Uzbekistan (April 2018): Termez
and around
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The city of Termez sits on the southern border of Uzbekistan with
Afghanistan, on the right bank of the Amu Daria river
(also known as the Oxus). The region around Termez
(including northern Afghanistan) has been the scene of a tumultuous history.
The history prior to its conquest by Alexander the Great in the late 4th
century BC remains poorly known. After Alexander′s conquest the region
became part of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. Greco-Buddhism developed in the
region as a combination of Indian Buddhism and Greek culture. Between the 1st
and 4th centuries AD the entire region became part of the Kushan
empire, under the patronage of which Buddhism spread
further toward China. Following the fall of the Kushan
empire and a series of more or less ephemeral rulers,
the region became part of the Arab Caliphate in the 8th century. In the 13th
century it was conquered by the Mongols of Gengis
Khan and the Old Termez city was razed. The contemporary
city of Termez rose up in the 14th century as part of
the Timurid empire, a few kilometers south-east of
the old location. When Russia annexed the Bukhara Khanate/Emirate in the 19th
century, it became a major frontier town on the Russian southern border. In
1979 it was the entry point for the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Today, the
modern city of Termez is not especially interesting
(with at least one major exception, its excellent Archeological Museum), but
the region is dotted with both Buddhist structures dating from the period
between the 4th century BC and the 1st century AD and Islamic medieval
monuments. The diverse population of the region include ethnic Uzbeks, Tajiks,
Afghans, and even Tatars.
It is
difficult to make sense of all the monuments around Termez,
as they span so many different time periods, cultures, and religions. Moreover,
some are in very bad condition and are only poignant witnesses from another
time, while others have been over-restored, sometimes according to the questionable
taste of modern architects. I was fortunate to have Sergey Avtaev
as my guide around Termez, as his knowledge of the
region′s complex history and monuments is properly amazing.
Map showing
the approximate locations of the sites I visited (red dots). Their precise
coordinates can be downloaded by clicking here
(.kmz file) and opening the downloaded .kmz file into Google Earth.
[Note: The names of
several sites are not the original ones. In fact, certain sites have been
discovered and excavated quite recently. Their original names are probably lost
for ever.]
Landscape
seen from the Tashkent-Termez night train in the
early morning, soon before reaching Termez.
(New) Termez:
Two statues in Termez:
Crying Mother Monument honoring the mothers of the Uzbek soldiers who died in
World War II (left); Alisher Navoi
(1441-1501) regarded as the father of Uzbek literature (right).
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Saint
Alexander Nevsky Russian Orthodox church built in
1901.
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Kampir Tepe:
Kampir Tepe is an
ancient port and fortress city built on a loess plateau overlooking the Amu
Darya river, close to the borders of both Afghanistan
and Turkmenistan. This city flourished on trade between the end of the 4th
century BC and 1st century AD during the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom and the Kushan Empire, until the river changed course. Indeed,
today, Amu Darya flows about 5km south from the ruined city. This site, which
was discovered in 1972, is in my opinion the most spectacular in the region
around Termez.
Model of the Kampir Tepe city exposed in the Termez Archeological Museum.
View over the outer thick fortification
walls containing archers galleries on the northern
side of the city. (Only a short section of the wall visible on the left of this
photo has been reconstructed.)
View over the
Amu Darya valley from the city. The river now flows a few kilometers further on
the left of this photo.
Triptych
panorama of the city seen from the outer walls on the northern side of the
city.
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Views of the
lower part of the city. It is now somewhat difficult to make much visual sense
of this mess of clay and brick structures.
Remains of
warehouse facilities for the port′s trade activities. Holes are the
result of jars used to store food.
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Fayaz Tepe and Kara Tepe:
These are two Buddhist monastic
complexes near Old Termez that peaked in the 2nd and
3rd centuries AD.
Fayaz Tepe seen
from a small hill overlooking the site. The dome is a recent construction to
protect the remains of an ancient stupa against the elements. The metallic
tower in the far background on the right is a military watchtower over the
border with Afghanistan.
View of Kara Tepe
from the same hill. This site combines caves and external structures. The
double fence visible on the right of the photo marks the Uzbek no-man′s land
before its border with Afghanistan. The second photo below shows a longer
section of the fence. Sand dunes lying in Afghanistan are visible in the
background.
Inside Fayaz Tepe. The inner rectangular courtyard with its regularly
spaced column bases clearly shows Greek influence on the architectural style of
the monastery. The Greeks were also the first to attempt a sculptural
representation of the Buddha in human form, based on their own representation
of Apollo. This representation, which includes curly hairs and folded garment,
became the canon for Buddhist art up to the present time.
Beautifully
preserved sculpture of Buddha with monks excavated from the site of Fayaz Tepe and exposed in the Termez Archeological Museum.
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Old Termez:
The site of Old Termez
is huge and suggests the presence of an important city over many centuries.
However, nothing much remains of it as it was razed by Gengis
Khan′s army in the 13th century. In the 15th century the mausoleum of
Hakim (the ″wise″) al Termezi, a
9th-century Sufi scholar and mystic was constructed on a small fraction of the
site and remodeled multiple times since. The site is now a major pilgrimage site.
Remains of
Old Termez′s fortification wall: at the
entrance of the city (first photo below) and behind the mausoleum closer to Amu
Darya (second photo).
Pilgrims
visiting Hakim al Termezi′s mausoleum.
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The heavily
restored mausoleum.
Beautifully
decorated domes inside the mausoleum.
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Left: Tomb of
Hakim al Termezi. Center and right: women praying
near the tomb in the same room.
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Underground caves near the mausoleum.
The purpose of these caves is not clear. They may have been dug to host
Buddhist monks visiting Old Termez from Fayaz Tepe and Kara Tepe, or later Sufi mystics and pilgrims. But they may also
have been used for other purposes, such as storage.
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Artefacts
from the 2nd-3rd centuries AD excavated in Old Termez
and exposed in the Termez Archeology Museum:
- Cornice (left)
and architectural decor showing an elephant among lotus flowers (right).
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- Statues of
Buddha.
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Zurmala stupa:
This 16m-high brick structure dating
from the 1st-2nd centuries AD is the remaining part of a larger Buddhist stupa.
It now stands in the middle of cotton fields as an old solitary witness of an
era when Buddhism ruled the surrounding region. A large vertical crack suggests
that it urgently needs some protection against the elements.
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Elaborate
sculpture of a couple (1st-2nd centuries AD), found in an irrigation ditch near
the Zurmala stupa, on display at the Termez Archeological Museum.
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Kyr Kyz:
This unusual building (a palace, a
caravanserai, a harem...?) from the 9th century is a two-floor 54mx54m
structure. Each floor is divided into 4 square areas separated by two long
corridors connecting four entrance gates. The name Kyr
Kyz means ″40 Girls″.
Model of the Kyr Kyz building shown in theTermez Archeology Museum.
Views of
three gates of the building.
Views of
other parts of the structure.
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Corridors.
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A place where
local people come to make a wish by leaving a scarf.
Sultan Saodat
Necropolis:
This necropolis is somewhat reminiscent
of the Shah-I
Zinda necropolis in Samarkand, but it is smaller
and less colorful. Originally formed between the 11th and 17th centuries for
the tombs of the Sayyid dynasty of Termez, it presently consists of several mausoleums around
an elongated courtyard. The most ancient part of the site is at the western end
of the courtyard.
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Graves in the
northwestern room of the complex.
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Kokildor Khanaka:
This plain, but
elegant structure was originally built in the 16th century as a resting and
spiritual retreat place for itinerant Sufi dervishes (″khanaka″ means ″holy abode″). It is one
of the few khanakas in Uzbekistan.
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Jarkurgan Minaret:
This minaret, surrounded by traditional
houses and small farming fields, was erected in the 12th century. Only the first
22m of the estimated 50m of the original structure remain. The minaret′s
diameter slowly decreases with height. The outer surface consists of 16 half
cylindrical ribs, also of decreasing diameters, in a style reminiscent of the Qutur Minar in New Delhi. The
brickwork to accommodate the curved surface of the minaret and the decreasing
diameters of both the minaret and its ribs is remarkable.
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