Uzbekistan to create ‘Little Turkmenistan’ cultural complex in Bukhara
The prospects for developing the complex were discussed at a working meeting attended by Uzbekistan’s Deputy Chairman of the Tourism Committee and the heads of several interested parties: Türkiye’s Finwest Finance Company and the joint Uzbek-Turkmen enterprise LLC SD TURKMEN HALY, which produces and promotes traditional Turkmen carpets, UzA reports.
Bukhara is one of Uzbekistan’s main tourist centers and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, drawing hundreds of thousands of foreign tourists each year for its well-preserved medieval architecture, historic madrasahs, mosques, and shopping domes. In addition, Bukhara is geographically and historically closely linked to Turkmenistan – the regions are united by shared trade routes along the Great Silk Road, similar cultural traditions, and centuries-old good-neighborly relations.
Creating a thematic complex dedicated to the culture of a neighboring country aligns with the broader trend of developing ethnographic and cultural tourism in Central Asia, where, instead of separate souvenir shops or temporary exhibitions, full-fledged spaces are created where tourists can immerse themselves in the atmosphere of another country – to see artisans at work and learn more about the history and traditions of the people.
Earlier, it was reported that Uzbekistan’s Arda Khiva complex and Kazakhstan’s FlyArystan had deepened their partnership to boost tourism.