Tashkent
Soviet monument in 1963
Toshkent or Tashkent, city in eastern Uzbekistan, capital of the country and of Toshkent Viloyat (Oblast). Located in an oasis near the Chirchiq River in a cotton- and fruit-growing region, Toshkent is a major industrial and transportation center.
the opera house
apartments have a unique Uzbek style
It has industries producing machinery, cotton and silk textiles, chemicals, tobacco products, and furniture. A center of Uzbek culture, Toshkent has several large libraries and is the seat of the Uzbek Academy of Sciences and numerous other institutions of higher learning. A subway system was opened here in 1977.
Intourist Hotel (Photo from 1963)
same hotel in 2001
hidden by the trees
The first mention of Toshkent dates from the 7th century AD, although it was probably founded by the 1st century BC. The city was conquered, successively, by the Arabs in the 8th century AD, by Genghis Khan in the early 13th century, and by Tamerlane in the 14th century. It was annexed by Russia in 1865, and a new Russian city was built around the older town. Toshkent succeeded Samarqand as the capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union in 1930.
Khrushchev era building
now in 2001 paved streets but still old modes of transportation
earthquake memorial
In 1966 Toshkent suffered heavy damage from an earthquake.
5:23 AM 26 April 1966
time of the quakeToshkent became the capital of independent Uzbekistan in 1991. Population (1991 estimate) 2,120,000.
government building of independent Uzbekistan
Muslim revival since independence
slogan in 1963
new Communist Party building
(left unfinished since 1991)
university building
patriotic grain storage on outskirts
Timur's Gate
(along the road to Samarkand)
