Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
potential in boosting tourism by developing different segments of tourism,
such as ecotourism, educational and cultural tourism, business tourism
and adventure tourism. There is a strong and ambitious political will to
become a tourist “Mecca” in Central Asia.
Chapter 4 (Sazak) eloquently describes the beauty and unique cultural
heritage of Bukhara as described by the author as 'Princess Bukhara.' Lo-
cated in Uzbekistan, Bukhara was considered by many to be the intel-
lectual center of the Islamic World during the golden age of Saminids and
was considered one of the main centers of world civilization for thousands
of years. This chapter, therefore, details the rich history of the city until
present day. The museums, traditional handcrafts, and jewelry that exist
today are also described in this chapter as they provide a glance at the
robust history and traditions of the city.
Chapter 5 (Mangaltepe) explicates the heritage, as well as opportuni-
ties and challenges in the current tourism sector in Khiva. Khiva is a city
of about 50,000 residents located in the Xorazm Province of Uzbekistan.
The chapter details the city's exciting heritage and includes items such as
trade route and religious traditions. Information regarding modern archeo-
logical digs is also included to help paint a picture of this once robust city.
Today there are more than 400 historical monuments in the region, many
of which are located in Khiva.
In Chapter 6, Zeren describes the oasis city of Merv located in the
Mary province of Turkmenistan. Surrounded by the Karakum desert,
Merv has been of major strategic value throughout the chronology of the
Silk Road. As described by Zeren, Merv “is an oasis city established on
the delta of the Murag River which takes roots from the Afghan mountains
and vanishes up north in the Karakum desert.” It has even been claimed
by some that Merv was briefly the largest city in the world in the twelfth
century. This chapter, therefore, examines not only history, but also culture
as reflected in architecture and handcrafts.
In Chapter 7, Yucel intricately details the heritage of Samarkand, a city
of approximately a half a million residents located in Uzbekistan. Samar-
kand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world founded around 700
BC. The chapter describes the heritage, culture and current tourist attrac-
tions in this 'Queen of All Cities.' Under the proper conditions, there is
little question regarding the tourism potential of this majestic city. Tourists
from across the globe would enjoy and appreciate this robust beauty an-
chored with nearly three thousand years of history.
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