| Northern Uzbekistan | |
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| State | Uzbekistan |
|---|---|
Northern Uzbekistan is a region ofUzbekistan which occupies about half of the country.
To know
This region is dominated by the arid Kyzylkum desert and the huge semi-autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan.
Northern Uzbekistan coincides with the western part of Transoxiana and Corasmia, historical regions ofCentral Asia which extended beyond the River Oxus and west of the Sogdiana where the historic cities of Samarkand is Bukhara. Crossed by one of the many silk roads that used the Tarim river basin (current Chinese province Xinjiang) and that of the Oxus, the two regions were subjected to the most heterogeneous influences, from that of the ancient Persia and zoorastrianism to the Chinese and Soviet ones but among all the Islamic culture prevailed and left its indelible mark as evidenced by the ancient caravan city of Khiva.
Spoken languages
The language of Karakalpakstan is said Qaraqalpaq. It is more similar to the Kazakh than it is to the Uzbek, in fact the Uzbeks can hardly understand it. In this region, people hardly speak Russian; the Uzbek is much smoother.
Territories and tourist destinations
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- Khorezm region (Xorazm viloyati) - Just 6,300 km2 in size, the Khorezm region is the smallest of the three administrative regions that make up the north ofUzbekistan but also the most visited due to the presence on its territory of the ancient caravan city of Khiva.
- Navoiy region (Navoiy viloyati) - Semi-desert territory on the border with Kazakhstan, just over 1/3 of theItaly (110 990 km²), the Navoiy region has little tourist interest.
- Republic of Karakalpakstan (Qoraqalpog'iston Respublikasi) - Autonomous Republic whose territory, as large as half of theItaly (164,900 km2), occupies the westernmost part of country squeezed between the Kazakhstan north and west and the Turkmenistan South.
Urban centers
- Khiva - Ancient city on the Silk Road with a fortified historic center (Itchan Kala) added to the list UNESCO of the World Heritage Sites.
- Moynaq - Former port once on the shores of the Aral Sea, Moynaq has become the symbol of the ecological catastrophe that has struck the lake. Paradoxically, Moynaq and its ghostly fleet of rusty fishing boats stranded on bare salt-encrusted soils has become something of a tourist destination.
- Navoiy - Capital of the homonymous region, Navoiy is another Soviet-style urban center of little tourist interest. Known as Kermine at the time it was part of the Emirate of Bukhara, the city was refounded in 1958 as the seat of various chemical industries and plants for the production of electricity, naming it in honor of the Uzbek poet and statesman Alisher Navoi.
- Nukus - Capital of the republic of Karakalpakstan, Nukus is the largest city in northern Uzbekistan with mammoth Soviet-era buildings that rise amidst endless cotton fields.
- Nurata (Nurota) - The ancient Nur with the still visible remains of a fortress and an aqueduct built by Alexander the Great, is today a town of 30,000 inhabitants known for breeding camels and for extracting marble from the western buttresses Gissar Altai mountain range. Offers the possibility of camel rides to Lake Aidar (Aidarkul), a vast artificial reservoir that extends for 200 km between steppe landscapes and with minute human settlements on its banks (1760 inhabitants in the year 2009).
- Urgench - A large, gloomy Soviet-style city, entry point to Khiva.
- Zarafshan - Located in an oasis of the Kyzyl Kum desert, 190 km from Navoï, Zarafshan is a modern city not far from the river of the same name whose name in Persian means "giver of gold" with reference to the presence of gold-bearing sands in its course . The city is in fact home to an important mining and processing industry of the precious metal which has earned it the nickname of "the gold capital ofUzbekistan».
Other destinations
- Ayaz-Kala - Suggestive archaeological site with the ruins of three fortresses built between the 1st century BC. and the sixth century AD. on heights that rise on the left bank of the Amur Darya. The excursion takes place from Khiva or from Nukus with the possibility of staying overnight in a tent.
- Aral Sea - Protagonist of one of the most serious environmental disasters caused by human activity, the Aral Sea has progressively narrowed until it divides into two basins. In 2014, the eastern basin had completely disappeared, leaving behind huge expanses of salt. Nevertheless, these desolate territories constitute a sort of tourist destination for those who want to see for themselves the effects of the dramatic ecological impact.
- Toprak-Kala (Clay Fortress) - Ruins of the ancient capital of the Afrighids, a local dynasty that ruled Chorahmy between the 4th and 10th centuries AD. first as a vassal of the gods Sassanids and therefore of the Ephthalites (White Huns), gods Caliphs Umayads and gods Samanids.
How to get
By plane
There are several weekly flights from Tashkent to Nukus.
