Uzbekistan as an attractive tourist destination
Uzbekistan... A state in Central Asia, that has recently emerged to the world as an independent country, having separated from the collapsing Soviet Union, but still remaining a Terra Incognita for most foreigners. The country encourages travelers with all possible landscapes and terrain types, except for sea shores: it is double land-locked in the middle of the Eurasia continent, though its in-land Aral lake is big enough to be called a sea. Peaks covered with snow, massive mountain ridges and valleys where only wild animals and birds have so far enjoyed the crystal-clear air and water, are adjacent to boundless sandy deserts. Two great rivers, Amudarya and Syrdarya, are born in the mountain valleys by melting snows and glaciers and run through parching sands, giving life to oases and fertile meadows. These virgin lands are a paradise for people who value natural beauty and want to have a break from the smoke and stress of the industrial society.
Between the two rivers Amudarya and Syrdarya, in the area called Maverannahr, human civilizations emerged thousands of years ago. They built huge cities that compared well with Babylon or Rome, and amazed travelers and merchants on the Great Silk Road with their beauty and sophisticated infrastructure.
This land has been a scene for atrocious clashes and violent fights between uncountable armies: Cyrus, Darius, Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan and Tamerlane wanted to realize their ambitions and dominate the world. Between devastating war campaigns local rulers patronized science and arts and prepared a remarkable emergence of prominent scholars, cultural personalities and poets from Central Asia. They have compiled comprehensive and amazingly precise catalogues of stars and built tremendous palaces with swimming pools on their roofs with water pumped up through lead pipes, at the time when Paris and London were primitive villages.
Centuries of Islamic domination have strongly influenced the material culture of peoples in Central Asia and produced a fanciful blend of previous local cults and traditions merged with the Islamic culture. What Central Asia possesses now as historical monuments and cultural heritage has no match anywhere in the world. It was a unique place on planet Earth where five religions adjoined and co-existed peacefully.
Present-day Central Asia and Uzbekistan in particular, are ready to share all its beauties and treasures with interested visitors and will be happy if you take advantage of genuine Uzbek hospitality.
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