AMUR TIMUR MUSEUM

Dedicated to the Timurid era and its historical legacy, the Amur Timur Museum opened its doors in 1996, on the occasion of the 660th anniversary of the birth of the great emperor. According to the curator, its architecture is inspired by the Gur Emir of Samarkand, but there is room for doubt... One would rather recognize Tamerlan's crown. The museum possesses some interesting pieces, such as a huge Koran dating from the 7th century, but it is mainly the replicas of Uzbekistan's monuments that attract attention. The Bibi Khanum Mosque and the Gur Emir are reproduced in their original state, which, when you visit the museum at the end of your stay, allows a good comparison with what you will have seen during your stay. A model of the Taj Mahal, built on the order of Babur's grandson, the last of the Timurids chased by the Uzbeks and left to create a new empire in India, by architects from Bukhara, also allows you to compare styles and make comparisons. As can be seen in the paintings exhibited on the second floor, the cult of Tamerlan doubles as that of Uzbekistan, glorified through its national hero and its inescapable president Islam Karimov. These paintings by contemporary artists are extremely poor in style but interesting because they show that the concept of Soviet-style propaganda is far from having disappeared with the collapse of the USSR, and that Uzbekistan under Karimov was certainly one of its best pupils!