They not only opened the pages of the historical past of Central Asian cities, when peaceful life thrived in them, skilled artisans worked, and architects erected monumental buildings to the glory of their rulers and their culture, but also formed an integral part of the urban cultural space of the 19th – early 20th centuries, bringing into it their unique charm.
Types of cities and architectural monuments are some of the most common plots presented in the photographs of the 19th – early 20th centuries. Most of them are devoted to large metropolitan cities: Khiva, Samarkand, Bukhara, Kokand and others – as the richest in historical buildings that defined the architectural appearance and were symbols of these cities.
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In Khiva, for example, such a symbol is Ichan Kala – an architectural complex that includes palaces, mosques, madrasas, caravanserais and mausoleums built in the historical inner part of the city. In Shahrisabz, the birthplace of the Great Timur, it is the Ak-Saray Palace, built on his order (late 14th – early 15th centuries); in Bukhara – the residence of the Bukhara emirs and the ancient citadel of Ark, towering over the central square of the city as a symbol of its greatness and impregnability. The architectural symbol of Kokand was the building of Urda – the palace of the ruler of the Khanate of Kokand Khudayar Khan 1829 – 1886, although it was built only in 1871.
You can learn more about the topic in the book-album “Uzbekistan in historic photographs of the 19th - early 20th centuries in the collections of Russian archives” (Volume XXXVII) in the series “Cultural Legacy of Uzbekistan”.
The general sponsor of the project is the oilfield services company Eriell-Group.