Tashkent – the History of One City

Diplomat Magazine
April 2010

To celebrate Navruz Spring Holiday, a photographic exhibition dedicated to the 2200th anniversary of Tashkent, Uzbekistan`s capital, was held at Jesus College, Cambridge from 10-20 March. The Embassy of Uzbekistan also hosted the exhibition alongside a diplomatic reception on 25 March.

Tashkent – often described as ‘a pearl in the necklace of Central Asian cities` – is an ancient yet eternally young city. Enriched by different linguistic and cultural traditions over two millennia, the city is immersed in myths and legends and has long been a muse to artists, composers and academics. This living city seamlessly embodies its past and gazes toward the future with confidence and joy.

The exhibition consisted of around 80 photographs selected from the eponymous book published by the Forum of Culture and Arts of Uzbekistan Foundation (the Fund Forum) jointly with UNESCO. There are 450 photographs in the book, capturing Tashkent at the most important stages of its history from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Taken over the course of 130 years, the pictures reflect the unique culture of the city, which always combined traditional and modern features. A rare collection of postcards served as inspiration for the book.

The conception of the book was elaborated by Professor Gulnara Karimova, Mr. Boris Golender, Ms. Shahnoza Karimbabayeva, Mr. Sergei Abaturov and Mr. Rinat Karimov. Over a period of 12 months, this group studied, collected, selected and prepared the rarest photographic shots from the history of the Uzbek capital for publication.

The exhibition was an example of dynamic cooperation between the Fund Forum and the British Council on the basis of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Tashkent in 2008. The event was also kindly supported by the British-Uzbek Society and Cambridge Central Asia Forum.