Page 42 - Seniorstoday May 2024 Issue
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a 7th-century caliph to collate all versions
of Muhammed’s words, shortly after he
died. Written in ink mixed made of coal,
walnut shells and pistachio blossoms, in
Hajisi script it is stained with the blood
of the murdered caliph Osman, an uncle
of Prophet Muhammed. It was brought
by Timur to Samarkand, seized by the
Russians as a war trophy and taken to
Saint Petersburg. It was returned to
Uzbekistan in 1989. It is beautiful and
Tash Hauli the Harem
awe-inspiring - “Music for the eyes”,
as calligraphy master Bahodir Saliev, a
seventh-generation calligrapher, fluent in
five languages describes it.
The Yunus Khan Mausoleum is a group
of three fifteenth century mausoleums,
restored in the nineteenth century, the
largest of which is the grave of Yunus
Khan, grandfather of Mughal Empire
founder Babur (1483-1530).The Palace of
Prince Romanov, which was the palace
of Grand Duke Nikolai Konstantinovich,
a first cousin of Alexander III of Russia,
who was banished to Tashkent for some
shady deals involving the Russian Crown
Jewels is also worth seeing as is The
Fine Arts Museum of Uzbekistan, which
contains a major collection of art from the
The City Walls of Khiva pre-Russian period, including Sogdian
murals, Buddhist statues and Zoroastrian
Tashkent art, along with a more modern collection
“Where history meets the lens of your of nineteenth and twentieth century art.
camera.” The Museum of Applied Arts, which is
The country’s new age capital was also housed in a traditional house originally
a stopping point on the silk road. Modern commissioned for a wealthy tsarist
buildings jostle with historic monuments diplomat, has a beautiful selection of
including a church. The city is not without nineteenth and twentieth century applied
its fascinations. The Telyashayakh arts, especially some gorgeous pieces of
Mosque or Khast Imam Mosque madrasa textiles. The Amir Timur Museum, which
houses one of the country’s great is an impressive building with a brilliant
treasures: the world’s oldest Koran, one of blue dome and ornate interior and in its
six commissioned (only four remain), by gardens a statue of Timur on horseback,
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