MUSEUM OF THE HISTORY OF THE PEOPLES OF UZBEKISTAN

The former Lenin Museum became the Museum of the History of the Peoples of Uzbekistan in 1995. The very Soviet structure hosts more than 2,000^m2 of a fascinating collection that will delight lovers of prehistory, but also of ancient, medieval or contemporary history.

The visit begins with the rooms devoted to the Stone Age, with the results of numerous excavations carried out throughout the country. One can in particular linger on the reconstituted face of a Neanderthal child, discovered in the 1940s in Teshik Tash, in Sourkhan Daria, by the Soviet archaeologist Gerasimov. This is followed by some reconstructions of scenes of life at that time, based on the excavations of the two oldest sites uncovered in Uzbekistan: Djarkutan (^19th century B.C.) and Sapalli Tepe (^17th century B.C.), both located in the province of Sourkhan Daria. Moving forward in time, we then move on to a reconstruction of the Zoroastrian temple of Qoy Qirilgan, particularly interesting for those who have visited its ruins in the Khorezm. It is estimated today that the region could have been the birthplace of this religion. A large space is then devoted to the conquests of Alexander the Great in Central Asia. The Greek emperor built no less than five Alexandria in the region, the last of which was at the extreme limit of his empire, in Khodjent, in present-day Tajikistan.

The results of the excavations at Kok Tepe, one of the largest archaeological sites in Uzbekistan and the second capital of Sogdiana after Samarkand, will also be detailed. In particular, the burial site of a Saka princess was found there, as well as a large quantity of ornaments and gold buttons. You will also see the treasures discovered in Kara Tepe and Fayaz Tepe, the Buddhist sites near Termez. The gold and ceramic Buddhas give an idea of the splendor that reigned in these sacred monasteries in the ^first century.

After the exhibition devoted to the Kushan period, the visitor cannot but be fascinated by the great fresco of Varakhsha, uncovered on the historical site of Samarkand, representing a Sogdian prince mounted on a white elephant, attacked by two leopards during a hunting party. The Afrosyab Museum in Samarkand has a copy of this piece, but it is the original.

Next are the departments devoted to the two golden ages of Uzbekistan: the Samanid period and the Timurid period. There are exhibits dedicated to the great scholars of the time: the poet Alisher Navoi, the mathematician Al-Khorezmi, the philosopher Al-Termezi, the astronomers Ulugh Begh and Al-Ferghani. The architecture is not left out with models presenting reconstructions of buildings like a splendid model of the Bibi Khanum mosque in Samarkand.

The second floor of the museum is devoted to the Russian invasion and Uzbekistan's war efforts to help its big brother Russia in its "great patriotic war", the name given to the Second World War.

The exhibition ends on the contemporary period, with some photos of the attacks perpetrated in Tashkent by the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in 1999-2000, and photographs of the main technical, industrial or political achievements of Uzbekistan since independence. It is the propaganda part, common to all the country's museums, that we pass quickly enough.