The Newsletter 66 Winter 2013

The cityscape of modern Central Asia. The politics of urban renewal in Tashkent

Elena Paskaleva

At present, no expense is spared for the regeneration of the Uzbek capital; national and international resources are being used to create the skyline of modern Tashkent. Importantly, Timurid (14th century) and Shaybanid (16th century) architectural styles have been used to construct a modern Uzbek identity. Although Samarkand was the main Timurid capital and Bukhara the Shaybanid stronghold, Tashkent has become the emblem of everything that is new and modern in post-Soviet Uzbekistan. Like an architectural palimpsest, the Timurid and Shaybanid past is used to define the present political and religious agenda of independent Uzbekistan.

 

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