbekistan could use that in truck loads. 

We have been so impressed with our guides, their knowledge and passion for their cities. Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, was no different.

There is a huge space and monument dedicated to the 1966 earthquake. This beautiful granite block broken in two, a half click which tells when the city clock stopped - 5:23am and behind that a fractured pavement with a statue of a man protecting his family.

It feels like a new city because much of it was rebuilt after the devastating earthquake in 1966 which killed 200 people and left 300,000 homeless. Tashkent, meaning City of Stone (I was told this referred to their use of stones for defence), has little of its ancient structures remaining. This is as a result of manmade as well as natural upheavals - the earthquake of 1966, but also invaders including Genghis Khan who sacked the city in C13th. And the Persians before that in C8th and the region’s subsequent ‘conversion’ to Islam. Not to mention the Russians and Soviets from the C19th which brought both positives and negatives. For instance during WWII Uzbekistan lost hundreds of thousands of young men as well as many people who died of starvation (food was sent to the front for the war effort!). At that time there was also a huge influx of refugees and orphans from Europe and Eurasia fleeing from the war and horrendous displacement.

Yet the Uzbeks survive and the city grows and at one time it was an important trading post along the Silk Road. 

Inside this building is the oldest Koran. It is a  National treasure - it’s huge.

On the tourist front, we saw the oldest Koran which was quite amazing, some beautiful mosques, medressa, mausoleums and monuments and of course parks and gardens. There is a reverence for their past and a strong determination to grow. Yet many areas appear in fairly poor condition and the average wage seems extremely low. However ......

We saw lots of mosques - it’s rather like the circuit of churches one does in Europe. And so too there’s also a lot of history embedded in these structures and the telling of stories. What caught me eye was the electronic display shiwing ‘call to prayer’ times moving across a thin screen over the entrance. Clever!

[For more pix go to www.flickr.com/photos/hwheat8pix/ ]