TIMURID SILK ROAD CITIES

the identity of Uzbekistan

By Kim Lau

Amir Timur (1320-1405) was the founder of the Timurid Dynasty, who lived his life performing the the role of a guardian and restorer of the Mongol Empire. Timur was born into the Barlas family, a Turkified Mongol clan of shared ancestry with Chinggis Khan’s Borigin clan. Not a Chinggisid, he seeked legitimacy for his role by marrying 2 Chinggisid princesses to be titled “Gurkan” meaning son-in-law. Timur was notoriously known as Tamerlane, or Timur the Lame, because of an injury on his right leg and right hand, losing 2 fingers. Despite his disability, Timur was a military genius and a tactician; he brought the Ilkhanate, Chagatai Khanate and the Golden Horde under his control, but his empire disintegrated shortly after his death. He was a divulged Muslim, and a patron of Persian art and architecture, giving birth to Timurid architectures that were highly Persian. Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva are Uzbekistan’s trio Silk Road cities that are highly Timurid in design.

Uzbekistan recognizes Timur as her national hero, and the Uzbek national poet Alisher Navoi is an important source of the extinct Chagatai language. Uzbek is a Turkic tribe that traces back to Jochi’s 5th son Shiband, but Farsi-speaking Tajiks dominates the silk-road cities. These contradicting facts makes Uzbekistan’s identity rather confusing, but everyone is Uzbekistan is an Uzbek regardless of their race.

Tashkent

Crossing the Dustlyk border near Osh comes Andijan in Uzbekistan. After five hours of shared taxi, Tashkent was in sight. Tashkent is distinctively Soviet, and a very metropolitan city. The metro in Tashkent was a welcoming change. Each station has a theme; the Cosmanovtlar station has a cosmic theme and of course, with Russian’s pride Gagarin the austronaut; Alisher Navoi station is designed after the Uzbek national poet Alisher Navoi. Photography was however banned in the stations as they were designed as nuclear shelter. Chorsu bazaar is also home to good and cheap Uzbek pilaf accompanied by great Shahslik, but the prime photographic interest here is the domed bazaar.

PEOPLE‘S FRIENDSHIP PALACE : Peoples‘ Friendship Palace is Uzbekistan’s largest cinema/concert hall and has seatings for 6,000 people. The architect Yeregeny Rozanov decorated the massive structure if the Peoples‘ Friendship Palace in Tashkent with traditional local motifs. The name Peoples‘ Friendship Palace comes from a dedication to the friendship of the people who came to Tashkent to help rebuild the city after the 1964 earthquake which destroyed most of the old city.

OLLY MAJLIS : Oliy Majlis means Parliament. Islam Karimov has dictatorial rule on Uzbekistan, and the Parliament is widely accepted to be a rubber stamper.

CHORSU DOME BAZAR : Streak of light into the Chorsu domed bazaar, illuminating the spice section of the Soviet-built dome bazaar.

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SAMARKAND

Samarkand was Timur’s capital, and the Registan is especially majestic and elegant at first sight. Timur’s tomb is also in Samarkand, at Gur-e-Timur. Shah-i-Zinda is the most impressive of Samarkand in my opinion. It is a complex of tombs and ritual building with intricate mosaic work, and the narrow alleys between facades create a medieval feel. The area around the Registan extending to the nearby Bibi Khanum, the mosque dedicated to Timur’s Chingissid wife. In 2008, the area were connected by Bazaar, giving it a real medieval feel.

REGISTAN BY NIGHT : Light and sound show at the Registan, tells the story of the Registan in English.

SHAR-I-ZINDA : Translate as “the Living King” is a funerary complex, The focal point of the complex is the shrine of Qusam b. Abbas, a cousin of the Prophet Muhammad, who was reportedly beheaded on a site near Samarqand’s wall during the seventh-century Arab conquests of Transoxania. The legend, which became popular in the Timurid period, relates that Qusam, carrying his head in hands and led by the prophet Khizr, descended into a well, where he resides eternally in an underground palace as a “Living King.”

SHIRIN BIKA AGO MAUSOLEUM : Looking out from the mausoleum of Shadi Mulk Aga

SHAR-I-ZINDA SHADI MULK AGA MAUSOLEUM

BUKHARA

Bukhara is located on the Silk Road, and the city has long served as a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. Before the arrival of Genghis Khan in 1220, Bukhara is the centre of Islamic learning where scholars travelled from all over the Islamic world to study here, including two giants of Persian culture, Ibn Sina and Firdausi. Its prestige was not limited to Islamic studies, Beyond the Timurid era, 1500-1785, the Khanate of Bukhara was ruled by the Shaybanid, descendents of Jochi’s 5th son, and the Janids at the later stage, who descended from the Astrakhan Khanate (Golden Horde). Nadir Shah from Iran conquered Bukhara briefly, before the emergence of the Emirate of Bukhara, controlled by the non-Genghisid descendants of the Uzbek emir Khudayar.

In Ian Wright’s video on Central-Asia, Bukhara was featured with children swimming in Bukhara’s famed pools - Lyab-i-Haus, with old soviet veterans sipping tea and playing cards at Lyab-i-Haus’ Chaykhanas. I arrived some 13 years later in 2008, Bukhara old town has 50 hotels, abundant souvenir shops and Lyab-i-Haus transformed into a waterfront chaykhana for tourist only! Tourism-based traders in Bukhara speak good English, and from brisk conversations, they are happy with the tourist trade because it is good money. Over-run by mass tourism, Bukhara old town is best appreciated in the early morning and just before sunset. Eid (end of Ramazan celebrations) in Bukhara was astounding when Bukharans appeared in masses at the old town for Eid prayers and celebrations. This makes Bukhara feels much like the expected Bukhara, with Bukharans instead of tourists!

LAST EMIR OF BUKHARA : Alim Khan (1880–1944) deposed in 1920. Photo by Prokudin-Gorskii , 1911.

THE ARK OF BUKHARA : It is a miltary fortress initially built and occupied around the 5th century AD. It also encompassed what was essentially a town that was inhabited by the various royal courts that control Bukhara and its surroundings. When the Mongols took Bukhara, the inhabitants of the city found refuge in the Ark, but the conquerors smashed the defenders and ransacked the fortress.

PO-I-KALAN COMPLEX : The “Grand Foundation” of Bukhara, it is an architectural complex located at the base of the great minaret Kalan in Bukhara. Starting from the left, Mir-i-Arab medrassa, Kalyan Minaret, then Kalan Masjid.

KALAN MINARET : Minâra-i Kalân means “Grand Minaret“ in Persian. Also known as the Tower of Death, as arguably for centuries criminals were executed by being thrown off the top.

INSIDE BUKHARA CARAVANSARAI : Bukhara is home to many caravanserais, where both merchants and animals rest and trade. These caravanserais now houses sovenier shops.

BUKHARA MINI SHOPS : At the sides of the Kalan mosque are these small little shops. Top: an old Bukharan man operate his trade outside, used this as his store. Bottom: Tagaev the Cobbler. He helps repair my show for a small sum.

JEWS AND RUSSIANS AMONGST UZBEK : Jewish had resided in Bukhara, and there were a couple of synagogue. Spoted this blue-eyed Jewish school boy, with his Bukharan mate. At the backstreets of Bukhara old town, where locals live, Russian & Bukharan kids live and play together harmoniously.

TAJIK OF BUKHARA : Persian speaking Tajiks populate the old town of Bukhara. Gold teeth is a beauty for many central Asian.

EID IN BUKHARA

On the street down Poi-Kalan, vendors sells to crowd exiting from Mir-i-Arab masjid. This was the most vibrant scene in Old Town Bukhara

KHIVA

During the time of Mongol conquest, Urgench (in Turkmenistan near the border) was the city that were grounded by Chinggis Khan. Timur worried about Urgench shine in contrast to his capital city of Samarkand, so it was thoroughly destroyed. Khiva rose with the Khanate of Khiva (1511–1920), ruled by Shaybanids, before getting itself involved in the Great Game tussle between the British and the Russians. Khiva was a big slave trade market, and many of the slaves were Russians and Persian, captured by nomadic Turkmen raiders. In the pretext of preventing the Russians on using the excuse of liberating the slaves and thereby conquering Khiva, the British worked to convince the Khan of Khiva to free the Russian slaves. Khiva, and the rest of Central Asia except Afghanistan went to the Russians, and the British were left with India. In the 1970s, the Russians made Ichon-Qala (Inside the Castle) of Khiva an open air museum, clean and absolutely clinical.