Uzbekistan

Intellectual treasures from medieval times

Nation: Uzbekistan National Day: 09.09.00

Gleaming turquoise domes, round, stone arches, balconies and fountains: Uzbekistan portrays a medieval Muslim town. The country takes special pride in its medieval architecture, which is unparalleled in Central Asia, since many other states had or still have a nomadic culture. The Middle Ages were Uzbekistan's cultural and economic heyday and a great part of the exhibition is dedicated to this era.

The visitor is given the opportunity to slip into the role of a wanderer on the old Silk Road, coming out of the desert and entering a prosperous city, steeped in culture. In the exhibition medieval instruments used for astrological research, mathematical sequences of numbers, silk painting and filigree golden jewellery are displayed. The exhibition "Intellectual heritage of our ancestors" bears witness to how research results and works of art from Uzbekistan have paid their contribution to the world's cultural heritage. The second section portrays "Uzbekistan today", with its economy, its sport programmes and its age-old traditional crafts.