UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
---|---|
Location | |
Includes | 31 locations in 3 countries |
Criteria | Cultural: (ii)(iii)(v) |
Reference | 1675 |
Inscription | 2023 (45th Session) |
Area | 669.679 ha (2.58565 sq mi) |
Buffer zone | 1,750.042 ha (6.75695 sq mi) |
Silk Roads: Zarafshan-Karakum Corridor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which covers the Zarafshan-Karakum portion of the ancient Silk Road and historical sites along the route. On September 17, 2023, UNESCO designated a 886 km stretch of the Silk Road network in Central Asia as a World Heritage site. The corridor spans Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, includes 31 sites. [1] [2]
The corridor is located in Central Asia. It crosses seven geographical zones: the highland zone, piedmont zone, plains zone, artificial irrigation zone, oases zone, wormwood-steppe zone and desert zone. [2]
The sites are located in three countries, which recognized for the World Heritage inscription: [2]
1. Tajikistan
2. Uzbekistan
3. Turkmenistan
Qarshi is a city in southern Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Qashqadaryo Region. Administratively, Qarshi is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Qashqadaryo. It has a population of 278,300. It is about 520 km south-southwest of Tashkent, and about 335 km north of Uzbekistan's border with Afghanistan. It is located at latitude 38° 51' 48N; longitude 65° 47' 52E at an altitude of 374 meters. The city is important in natural gas production, but Qarshi is also famous for its production of woven flat carpets.
Bukhara is the seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents as of 1 January 2020. It is the capital of Bukhara Region.
Merv, also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium BC until the 18th century AD. It changed hands repeatedly throughout history. Under the Achaemenid Empire, it was the center of the satrapy of Margiana. It was subsequently ruled by Hellenistic Kings, Parthians, Sasanians, Arabs, Ghaznavids, Seljuqs, Khwarazmians and Timurids, among others.
Navoiy is a city and the capital of Navoiy Region in the central part of Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Tinchlik. It is located at latitude 40° 5' 4N; longitude 65° 22' 45E, at an altitude of 382 meters. The city is named after Alisher Navoiy. As of 2024, its population was 161,300 inhabitants.
Konye-Urgench, also known as Old Urgench or Urganj, was a city in north Turkmenistan, just south from its border with Uzbekistan. It is the site of the ancient town of Gurgānj, which contains the ruins of the capital of Khwarazm. Its inhabitants deserted the town in the early eighteenth century in order to develop a new settlement, and Konye-Urgench has remained undisturbed ever since. In 2005, the ruins of Old Urgench were inscribed on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.
Tourism represents a substantial and fast-growing sector of the economy of Uzbekistan. The government of Uzbekistan under President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has invested heavily in developing tourism as a high-growth potential industry, resulting in an increase in international arrivals from approximately 1 million in 2016 to 7 million in 2023.
Rabati Malik, also called Ribat-i Malik, is a caravanserai ruin located on the M37 road from Samarkand to Bukhara about a kilometer west of the edge of Malik, Navoiy Province, Uzbekistan. It was constructed along the Silk Road according to the orders of Karakhanid Shams al-Mulk Nasr, son of Tamgachkhan Ibragim, who ruled in Samarkand from 1068 until 1080.
Paykend or Poykent, an ancient city in Uzbekistan, is located in the lower stream of Zarafshan River and was one of the largest cities of the Bukhara oasis. The city consisted of a citadel, two settlements, and a rabod (suburb). Paykend is currently under consideration for inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The Mausoleum of Mukhammad Bashoro is situated on the bank of mountain river near the settlement of Masori Sharif in Panjakent, Tajikistan.
The Tomb of Ahmad Sanjar is a mausoleum commemorating Ahmad Sanjar, a Seljuk ruler of Khorasan. It was built in 1157 in the medieval city of Merv in the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan. Throughout his reign, Sanjar fought off several invasions and uprisings until finally being defeated by the Oghuz. After being sacked by the Oghuz, Merv declined and in 1221, the Mongols attacked it and burned down the mausoleum. It would later be restored by Soviet, Turkmen, and Turkish architects during the 20th and 21st centuries. The tomb is part of The State Historical and Cultural Park "Ancient Merv", a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Tourism is a small industry in Turkmenistan, serving just over 14,000 visitors in 2019. Tourist destinations include World Heritage Sites, museums, and natural sites. Many of its Central Asian cities were main points of trade on the Silk Road, linking Eastern and Western civilizations. Many neighboring countries promote their countries based on their location along the Great Silk Road. Tourists from abroad are deterred by the restrictive visa policy regime with all countries of the world. Tourism is regulated by the Tourism Committee of Turkmenistan.
Dayahatyn is a medieval caravanserai, sitting on the left bank of the Amu Darya. It is around 170 km to the northwest of the modern city of Turkmenabat, Lebap welaýaty, near the border between Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. It is a fortified square enclosure with sides 53 metres long. It is believed to have been originally a fortress built by Tahir ibn Husayn in the 9th century. In the 11th century, it was transformed into a caravanserai with fascinating brick-structures, providing shelter for not only caravans but also elites during their long journeys. The integrity of Dayahatyn is a typical example of the mastery of Seljuk architects in brickwork during the 11th and 12th centuries. Because of its artistic excellence, Dayahatyn is regarded as one of the most valuable examples, and perhaps the finest example, of a caravanserai extant in Central Asia, aside from that of Ribat of Sharaf.
Silk Roads: The Routes Network of Chang'an-Tian Shan Corridor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site which covers the Chang'an-Tianshan portion of the ancient Silk Road and historical sites along the route. On June 22, 2014, UNESCO designated a 5,000 km (3,100 mi) stretch of the Silk Road network from Central China to the Zhetysu region of Central Asia as a World Heritage site. The corridor spans China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan and includes 33 new sites and several previously designated heritage sites.
The Izad Khast Castle is located in Izadkhast in the Fars province, central Iran. The castle was built during the Sassanid Empire and functioned as fortified walled city on the ancient Silk Road that ran through central Iran. It is the second largest adobe building in the world after Arg-e Bam.
Galina Anatolyevna Pugachenkova was a Soviet archaeologist and art historian, regarded as a founder of Uzbek archaeology and central to the progression of archaeology and art history under the Soviet regime. Her work has contributed greatly to the register of surviving buildings in Central Asia and in many cases was the first register of traditional surviving buildings. Pugachenkova directed a branch of the archaeological expedition of southern Turkmenistan from 1946 to 1961, and of the Uzbek historical-artistic expedition from 1959 to 1984.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)