When the Hungarian orientalist, traveler, zoologist, and ethnographer Derd Almashi (died 1933) planned an expedition to Central Asia, his intention was completely different. He intended to conduct zoological and geological research in the territories currently belonging to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. At the same time, Almashi became acquainted with the general aspirations of Hungarian travelers who tried to find traces of early Hungarians in Central Asia, and he himself was very interested in ethnographic observations.
Almashi will stop in Samarkand to conduct business negotiations and tour the city. He is fascinated by the historical monuments here, and he describes them as "the meeting places of the past and present." He was so amazed by the magnificent buildings that, returning to the station, he once again took a detour to admire them.
Although Almashi stayed in the territory of present-day Uzbekistan for only five days (one day in Samarkand, four days in Tashkent), in the process of preparing for the next stage of his journey, he also found time to conduct ethnographic research among the population of Turkestan. In his book, published in 1903, he provides detailed information about the various peoples and tribes living in this region, and also explains the most important ethnic terms.
Almashi made his second trip to this region in 1906. This time he was accompanied by another Hungarian scientist, a young geologist and geographer, Dyula Prins (died in 1973). Since their goal was to map the mountains on the eastern side of the Fergana Valley, they did not stay in the territory of present-day Uzbekistan for long. The success of the expedition prompted Prince to make a second trip to the Tian Shan mountains. On the way, Prince also visited Tashkent and Andijan to describe Andijan in his memoirs of the 1911 trip.
