Archaeology handicrafts and science and technology sites to visit Uzbekistan

The visits of this workshop are free and allow to follow all the stages of silk manufacturing. We start with the shed where the cocoons are kept in whole bags and where the workers make a first sorting according to the size, the quality, the state of the cocoons, before sending them to the next step. The boiling is done in large pots, after they have been preheated in the oven. The purpose of the operation is to free the thread of all the glue which maintains the cocoon in its shape. The chrysalis dies during this operation, without the cocoon having been damaged to remove it. The thread can then be unwound before being woven into carpets and fabrics, and then dyed. The colors used are from natural products (onion peels, pomegranate, turquoise, ladybugs ...). 200 people work in the factory, producing 50 to 60,000 m of silk each year, but can increase production to 200,000 m if necessary. The most interesting - and beautiful - part of the visit is to see the traditional looms, which are all between 100 and 200 years old. The workers there are only asked to weave the best quality fabrics. They will give you a demonstration without any problem. You can also ask to see the more modern workshops, where much of the work is mechanized. At the entrance, a store sells fabrics and rugs. Prices are obviously much higher than in the bazaar.

Founded in the 1st century BC, it was the residence of the Bukhar-Khudat, the Hephtalite kings who ruled after the Kushans. The city then exceeded Bukhara in size and, when the Arab conquerors seized it, they killed King Sukan and destroyed his palace, then beheaded the military leader who attempted a rebellion. The city, until the 12th century, remained an important economic centre. But it was not as fortunate as Bukhara and, after the Mongols destroyed its irrigation system, it quickly became a ghost town.

This fortress has a set of high walls behind which the garrison of Toprak kala was sheltered. It is well worth the detour, but the runoff of rain over the centuries has considerably weakened its foundations. And the comings and goings of tourists who take advantage of the lack of demarcation to survey the ramparts has obviously not helped. Some renovations have taken place in recent years, so no matter how spectacular the views are, try to respect what remains of the walls when you visit.

The citadel immediately impresses with its vast expanse. The walls have been rather well preserved and it is possible to go almost all the way around without going down. Just as in Ayaz kala, Djambaz kala is in the middle of the desert and occupies a particularly photogenic site, near a lake, populated only by a few eagles and marmots. Observe the huge sand dunes that form on the sides of the walls and which bear witness to the silting up of the region following the disappearance of the Aral Sea. 500 yards away, yurt camp.

Visit one of the most famous cutlery shops in Uzbekistan. The traditional Uzbek knife is called the pitchok. It's said to protect against wounds and the devil. It is often stored in a black leather sheath decorated with bright colours. You will find them everywhere in Uzbekistan: on the Chorsu bazaar in Tashkent or in the merchant domes of Bukhara. But of course, nothing is better than watching the manufacturing process in the company of the blacksmith, choosing, negotiating and buying your knife directly on the spot, from the hands of the craftsman!

In this workshop we make the tioupés, the small caps that all Uzbeks wear and whose motifs define their region of origin. There are classic models and others, more elaborate, made of fabric or enhanced with silk or velvet, for ceremonies. The special feature of Choust skullcaps is that they can be folded up and stored neatly in one's pocket, like an origami. They take up no more space than a mobile phone and Uzbeks take great care of them.

The Kampir-Tepe fortress lies on a terrace on the right bank of the Amu Darya River, 30 km west of the city of Termez. Built in the 3rd century BC at the crossroads of trade routes near the border areas, it is part of the settlements of the Kushan Empire. Alexander the Great passed through it when he crossed the Amud Daria. The present site was excavated in 1972 and archaeological work was carried out in the 1990s. Traces of Buddhism have been discovered there, making Kampir Tepe an essential reference. The site is magnificent.

Its foundation dates back to the beginning of the first millennium BC. The three sites of Padayatak tepe, Sangir tepe and Uzunkyr are the ancient city of Kish-Nautaka. You can walk through the ruins of the citadel and fortifications. This archaeological site has an important study potential due to its uninterrupted occupation of the iron age in the Hellenistic period.

This mountain reservoir is the privileged place for the wealthy classes of the capital, summer and winter. Cottage rental, camping and picnic by the lake, pedal boat rental, amusement park for children, fishing... you come here to have a good time and relax in the middle of nature while maintaining a little bit of bling-bling, it's a kind of French Riviera or Uzbek Chamonix. The best students from the best schools in Tashkent also come here for the green class as a reward for their annual efforts.

Once you are in front of the Aral Desert, which stretches as far as the eye can see, you may be tempted to move forward until you see what is left of this sea. It takes 2 hours of driving in the dunes and sand. Of course, it's impossible to do this without an adapted 4x4, so don't try to venture out in a sedan: you'd be sanded up in no time. Specialized agencies can organize the excursion for you, which we nevertheless recommend: the landscapes are magnificent and you really feel alone in the world. Look out! Don't go alone without a guide if you don't know the road: there is no path and no indication of direction (we are in the middle of the desert). Also, check the weather forecast before starting the trip. If rain is forecast, postpone it: the Aral Desert is a basin below sea level (obviously since it is actually the seabed) and with the heavy rains in the region, some basins can fill up to one meter of water in the space of 5 minutes! It seems unlikely, but it has happened to unconscious tourists who have been stuck on the roof of their Jeep for 24 hours without being able to call for help. In this case, you have to wait for the blazing sun to evaporate all the accumulated rain. When you return, clean all your clothes and insist on shoes: salt and pesticide residues carried by the water and left on the sand are very corrosive.

Nur, the Sogdian city would date from the 4th century B.C. It has not yet been excavated and certainly still conceals many treasures to be discovered. In other words, it may be teeming with treasures as yet undiscovered. Its plan is a replica of the outline of the Big Dipper, reputed to be very effective against attacks. Alexandra the Great installed her army here, before launching it against Samarkand and the Zeravchan valley. Behind the fortress, a path of a few kilometres leads to petroglyphs from the Bronze Age.

The old mosque in iwan and the adjoining madrasah in the Jewish quarter have been converted into a crafts centre under the aegis of Unesco. It is a learning centre specializing in weaving, both rugs and suzani, embroidered on site. A few master craftsmen pass on their knowledge to a dozen apprentices. The colours used to dye 100% silk yarns are natural. It is a very beautiful and peaceful place, around a hundred-year-old mulberry tree.

This is the popular name given to the narrow gorges of the Sanzar River, a passage between Tashkent and Samarkand that winds between the Nourata Mountains and the foothills of the Turkestan Mountains. Literally, it means "where the serpent has gone". It is also known as the "gates of Tamerlan". It sells the best apples of Uzbekistan grown in the region, which are spread out along the roads during the harvest season. Hundreds of crates follow one another along the road, but each driver claims to know the best salesman..

The site, whose foundation dates back to the 3rd century BC, is one of the most easily accessible citadels, since the ruins are located right on the roadside. The walls, which are particularly eroded, look like saw teeth. As at Gouldoursoun, the interior is entirely flat and allows one to see the extent of the territory covered by the fortress. The fortified complex consists of two citadels, the smaller one being located between Kirkiz kala and Ayaz kala, whose photogenic silhouette can be seen from the walls.

Ayaz Kala is undoubtedly one of the most impressive sites. The complex is composed of three citadels perched on hills of different heights. At the foot of the hills there are traces of settlements and irrigation. The ruins offer an admirable view of the surrounding desert and the Sultan Uvays Mountains as well as Lake Ayaz kul, which is unfortunately tending to disappear. The citadels have retained a good part of their walls. All year round, you can have breakfast or even sleep under the yurts set up behind the citadels. I

The most famous archaeological site in the region with Toprak kala. But also the most disappointing thing: there are only ruins left, overgrown with vegetation. Nevertheless, if you are accompanied by a good guide, there is no doubt that he will be able to make you relive for a moment this citadel which denotes by its circular shape and has preserved a small maze of rooms whose foundations can still be seen. We recommend that you linger on the reconstructed model in the Museum of the Peoples of Uzbekistan in Tashkent to get an idea of its extent.

Having become the regional capital under the Kushans in the 2nd century, it was attacked by the Huns who, by destroying the irrigation canals, overcame the forgotten royal city. Under the direction of Professor Tolstov, excavations began before the Second World War. The frescoes discovered there are on display in St Petersburg, but a collection of objects found at the excavation site by Igor Savitsky is on display at the Nukus Museum. Here, in Toprak Kala, traces of the many rooms and gardens of the royal palace can still be seen.

The ancient city of Afrosyab, whose foundation dates back to the end of the 8th century BC, lies on a 220-hectare plateau north of Samarkand. Called Maracanda by the Greeks, this ancient city took the name of the mythical king of Touran described by the poet Firdussi in Shahname. Since the 19th century, generations of archaeologists have studied the traces of the different civilizations that lived there. You can see the results of their excavations in the Afrosyab museum. The foundations of the city show a typical pattern of ancient Central Asian cities, generally located on agricultural land and near a river, with a long enclosure surrounding a very dense residential area and an area of official buildings, the 'upper city' where the palace is located. The ramparts built at the edge of the cliff were more than 5 km long. Consolidated under the Achaemenids, they were partially destroyed around the gates during the attacks of Alexander the Great and then rebuilt. Even today, part of the Hellenistic fortifications can still be seen, impressive ramparts with arrow-shaped loopholes. These walls were fortified barracks and originally included an internal gallery on two or three levels that housed the soldiers. As for the rampart housing the suburban area, it measured 13 km! The excavations, together with the study of the testimonies reported by the Greek historian Arrien, made it possible to locate the palace of the Achaemenid satraps in the northern part of the city. It was during a banquet given in this palace that Alexander the Great murdered his companion Cleitos. A few years ago, the young son of the archaeologist Mukhamadjon Issamiddinov, who often accompanied his father to the excavation site, discovered a gilded silver plate that was part of the ornament of a harness buried in the loess. In 1220, the horseman who hid his overly conspicuous harness in the bottom of this well, at the gates of the city, had to flee from the Mongols who were besieging the city. Perhaps he hoped to bring him to safety to find him after the war, but he surely never imagined sending a message through the centuries. During the Kushan period and the development of the Silk Road, the Sogdian city flourished. In the museum you can admire a fresco from the 7th century discovered in Varkhumman Palace. A procession of ambassadors offering gifts to the ruler of Samarkand, perhaps on the occasion of his marriage: Bactrians perched on camels, long-haired Türks, Korean nobles with double egret hairstyles, and a Chinese princess accompanied by her retinue. When the Arab conquerors seized the city in the 8th century, the palace was destroyed, as well as the Zoroastrian temple, the legendary "temple of idols" of Samarkand, traces of which archaeologists found under the mosque built in the 8th century. These successive constructions on the same foundations create an incredible subterranean tangle, sometimes reaching a depth of 10 m with five different levels of construction, sometimes more. In the 13th century, the Mongol conquest put an end to almost two millennia of urban existence on this loess hill and, after the destruction of the irrigation and water supply system, the inhabitants moved to the lower part of the city where the new Samarkand of Tamerlan was founded.

Shorofidin comes from one of the oldest artisan families of Rishtan, of which he represents the sixth generation. Today he passes on his knowledge to his grandson. During the visit of the workshop you will be able to watch a 10-minute film shot in 1985 by the Russian director Malik Kayumov. The star at the time was Shorofidin's father. He was mainly concerned with the elaboration of motifs and you will find decorated ceramics like nowhere else.

The vast earthen facade and its 2.5 m thick walls have given rise to one of the most beautiful legends of Termez. In the 40 rooms distributed over two floors of this building were murdered by the troops of Genghis Khan the 40 women of the khan of Termez who gloriously resisted the invader when he attacked the children. In reality, according to archaeologists, it is simply a building built by the rich so that they can take refuge during heavy sandstorms, frequent in the region. The building was originally entirely closed by the roof. Thin windows opened on both floors and, as a result of a clever calculation, the sun's rays reached the center of the building at certain times of the day.

Today it is more of a playground for children coming out of school, but a short walk through the venerable corridors will convince you that the legend is still alive: in the corridor facing the entrance, at its left end, a votive tree proves that it is still alive. In the present state of the building, it is difficult to appreciate the complexity of its architecture, but a better idea can be obtained by comparing it with the model presented by the Termez Archaeology Museum. A part of the walls has been restored, but the interior is more like a field of ruins collapsing on itself a little more each year.