Shakhrisabz – the motherland of Amir Timur
Kashkadarya region is hidden 200 km from Termez to the northwest. This is a valley located on both banks of the Kashkadarya River. From the east, it is shielded by the spurs of the Gissar Range, from the north – by the Zeravshan (Pamir-Alai mountain system). Here, snow-capped mountain peaks are ideally combined with numerous waterfalls from small mountain streams and fragrant flowers of the valley, waterless steppes and dunes of sand brought from the desert from the territory of Turkmenistan. It is extremely rich in unusual minerals, in particular, oil deposits. The administrative center of the region is the city of Karshi.
This is a modern industrial center of Uzbekistan with long history. The second in size and historical significance city of nowadays Kashkadarya is Shakhrisabz – the birthplace of Amir Timur (Tamerlane). In the XIV-XV centuries it was the main city of the region known as Kesh – the patrimony of the Turkic-Mongolian tribe “Barlas”, to which the formidable Tamerlane belonged. Under Timur, Shakhrisabz experienced an unprecedented flourishing and was built up with luxurious monumental buildings. From the 16th century, the city gradually fell into decay.
At the beginning of the 19th century, this was the residence of the local bek (ruler).
Today it is a modern city with a 25-century long past.
Historical architectural objects
Ak-Saray palace, the remains (XIV-XV centuries);
Dorus-Siadat ensemble (XIV-XV centuries);
Dorut-Tilyavat ensemble (XIV-XV centuries);
Chor-Su trade complex (XVII century).
REGION OF KASHKADARYA – TOUR TO SHAKHRISABZ
Kashkadarya viloyat (region) info:
Founded in 1943
Area – 28.57 thousand km2
Administrative center – the city of Karshi (558 km from Tashkent)
The region is located in the south-east of the republic, on the western outskirts of the Pamir-Alai mountain system, in the Kashkadarya river basin.
The Karshi steppe extends in the north and north-west of the region. In the south-west there are the sands of the Sundukli desert, and in the south – the Nishan steppe. The eastern part is occupied by the Kitabo-Kamashi foothill plain. In the northeast, east and south, the region’s bordered by mountain ranges that prevent the penetration of cold air masses into the territory, which in turn contributes to the condensation of moist air flows from the west.
The climate’s sharply continental and subtropical in some places: summer here are dry and hot, with winters warm.
The Kashkadarya River, with numerous tributaries flowing down the mountains, is the main water artery of the region. The irrigated agriculture of three largest districts of the region: Karshi, Kitabo-Shakhrisabz and Guzaro-Kamashi are being fed by the irrigation canals and a reservoir, form three oases.
The region supplies 10.2% of the agricultural products of Uzbekistan to the counry’s market. Main industries here are: cotton growing, sericulture, grain and vegetable growing. Animal husbandry has meat and dairy sectors. Sheep breeding’s developed in the mountainous areas.
Gas, oil, zinc, marble, sulfur and salt are extracted in the bowels of the region. The basis of industry here is the processing of natural gas (Mubarek gas processing plant) and oil. There are enterprises of cotton-cleaning, oil-extraction, textile, clothing, food industries and also production of building materials.
The pipelines – Shurtan-Bukhara-Gazli-Tashkent, Shurtan-Mubarek, Karakitai-Karshi are stretched for 2106 km.
Higher educational institutions of the region are represented by the State University, Karshi Institute of Economics, branches of the Bukhara Technological Institute of Food and Light Industry as well as Tashkent Technical University.
The largest city of Kashkadarya is the regional center Karshi, which arose in the first half of the 14th century on the southern side of the foot of the Kungurtau upland (there was an ancient caravan route from Bukhara and Samarkand to India through Afghanistan). The town at that time was called “Nesef”. There was a well-established trade in dried fruits, karakul smushka (a skin taken from a newborn lamb, having curls of wool ..), sheep wool and handicrafts.
Nowadays Karshi is the largest industrial city of the region, immersed in the greenery of gardens and parks. Far beyond the region, Karshi is famous for making the best lint-free carpets (palass) in Uzbekistan.
On the southwestern outskirts of the region is the largest center of GAS INDUSTRY – the city of Mubarek. A unique technological system for gas purification from hydrogen sulfide is carried out at the local gas processing plant. One of the remarkable attractionplaces here is the artificially planted saxaul park.
In the upper reaches of the Kashkadarya River there lies so called Kitab-Shakhrisabz basin, surrounded by the ranges of Zeravshan, Gissar and Yakkabag (the most densely populated part of the Kashkadarya valley). The climate here is milder than in the rest of the region – relatively warm winters and not very hot summers. The lands of the basin are mainly occupied by extensive cotton fields planted with mulberry.
Shakhrisabz – the birthplace of Amir Timur (Tamerlane) and the main city of the basin. An art factory works here known for its skilled embroiderers of suzani, carpets, skullcaps, bags, belts, and other products in the republic.
Not far from Shakhrisabz is a small town —Kitab, known for its astronomical latitude station (only five in the world). The stations are located at the same geographical latitude: Carloforte – in Italy, Yukaya and Gaithersburg – in the USA, Mitsuzawa – in Japan.
Take a tour to Shakhrisabz – “Green City” of Uzbekistan!
The town of Shakhrisabz is also the birthplace of Tamirlane, where the eminent ruler has also built numerous Mosques and Madrassas.