Historical monuments and museums of uzbekistan

Historical monuments and museums of uzbekistan
When you learn about the history of Uzbekistan, you quickly realise that it is impossible to count all the historical sites. Archeologists are still discovering forgotten fortresses and lost cities beneath Uzbekistan’s desert sands and tucked away in remote valleys. In ancient cities such as Bukhara, Samarkand, and Termez, the more you dig, the more you find, as each new generation built their own monuments upon the ruins of the past. Uzbekistan is a dream for history lovers, and when you explore the historical sites of Uzbekistan, especially the archeological sites, you will frequently have them to yourself.

On this page we are going to feature some of the most fascinating, beautiful, and historically important sites in Uzbekistan. They are listed thematically, with the older historical sites in Uzbekistan first. You can find out more about some of the places by clicking on the hyperlinks.

PETROGLYPHS IN UZBEKISTAN More than 10,000 years ago, ancient artists carved their artworks into the rocks. They depicted the world around them: the animals they hunted, the jobs they did, and the symbols which had ritual importance. There are more than 150 petroglyph sites in Uzbekistan, many of them with thousands of unique images in good condition. The best places to see petroglyphs in Uzbekistan are at Sarmishsoy and Sentob in Navoi Region, and at Beldersoy, Hodjikent, and Karakiyasay in Tashkent Region.
RUINED CITIES IN UZBEKISTAN The first city on the site of modern Samarkand was Afrosiab, which was occupied from 500 BC to around 1,200 AD. Afrosiab was the centre of Sogdian culture, and a hugely important Silk Road trading hub. Fantastic murals of Silk Road travellers, including from China, India, and Persia, decorated the palace walls and are now on display in the Afrosiab Museum of Samarkand.
When Alexander the Great invaded Central Asia in the 4th century BC, he built multiple cities, many of which were named after him. He built Alexandria on the Oxus by the Amu Darya River (the River Oxus of antiquity). When the river changed its course, the city was abandoned and forgotten, reclaimed by the earth. Archeologists rediscovered the site, which they called Kampir Tepe, near Termez, Surxondaryo in the 20th century. It was only in 2019 that they finally amassed enough evidence to prove that Kampir Tepe was indeed the lost city of Alexander. The Telegraph describes the site as the “Pompeii of Uzbekistan“.