Samarkand

Samarkand (from Sogdian: "Stone Fort" or "Rock Town"; Uzbek: Samarqand; Persian: سمرقند‎‎; Cyrillic/Russian: Самарканд.), alternatively Samarqand or Samarcand, is one of the oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia, prospering from its location on the Silk Road between China and the Mediterranean. At times Samarkand has been one of the greatest cities of Central Asia; traditionally it is the capital of Samarqand Region, and is Uzbekistan's third largest city, after fast-growing Namangan in the Ferghana Valley. The city is noted for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. In the 14th century it became the capital of the empire of Timur (Tamerlane) and is the site of his mausoleum (the Gur-e Amir). The Bibi-Khanym Mosque (a modern replica) remains one of the city's most notable landmarks. The Registan was the ancient center of the city. The city has carefully preserved the traditions of ancient crafts: embroidery, gold embroidery, silk weaving, engraving on copper, ceramics, carving and painting on wood.

Samarkand (novel)

Samarkand (French: Samarcande) is a 1988 historical fiction novel by the French-Lebanese writer Amin Maalouf. The narrative revolves the 11th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyám and his poetry collection Rubaiyat. The novel received the Prix Maison de la Presse.

Plot

The first half of the story is set in Persia (present day Iran) and Central Asia in the 11th century, and revolves around the scientist, philosopher, and poet Omar Khayyám. It recounts the creation of his Rubaiyat throughout the history of the Seljuk Empire, his interactions with historical figures such as Vizir Nizam al-Mulk and Hassan al-Sabbah of the order of the Assassins, and his love affair with a female poet of the Samarkand court. The second half of the story documents the efforts of a fictional American named Benjamin O. Lesage to obtain the (fictional) original copy of the Rubaiyat, witnessing Persian history throughout the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905-1907, only to lose this manuscript in the sinking of the RMS Titanic.

Samarqand Region

Samarqand Region (Samarkand Region) (Uzbek: Samarqand viloyati) is one of the regions of Uzbekistan. It is located in the center of the country in the basin of Zarafshan River. It borders with Tajikistan, Navoiy Region, Jizzakh Region and Qashqadaryo Region. It covers an area of 16,400 km². The population is estimated to be around 2,322,000, with some 75% living in rural areas.

Samarqand Region was established on January 15, 1938, and is divided into 14 administrative districts. The capital is Samarqand (pop est 368,000 inhabitants). Other major towns include Bulungur, Juma, Ishtikhon, Katta-Kurgan, Urgut, and Oqtosh.

The climate is a typically arid continental climate.

Samarkand is the 2nd largest center for economy, science, and culture in Uzbekistan, after Tashkent. The Institute of Archeology at the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan is based at Samarqand. The region's UNESCO World Heritage Site architectural monuments are world famous, and make Samarkand the largest center for international tourism in the country.

Andijan

Andijan (sometimes spelled Andizhan in English) (Uzbek: Andijon/Андижон; Persian: اندیجان‎‎; Russian: Андижан) is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Andijan Region. Andijan is located in the south-eastern edge of the Fergana Valley near Uzbekistan's border with Kyrgyzstan.

Andijan is one of the oldest cities in the Fergana Valley. In some parts of the city, archeologists have found items dating back to the 7th and 8th centuries. Historically, Andijan was an important city on the Silk Road. The city is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Babur who, following a series of setbacks, finally succeeded in laying the basis for the Mughal dynasty in the Indian Subcontinent and became the first Mughal emperor.

Andijan is an important industrial city in the country. Manufactured goods produced in the city include chemicals, domestic appliances, electronics, foodstuffs, furniture, plows, pumps, shoes, spare parts for farming machines, various engineering tools, and wheelchairs.

Andijan massacre

The Andijan massacre occurred when Uzbek Interior Ministry (MVD) and National Security Service (SNB) troops fired into a crowd of protesters in Andijan in Uzbekistan on 13 May 2005. Estimates of those killed on 13 May range from 187, the official count of the government, to several hundred. A defector from the SNB alleged that 1,500 were killed. The bodies of many of those who died were allegedly hidden in mass graves following the massacre.

The Uzbek government at first said the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan organized the unrest and the protesters were members of Hizb ut-Tahrir. Critics argue that the Islamist radical label is just a pretext for maintaining a repressive regime in the country. Whether troops fired indiscriminately to prevent a color revolution or acted legitimately to quell a prison break is also disputed. A third theory is that the dispute was really an inter-clan struggle for state power. The Uzbek government eventually acknowledged that poor economic conditions in the region and popular resentment played a role in the uprising.

Uzbekistan

Coordinates: 41°N 69°E / 41°N 69°E / 41; 69

Uzbekistan (US ⁱ/ʊz.ˈbɛk.ɪ.ˌstæn/, UK /ʊz.ˌbɛk.ɪ.ˈstɑːn/), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan (Uzbek: Oʻzbekiston Respublikasi/Ўзбекистон Республикаси), is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia. It is a unitary, constitutional, presidential republic, comprising 12 provinces, 1 autonomous republic, and 1 capital city. Uzbekistan is bordered by five countries: Kazakhstan to the north; Tajikistan to the southeast; Kyrgyzstan to the northeast; Afghanistan to the south; and Turkmenistan to the southwest.

Once part of the Turkic Khaganate and later Timurid Empires, the region that today includes the Republic of Uzbekistan was conquered in the early 16th century by Eastern Turkic-speaking nomads. The area was gradually incorporated into the Russian Empire during the 19th century, and in 1924 what is now Uzbekistan became a bordered constituent republic of the Soviet Union, known as the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (Uzbek SSR). Following the breakup of the Soviet Union, it declared independence as the Republic of Uzbekistan on 31 August 1991 (officially celebrated the following day).

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva

Lola Karimova-Tillyaeva (born July 3, 1978) is an Uzbek diplomat and philanthropist. She is the younger daughter of Uzbekistan President Islam Karimov and his wife, Tatyana Akbarovna Karimova. Her older sister is Uzbek diplomat and business mogul Gulnara Karimova.

Personal life

Karimova-Tillyaeva earned bachelor's and master's degrees in International Law from the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent, and later received a doctorate degree in Psychology from Tashkent State University. In January 2008 she was appointed to her current role as Uzbekistan's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. She is married to businessman Timur Tillyaev and they have three children: two daughters and a son (Mariam, Safia and Umar).

In July 2013, various media outlets reported that Karimova-Tillyaeva had purchased a home in Beverly Hills.

In an interview with the BBC Uzbek Service in 2013, Karimova-Tillyaeva stated that she had not been in contact with her sister Gulnara for 12 years and that "There are no family or friendly relations between us...We are completely different people."