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Tag Archives: Central Asia
Uzbekistan – Part V – The Aral Sea
There are a couple of other things I want to talk about. I want to talk about what the Soviet Imperium did (ecologically) to the region. And I also want to talk about the Uzbek people now … how they … Continue reading
Uzbekistan – Part III – Bukhara
This post is about Bukhara, another of the famous cities of Uzbekistan. UZBEKISTAN – BUKHARA Bukhara was a medieval city-state, a very important commercial center. By the time Genghis Khan sacked the joint in 1220, Bukhara had already been around … Continue reading
Posted in Miscellania
Tagged Central Asia, Colin Thubron, Uzbekistan
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Uzbekistan – Part II – Samarqand and Tamerlane
The following post is about the storied city of Samarqand and the horrors of Timur.
Focus on Bukhara, Tashkent
I found some descriptive quotes of Bukhara in Thubron’s book The Lost Heart of Asia that I wanted to share. It makes me feel as though I can see this famous city with my own eyes. Which is, after all, … Continue reading
Focus on Bukhara II
First off, a quote, from Colin Thubron’s The Lost Heart of Asia, having to do with the vague region where Uzbekistan now lies: Across this region, for some two thousand years, the Silk Road has nourished caravan-towns — Samarqand, Bukhara, … Continue reading
Focus on Bukhara
Bukhara was a medieval city-state, a very important commercial center. By the time Genghis Khan sacked the joint in 1220, Bukhara had already been around for over a thousand years. Genghis Khan laid waste to Bukhara, sparing nothing. Only minaret … Continue reading
On Samarkand
The history of Uzbekistan in the 20th century is quite interesting. A Muslim state, a mish-mash of people, under the thumb of Stalin, holding out, holding on, and then … in one shot … before they were ready, independence. They … Continue reading
Uzbek People
Uzbekistan is the most ancient and the most populous country in Central Asia. Samarqand and Bukhara, two storied cities made famous by their importance to the Silk Road (they were the jewels to be captured by the hordes which continuously … Continue reading
Posted in Miscellania
Tagged Central Asia, Imperium, Ryszard Kapuściński, Uzbekistan
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Turkmen Cultural Identity
Turkmen cultural identity Turkmenistan is a place of collisions. Modern man colliding with ancient nomads, Turks colliding with Turks, Russians colliding with Turks, clashes with Persia, the constant struggle for survival in a terrifying desert, “democracy” butting up against ethnic … Continue reading
Turkmenistan
Desert nomads I’m going to talk about “Turkestan” again today, the larger area of Central Asia, divided up by Stalin, of which Turkmenistan is a big part. The whole nomad existence is something I would like to know more about. … Continue reading
Posted in Miscellania
Tagged Central Asia, Imperium, Russia, Ryszard Kapuściński, Turkmenistan, war
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