.jpg) Samarkand is a pearl of the Great Silk Road. |
Uzbekistan has a great potential for an expanded tourism industry. Many of its cities were main trade centers on the Silk Road, linking Eastern and Western civilizations.
Today the museums of Uzbekistan store over two million artifacts, evidence of the unique historical, cultural and spiritual life of the Central Asian peoples that have lived in the region for more than 7,000 years.
Uzbekistan attracts tourists with its historical, archeological, architectural and natural treasures. The World Tourism Organization's Silk Road Office was opened in 2004 in Samarkand. This office was commissioned to coordinate the efforts of international organizations and national tourism offices of countries located on the Silk Road.
Great Silk Road, an original phenomenon of the history of the development of humanity, its aspiration for union and exchanging cultural wealth, conquest of the living spaces and markets for goods.
In the East, they say: “a sitting man is a mat and walking man is a river.” Motion is life, and traveling and learning about the world always was a driving force of progress. This, the biggest transcontinental trade road in the history of humanity had been binding Europe and Asia and in the old time was stretching from ancient Rome to the ancient capital of Japan, Nara.
Of course, trade between East and West has been on since time immemorial, but it has been that way because of the Great Silk Road. The Silk Road bounded caravan’s way, laid from Central Asia to the west and the South, and routs coming from China to East Turkistan, belong to the second century B.C., when for Chinese people for the first time was opened Western countries of Central Asia. As live memory of nations, laid this unique road connected East and West, can serve ancient Uzbek cities like Samarqand, Bukhara, Khiva, Shaxrizabs, Termez, Tashkent with their architectural monuments, that personifies centuries of old history of Great Silk Road.
Samarkand with its Registan, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, Gur-Emir and Shah-i-Zinda, Bukhara with its Po-i-Kalyan Complex, Ark citadel, Samanid Mausoleum and Lyabi Khauz Ensemble, and of course Khiva with its intact inner city Ichan Kala, mosques, madrasas, minarets, walls and gates are acknowledged sites of world tourism. The general conference of UNESCO accepted the decision of inclusion in the list of anniversaries the celebrating of 2750-th anniversary of Samarkand. Samarkand is one of pearls of East. Here are many unique monuments of culture and architecture, which are evidence of high mastery of the ancient architects. The restoration works are carrying out at the memorial complex Shah-i-Zinda. Basic principle of rebuilding of the centre of Samarkand is a preservation of monuments in their integrity. The complex of historical centre of the town is included in the list of a world heritage of UNESCO under the name "Samarkand is an intersection of world culture.”
Though Tashkent is often overlooked in the search for the Silk Road oasis cities of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, for the traveler there is much besides this to be seen. Most travel involves entering and leaving Uzbekistan through Tashkent. The city is serviced by an international airport, a domestic airport, two train and numerous bus stations.
Three more airports of Uzbekistan have international status. Those airports are of Samarkand, Bukhara and Urgench. Besides local flights and some regular international flights, the charter flights on demand of local and foreign tourist agencies fly in/out of those airports.
Essential structural changes occur in sphere of tourism in the Republic of Uzbekistan. Tourist business in the Republic of Uzbekistan is in a stage of structural reorganization and institutional formulation, formation of intra-industry, inter-industry, inter-regional and foreign economic relations. The tourist infrastructure is being improved, the corresponding segment of a labor market is being formed, a new system of state regulation over tourist activity has been created.
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