Uzbekistan cities

Geography

Tashkent 41°18′N 69°16′E is situated in a well-watered plain to the west of the last Altai mountains[citation needed] on the road between Shymkent and Samarkand. Tashkent sits at the confluence of the Chirchik river and several of its tributaries and is built on deep alluvial deposits up to 15 metres (49 ft). The city is located in a lively tectonic area suffering large numbers of tremors and some earthquakes. One earthquake in 1966 measured 7.5 on the Richter scale. The local time in Tashkent is UTC/GMT +5 hours.

Climate.

Tashkent has a Mediterranean climate (Köppen: Csa) with long, hot and dry summers from May to September and short but cold winters from December to February. The climate has continental influences, and features two peaks of precipitation in the early winter and spring. The slightly unusual precipitation pattern is partially due to the 500 m (roughly 1600 feet) altitude that the city features. The temperatures in Tashkent can be extremely hot during July and August. Most precipitation occurs in the months of winter and spring, while the period between July and September is dry.

Andijan
Andijan or Andizhan (Uzbek: Andijon / Андижон; Russian: Андижан) is the fourth-largest city in Uzbekistan, and the capital of the Andijan Province. It is located in the east of the country, at 40°47′N 72°20′E, in the Fergana Valley, near the border with Kyrgyzstan on the Andijan-Say River. It has a population of 323,900 (1999 census estimate).
Name

Arab geographers from the tenth century and later give the name as Andiyon, Andukan, Andugan, and Andigan. The etymology is unknown; the traditional explanation links it to the Turkic tribal name Andi.

History

Andijan was an important stop on the Silk Road, lying roughly mid-way between Kashgar and Khodjend. Destroyed by Genghis Khan, it was rebuilt by his grandson Kaidu Khan in the late 13th century, and became the capital of Ferghana for the next three centuries. It is perhaps best known as the birthplace of Zahir-ud-din Muhammad Babur (Babur), who founded the Mughal dynasty that ruled much of today's India, Pakistan, and South Asia, born in 1483.

The city was the center and flashpoint of the Andijan Uprising of 1898, in which the followers of Sufi leader Madali Ishan attacked the Russian barracks in the city, killing 22 and injuring 16-20 more. In retaliation, 18 of the participants were hanged and 360 exiled.

On December 12, 1902, much of the city was leveled by a severe earthquake, which destroyed up to 30,000 homes in the region, and killed as many as 4,500 residents.

Andijan during and after Soviet rule.

During the Soviet Union, Andijan was separated from its historical hinterland when the present borders were created, dividing Ferghana Valley between three separate Soviet republics. Andijan itself became part of the Uzbek SSR. The borders did not make a great deal of difference during the Soviet period, as the entire region was developed to grow cash crops such as cotton and silk.

During World War II many Soviet citizens were evacuated to Andijan and the surrounding republics.

In the 1990s, though, the Andijan and the surrounding region became much more unstable. Poverty and an upsurge in Islamic fundamentalism produced tensions in the region which resulted in riots in Andijan on May 2, 1990 in which the homes of Jews and Armenians were attacked. The town, and the region as a whole, suffered a severe economic decline following the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Repeated border closures badly damaged the local economy, worsening the already widespread poverty of Andijan's inhabitants. Islamic fundamentalists established a presence in the city. In May 2003, a local man named Azizbek Karimov was arrested and accused of carrying out terrorist bombings on behalf of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan. He was convicted and executed in April 2004.

May 2005 Massacre

Main article: Andijan massacre

On May 13, 2005, Uzbekistan's military opened fire on a mass of people who were protesting against poor living conditions and corrupt government. Estimated casualties range from 187 to 5,000. The government of Uzbekistan first blamed the murders on terrorists, but after the requests for independent investigations by Western countries, the government acknowledged its fault. The number of killed people is disputed, as no independent investigations were allowed

Economy

Andijan is an industrial center in an irrigated area that produces fruits, cotton, Uzbek Ikat and silk.
Bukhara
Bukhara (Persian: بُخارا; Tajik: Бухоро; Uzbek: Buxoro / Бухоро), from the Soghdian βuxārak ("lucky place"), is the capital of the Bukhara Province (viloyat) of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 (2009 census estimate). The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time. Located on the Silk Road, the city has long been a center of trade, scholarship, culture, and religion. The historic center of Bukhara, which contains numerous mosques and madrassas, has been listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Ethnic Tajiks constitute the majority in Bukhara, but the city long had a population including Jews and other ethnic minorities as well.