No nation can develop properly if it neglects its history. Nor can the whole human civilization, whose history reckons thousands of years.
Notable for its unifying role in the global progress of the mankind is the ancient caravan route known in history as the Great Silk Road. For centuries the branches of overland and sea routes of this transcontinental system of roads connected different parts of the vast Eurasian continent. Not only trade was conducted on the Great Silk Road; it promoted an exchange and mutual enrichment of knowledge, technologies, beliefs, customs and traditions – thus connecting the material, and spiritual cultures of different peoples and countries. Central Asia was in the very heart of this arterial road. And here, like in a creative ‘crucible’, there were refined and synthesized the advanced achievements of the peoples from East and West. Along the main Silk Road branches there developed villages and towns, appeared many temples, and were formed centers of science, theology, arts and crafts. The Great Silk Road left invaluable treasures to present generations.
At the 17th Session of UNESCO General Conference, which was held in Paris in October-November 1972, there was adopted a document of really global significance – the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Since then this Convention has been signed by 185 countries. So far 878 cultural and natural sites have been selected to make up the World Heritage List. To organize their protection World Heritage Fund is set up.
Today the unique properties of the World Heritage List can be found on each continent. Together they make up a symbolic map of human civilization. Yet the history of this civilization is most vividly represented by the Silk Road monuments. UNESCO attaches great importance to the revival of this ancient arterial road. In 1988 UNESCO launched the 10-year-long project “Integral Studies of the Silk Road – the Road of Dialogue”. The interest in the Silk Road monuments has increased not only among scientists and specialists but also among the public at large.
Today, the travel agencies of the Silk Road Destinations operating in the Silk Road region basically cover 9 countries: Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.
There are over 4000 architectural monuments in Uzbekistan, which are of outstanding universal value. Four of them – the complex Ichan-Kala in Khiva, the historic centers of Bukhara, Shakhrisabz and Samarkand – are inscribed on the World Heritage List. Many unique ancient monuments in these cities have remained intact to the present day and are of world importance.
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Samarkand monuments look gorgeous and majestic. In 1370 Temur made Samarkand the capital of his great empire stretching from Siberia and Mongolia to Syria and India. From his military campaigns he brought here skillful architects and craftsmen, whose works outlived the ages. Among these architectural masterpieces is Gur-Emir mausoleum with the grave to great Amir Temur himself. The legendary Registan square is justifiably considered the main architectural attraction in the whole Central Asia. Having survived over the centuries, to this day there rise on the square the walls and towers of three majestic madrassahs: Ulugbek’s madrassah, Sher-Dor madrassah and Tillya-Kari madrassah. Like a blue necklace lies on the slope of Afrosiab hill the chain of ornate blue and turquoise mausoleums of Shakhi-Zinda Ensemble. Radiating with polychrome glazed tiles, the mausoleums, built for the members of the Temurid dynasty, line the path leading up the hill.
From ancient times Bukhara has been the centre of a highly populated oasis. Its history dates back over 2500 years. Archeologists think that the city grew – both in breadth and in height – at this very place throughout its development. Altogether there are over 140 ancient architectural monuments in Bukhara. From the 4th century B.C. there exists the magnificent residence of Bukharan emirs – Ark fortress. The mausoleum of the local Samanid dynasty is deservedly reputed as the ‘gem’ of Central Asian architecture. And towering over the city there stands out its impressive symbol – the minaret Kalyan.
The only intact city of the Silk Road times is Khiva. It is now called ‘a museum in the open’. The city nucleus – Ichan-Kala is surrounded by a strong 2000-metre-long wall with several gates. The major among them is Palvan-darvoza gate. Above the gate there still exists a marble plate with inscription stating the year the gate was constructed – 1221. Dominating the city there is a clearly visible silhouette of the huge Islam-Khoja minaret. One more impressive local attraction is the spectacular architectural ensemble dedicated to the city’s patron, poet and philosopher Pakhlavan Makhmud.
Shakhrisabz, Amir Temur’s birthplace, is located at the foot of the Zerafshan range, Kashkadarya province. Here everything is somehow connected with the name of the great ruler. Having built the huge Movarounnahr empire, of which he was the emir, an absolute ruler, Temur designated Samarkand as its capital. But he always thought of and cared for his native city. Actually, Shakhrisabz was ‘the second capital’ of the empire. The most remarkable among the numerous monuments of Shakhrisabz is Ak-Saray palace and ancestral burial vault of the Temurids Dorus Saodat complex. It is noteworthy that this complex comprises Temur’s crypt which Temur constructed for himself.
Among the historical sites located on the territory of Turkmenistan until recently only one site was inscribed on the World Heritage List. That was Merv, one of ancient oasis-cities along the Silk Road. The region was once part of the Hellenistic world. At the end of the 4th century B.C., Alexander the Great and his troops came here. The eastern territories soon became part of the Seleucid Empire. To this day there remained Erk-Kala, the first walled town of Merv, ancient Buddhist stupa, Christian monuments, the gorgeous Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum… In 2000 UNESCO recognized the State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancient Merv” as the world’s unique value. Five years later one more site was included into the UNESCO World Heritage List – Kunya-Urgench site, and in 2007 Parthian Fortresses of Nisa were also inscribed on the List.
In Kazakhstan the most remarkable architectural monument is the Khoja Akhmad Yasawi mausoleum in Turkestan (former Yasa). It was included in the World Heritage List by the decision adopted at the 27th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Paris from June 30 to July 5, 2003. Later the World Heritage List incorporated Petroglyphs within the Archaeological Landscape of Tamgaly (2004), and natural site Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan which comprises two protected areas: Naurzum State Nature Reserve and Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve.
Interpenetration of cultures and ideas, and at the same time their rigidity and peculiar “survivability” throughout the centuries, can be traced in all the regions along the run of the Great Silk Road, including the territories of today’s Caucasian countries –Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
At different times travelers and explorers called Armenia the country ‘protected by the Biblical Ararat’, the place of ‘the first Noah’s vine’. The country was recorded on the map of Babylon as far back as the beginning of the 1st millennium B.C. The early development stage of the Great Silk Road coincides with the period of the highest political and economic development of Armenian Kingdom under the rule of Tigran the Great II (the 1st century B.C.). Three Armenian monuments were inscribed on the World Heritage List: the Gekhard Monastery and the upper valley of Azat, the monasteries Hagpa and Sanahin, the cathedrals and churches of Echmiadzin and the archeological site of Zvartnots Temple.
No less ancient is thousand-year old culture of the peoples of Georgia. As early as the 3rd – 4th centuries on this land there began to spread Christianity which later became the state religion. Christianity favoured the development of the Georgian written language, Georgian literature, art and crafts, whose golden age fell at the 10th century. It is not without reason that the monuments of this very period were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Of special beauty are the magnificent patriarchal cathedral Sveti-Tskhoveli in Mtskheta (1010 – 1029), the wonderful Bagrati cathedral built in 1003, the monastery ensemble in Gelati (the 12th – 7th centuries). The typical traditional Georgian alpine scenery with medieval villages and towers can be seen in the region of Upper Svanetia.
Another Caucasian country – Azerbaijan also possesses a number of world heritage masterpieces. Among them is the ancient walled city complex with the Shirvanshah Palace and Maiden Tower in Baku – the country’s capital.
Baku was built at a place that had been populated since the Paleolithic times. Its “Icheri shekher” (“Inner Town”) is an ensemble of unique architectural monuments with the traces of Zoroastrian, Sasanid, Arabian, Persian, Shirvan, Ottoman and Russian cultures. The town has preserved many of its defensive installations of the 12th century. Among the gems of Azerbaijani culture is also the architectural complex of palaces of Shirvan rulers “Shirvanshahlar Sarai”. In 2007 Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape was inscribed on the World Heritage List as a cultural site.
UNESCO World Heritage List goes on growing. Recent years have been a substantial increase in the number of countries which put forward their unique historic properties to be included in the List. Among those sites which were submitted by the National Commission on UNESCO Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, for example, are Saimaluu Tash petroglyphs, the Sulaiman Too complex, the Uzgen archeological site, Shah Fazil. The tentative list of Kyrgyz cultural sites nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage List includes medieval archeological sites in Chuy Valley – Burana Tower, Ak Beshim, the Red River.
Kazakhstan’s specialists are convinced that of outstanding universal value are such natural sites of Kazakhstan as the state national parks Altyn Emel and Ile Alatau, the State nature reserve Arsu-Jabagly. The inventory of the sites has been made and they have been nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage List.
Talking about the huge activity of UNESCO aimed at revival of numerous Silk Road cultures one should also note its activity on preservation of oral and intangible cultural heritage. The respective list (Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity) incorporates less than 100 intangible “properties” from all over the world. Evidence of uniqueness of oral folk arts created by the peoples of the Silk Road region is the fact that in the list there were included such properties as the Georgian polyphonic singing “Shakrulo”( 2001), the cultural area of Uzbekistan’s Boysun District (2001), Azerbaijani singing genre Mugam (2003), the Art of Akyns, Kyrgyz Epic Tellers (2003), Shashmaqom Music (Uzbekistan-Tajikistan) (2003), the Duduk and its Music ( Armenia) (2005), the Uyghur Muqam of Xinjiang (2005).
In 2006, the proclamation of the masterpieces of intangible heritage was ended and the List was closed. At the moment, according to the decision of the World Heritage Convention there has been developed a new programme – The Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In 2008, 90 cultural elements which were proclaimed Masterpieces in 2001, 2003 and 2005 have been incorporated in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. First inscriptions are to occur during the next Committee meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in September 2009
Included in another UNESCO’s programme aimed at preservation and dissemination of valuable archive holdings and library collections worldwide – the Memory of the World – are the collection of manuscripts of the Beruni Institute of Oriental Studies of Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and Osman’s Koran that is kept at Spiritual Council of Muslims of Uzbekistan in Tashkent. The list also incorporates Collection of the manuscripts of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (Kazakhstan), the manuscript of Ubayd Zakoni's "Kulliyat" and Hafez Sherozi's "Gazalliyt" (14th century) (Tajikistan), Mashtots Matenadaran ancient manuscripts collection (Armenia), Medieval manuscripts on medicine and pharmacy (Azerbaijan).
The cultural heritage of the Great Silk Road is many-sided and inexhaustible. The noble efforts of UNESCO to preserve this unique heritage serve as a powerful catalyst for the nations’ cultural integration in their move towards progress.
Notable for its unifying role in the global progress of the mankind is the ancient caravan route known in history as the Great Silk Road. For centuries the branches of overland and sea routes of this transcontinental system of roads connected different parts of the vast Eurasian continent. Not only trade was conducted on the Great Silk Road; it promoted an exchange and mutual enrichment of knowledge, technologies, beliefs, customs and traditions – thus connecting the material, and spiritual cultures of different peoples and countries. Central Asia was in the very heart of this arterial road. And here, like in a creative ‘crucible’, there were refined and synthesized the advanced achievements of the peoples from East and West. Along the main Silk Road branches there developed villages and towns, appeared many temples, and were formed centers of science, theology, arts and crafts. The Great Silk Road left invaluable treasures to present generations.
At the 17th Session of UNESCO General Conference, which was held in Paris in October-November 1972, there was adopted a document of really global significance – the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Since then this Convention has been signed by 185 countries. So far 878 cultural and natural sites have been selected to make up the World Heritage List. To organize their protection World Heritage Fund is set up.
Today the unique properties of the World Heritage List can be found on each continent. Together they make up a symbolic map of human civilization. Yet the history of this civilization is most vividly represented by the Silk Road monuments. UNESCO attaches great importance to the revival of this ancient arterial road. In 1988 UNESCO launched the 10-year-long project “Integral Studies of the Silk Road – the Road of Dialogue”. The interest in the Silk Road monuments has increased not only among scientists and specialists but also among the public at large.
Today, the travel agencies of the Silk Road Destinations operating in the Silk Road region basically cover 9 countries: Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.
There are over 4000 architectural monuments in Uzbekistan, which are of outstanding universal value. Four of them – the complex Ichan-Kala in Khiva, the historic centers of Bukhara, Shakhrisabz and Samarkand – are inscribed on the World Heritage List. Many unique ancient monuments in these cities have remained intact to the present day and are of world importance.
Samarkand monuments look gorgeous and majestic. In 1370 Temur made Samarkand the capital of his great empire stretching from Siberia and Mongolia to Syria and India. From his military campaigns he brought here skillful architects and craftsmen, whose works outlived the ages. Among these architectural masterpieces is Gur-Emir mausoleum with the grave to great Amir Temur himself. The legendary Registan square is justifiably considered the main architectural attraction in the whole Central Asia. Having survived over the centuries, to this day there rise on the square the walls and towers of three majestic madrassahs: Ulugbek’s madrassah, Sher-Dor madrassah and Tillya-Kari madrassah. Like a blue necklace lies on the slope of Afrosiab hill the chain of ornate blue and turquoise mausoleums of Shakhi-Zinda Ensemble. Radiating with polychrome glazed tiles, the mausoleums, built for the members of the Temurid dynasty, line the path leading up the hill.
From ancient times Bukhara has been the centre of a highly populated oasis. Its history dates back over 2500 years. Archeologists think that the city grew – both in breadth and in height – at this very place throughout its development. Altogether there are over 140 ancient architectural monuments in Bukhara. From the 4th century B.C. there exists the magnificent residence of Bukharan emirs – Ark fortress. The mausoleum of the local Samanid dynasty is deservedly reputed as the ‘gem’ of Central Asian architecture. And towering over the city there stands out its impressive symbol – the minaret Kalyan. The only intact city of the Silk Road times is Khiva. It is now called ‘a museum in the open’. The city nucleus – Ichan-Kala is surrounded by a strong 2000-metre-long wall with several gates. The major among them is Palvan-darvoza gate. Above the gate there still exists a marble plate with inscription stating the year the gate was constructed – 1221. Dominating the city there is a clearly visible silhouette of the huge Islam-Khoja minaret. One more impressive local attraction is the spectacular architectural ensemble dedicated to the city’s patron, poet and philosopher Pakhlavan Makhmud.
Shakhrisabz, Amir Temur’s birthplace, is located at the foot of the Zerafshan range, Kashkadarya province. Here everything is somehow connected with the name of the great ruler. Having built the huge Movarounnahr empire, of which he was the emir, an absolute ruler, Temur designated Samarkand as its capital. But he always thought of and cared for his native city. Actually, Shakhrisabz was ‘the second capital’ of the empire. The most remarkable among the numerous monuments of Shakhrisabz is Ak-Saray palace and ancestral burial vault of the Temurids Dorus Saodat complex. It is noteworthy that this complex comprises Temur’s crypt which Temur constructed for himself.
Among the historical sites located on the territory of Turkmenistan until recently only one site was inscribed on the World Heritage List. That was Merv, one of ancient oasis-cities along the Silk Road. The region was once part of the Hellenistic world. At the end of the 4th century B.C., Alexander the Great and his troops came here. The eastern territories soon became part of the Seleucid Empire. To this day there remained Erk-Kala, the first walled town of Merv, ancient Buddhist stupa, Christian monuments, the gorgeous Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum… In 2000 UNESCO recognized the State Historical and Cultural Park “Ancient Merv” as the world’s unique value. Five years later one more site was included into the UNESCO World Heritage List – Kunya-Urgench site, and in 2007 Parthian Fortresses of Nisa were also inscribed on the List.
In Kazakhstan the most remarkable architectural monument is the Khoja Akhmad Yasawi mausoleum in Turkestan (former Yasa). It was included in the World Heritage List by the decision adopted at the 27th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Paris from June 30 to July 5, 2003. Later the World Heritage List incorporated Petroglyphs within the Archaeological Landscape of Tamgaly (2004), and natural site Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan which comprises two protected areas: Naurzum State Nature Reserve and Korgalzhyn State Nature Reserve.
Interpenetration of cultures and ideas, and at the same time their rigidity and peculiar “survivability” throughout the centuries, can be traced in all the regions along the run of the Great Silk Road, including the territories of today’s Caucasian countries –Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan.
At different times travelers and explorers called Armenia the country ‘protected by the Biblical Ararat’, the place of ‘the first Noah’s vine’. The country was recorded on the map of Babylon as far back as the beginning of the 1st millennium B.C. The early development stage of the Great Silk Road coincides with the period of the highest political and economic development of Armenian Kingdom under the rule of Tigran the Great II (the 1st century B.C.). Three Armenian monuments were inscribed on the World Heritage List: the Gekhard Monastery and the upper valley of Azat, the monasteries Hagpa and Sanahin, the cathedrals and churches of Echmiadzin and the archeological site of Zvartnots Temple.
No less ancient is thousand-year old culture of the peoples of Georgia. As early as the 3rd – 4th centuries on this land there began to spread Christianity which later became the state religion. Christianity favoured the development of the Georgian written language, Georgian literature, art and crafts, whose golden age fell at the 10th century. It is not without reason that the monuments of this very period were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Of special beauty are the magnificent patriarchal cathedral Sveti-Tskhoveli in Mtskheta (1010 – 1029), the wonderful Bagrati cathedral built in 1003, the monastery ensemble in Gelati (the 12th – 7th centuries). The typical traditional Georgian alpine scenery with medieval villages and towers can be seen in the region of Upper Svanetia.
Another Caucasian country – Azerbaijan also possesses a number of world heritage masterpieces. Among them is the ancient walled city complex with the Shirvanshah Palace and Maiden Tower in Baku – the country’s capital.
Baku was built at a place that had been populated since the Paleolithic times. Its “Icheri shekher” (“Inner Town”) is an ensemble of unique architectural monuments with the traces of Zoroastrian, Sasanid, Arabian, Persian, Shirvan, Ottoman and Russian cultures. The town has preserved many of its defensive installations of the 12th century. Among the gems of Azerbaijani culture is also the architectural complex of palaces of Shirvan rulers “Shirvanshahlar Sarai”. In 2007 Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape was inscribed on the World Heritage List as a cultural site.
UNESCO World Heritage List goes on growing. Recent years have been a substantial increase in the number of countries which put forward their unique historic properties to be included in the List. Among those sites which were submitted by the National Commission on UNESCO Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, for example, are Saimaluu Tash petroglyphs, the Sulaiman Too complex, the Uzgen archeological site, Shah Fazil. The tentative list of Kyrgyz cultural sites nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage List includes medieval archeological sites in Chuy Valley – Burana Tower, Ak Beshim, the Red River.
Kazakhstan’s specialists are convinced that of outstanding universal value are such natural sites of Kazakhstan as the state national parks Altyn Emel and Ile Alatau, the State nature reserve Arsu-Jabagly. The inventory of the sites has been made and they have been nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage List.
Talking about the huge activity of UNESCO aimed at revival of numerous Silk Road cultures one should also note its activity on preservation of oral and intangible cultural heritage. The respective list (Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity) incorporates less than 100 intangible “properties” from all over the world. Evidence of uniqueness of oral folk arts created by the peoples of the Silk Road region is the fact that in the list there were included such properties as the Georgian polyphonic singing “Shakrulo”( 2001), the cultural area of Uzbekistan’s Boysun District (2001), Azerbaijani singing genre Mugam (2003), the Art of Akyns, Kyrgyz Epic Tellers (2003), Shashmaqom Music (Uzbekistan-Tajikistan) (2003), the Duduk and its Music ( Armenia) (2005), the Uyghur Muqam of Xinjiang (2005).
In 2006, the proclamation of the masterpieces of intangible heritage was ended and the List was closed. At the moment, according to the decision of the World Heritage Convention there has been developed a new programme – The Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. In 2008, 90 cultural elements which were proclaimed Masterpieces in 2001, 2003 and 2005 have been incorporated in the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. First inscriptions are to occur during the next Committee meeting in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, in September 2009
Included in another UNESCO’s programme aimed at preservation and dissemination of valuable archive holdings and library collections worldwide – the Memory of the World – are the collection of manuscripts of the Beruni Institute of Oriental Studies of Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan and Osman’s Koran that is kept at Spiritual Council of Muslims of Uzbekistan in Tashkent. The list also incorporates Collection of the manuscripts of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi (Kazakhstan), the manuscript of Ubayd Zakoni's "Kulliyat" and Hafez Sherozi's "Gazalliyt" (14th century) (Tajikistan), Mashtots Matenadaran ancient manuscripts collection (Armenia), Medieval manuscripts on medicine and pharmacy (Azerbaijan).
The cultural heritage of the Great Silk Road is many-sided and inexhaustible. The noble efforts of UNESCO to preserve this unique heritage serve as a powerful catalyst for the nations’ cultural integration in their move towards progress.