Saturday, May 25, 2013

TOURISM IN UZBEKISTAN

Uzbekistan Tourist Destination

Every year the number of tourists visiting Uzbekistan increases. Interest in its unique culture and heritage, in particular its historical and architectural monuments which are by far the most striking in Central Asia, grows steadily.

Uzbekistan situated on the cross roads of the Silk Road boasts more than 4,000 historical and architectural monuments. Besides a plethora of archaeological sites it also offers incredibly beautiful mosques, mausoleums, palaces, forts, ruined temples and monasteries and shrines; an invaluable spiritual heritage of its long and great history that is preserved with care. The main tourist centers of Uzbekistan ― Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, and Shakhrisabz are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List ― attract millions of foreign tourists annually.

Whilst tourism in Uzbekistan has been primarily centered on its rich cultural heritage. The country is also blessed with many varied and contrasting landscapes; natural beauties such as  mountains, valleys, desserts, forests and rivers.  There are also many adventure activities available for visitors including trekking, mountain climbing, water sports, river rafting,hot springs, safaris, bird watching, fishing, horse back riding and skiing. In addition Uzbekistan is famous for its rich traditions of hospitality, which are so deeply rooted within its people. This coupled with an amazingly varied and tasty cuisine all make it a very attractive and interesting tourism destination for travelers from all over the world.

Useful links:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Uzbekistan

National Company "Uzbektourism"

Karakalpakstan Tourism


Karakalpakstan at 165,700 km2 is the largest region of Uzbekistan, accounting for over a third of its entire land area (447,400 km2). In the northwest, it includes a large part of the Ustyurt plateau that lays between the Caspian Sea and the erstwhile Aral Sea; to the east is the Kyzyl-Kum desert, which reaches further into Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

The fertile part of the region is the Amu Darya river delta - formerly ancient Khorezm, which is today shared by three distinct entities: the Uzbek oblast of Khorezm, whose capital is Urgench; the Turkmen oblast of Dachaouz; and the autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan, whose capital is Nukus.

Karakalpakstan has a long and rich history with diverse cultural offerings ranging from, at one extreme, the ruins of Khorezm’s ancient (5th century BC) civilization to, at the other, the Nukus Museum, which houses the Savitsky Collection comprising the world’s second largest collection of 20th century Russian avant garde art as well as the largest folk art collection in Central Asia.

The Republic is also the site of a major environmental catastrophe: the disappearing Aral Sea, formerly one of the world’s fourth largest inland lake and now reduced to only a small portion of its original size. Visting the former coastal town Muynak is  a very moving experience.

Karakalpakstan’s climate is extreme continental, i.e. very cold in winter and very hot in summer, so the best time to visit is either in the spring or early summer (April through June) or in the fall/Autum (September through mid-November), when temperatures range between 15-25C.

Karakalpakstan is not a conventional tourist destination, nor for the faint-hearted. But, as increasing numbers of International travelers prove, it offers many unique artistic, cultural, historical, and environmental attractions and perspectives.

LINKS For more information about tourism in Karakalpakstan see the following sites:


Friday, May 24, 2013

The beginning of construction of the second stage of the State Art Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan named after I.V. Savitsky.


 
The beginning of construction of the second stage of the State Art Museum of the Republic of Karakalpakstan named after I.V. Savitsky is underway and is expected to take 4 years.  The second stage of the Savitsky Art Museum will include additional exhibition and storage space to house the large collection of items held by the museum.

Construction of the facility started on the 10 march 2013 and is being undertaken by ."Uy-Zhay Kurylys." on behalf of the  Council of Ministers of the Republic of Karakalpakstan.

Founded in 1966, the Savitsky Collection is located in Nukus, Uzbekistan and holds over 90,000 items of art (paintings, graphics, sculptures, folk and applied art and archaeology). Considered to be the second largest Russian Avant-Garde art collection after the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg.

Igor Savitsky, a Russian born in Ukraine, moved to Central Asia in the 1940s to work as an artist on the Khorezm archaeological expedition. He stayed, collecting Folk and Applied Art of Karakalpakstan, and moved into other areas of collecting, notably Russian and Uzbek Avant-Garde of the 1920s.

The Savitsky Collection has one of most impressive and moving stories of any museum in the world to find out more go to www.savitskycollection.org