Tashkeng Тошкент

Tashkent, Uzbekistan


Tashkent (Uzbek/Russian: Тошкент‚ توشكېنت) is the capital and biggest city in Uzbekistan. Covering 334.8 sq km (129.3 sq mi), it has a population of 2.2 million people (2012 estimate), although unofficial estimate places the figure as high as 4.45 million.

Tashkent began as an oasis on the Chirchik River. It was settled as early as the 5th century BC, and was known by various names through its long history. In ancient times, it was known as Chach. When the Chinese Buddhist monk Xuánzàng passed through here in the 7th century AD, he recorded it as Zhěshí. Not long after, the town was conquered by the Arabs, during which it became known as Binkath.

The Turkic name Tashkent dates from the 10th century. It was sacked by the Persian ruler Khorezmshah in 1214, and five years later, was destroyed by the Mongol, Genghis Khan. Tashkent became part of the Russian Empire following an attack by Mikhail Grigorevich Chernyayev in 1865, by orders of the tsar. The city was made the capitalo of Russian Turkistan.

When the Russian Empire collapse with the February Revolution, Tashkent was made the capital of the Turkestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. Then in 1930, it became the capital of the Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic, replacing Samarkhand. The city experienced industrialization under the Soviet, particularly during the Second World War, when much of the Soviet industries were moved away from western Russian to evade Nazi invasion.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Tashkent was the fourth largest city in the country. Since then, it has grown to become the largest, as it plays its role as the economic and cultural heart of Uzbekistan.

Visiting Tashkent

Tashkent is served by flights connecting it with Almaty, Bangkok, London, New York and Tokyo, among others. Yuzhniy International Airport (TAS), located just a few kilometers from downtown Tashkent is the gateway to Uzbekistan, with domestic flights to all the major cities in the country.

Amir Timur Museum, Tashkent

Sights & Attractions to visit in Tashkent

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Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

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