Gijduvan
Encyclopedia
Gijduvan or Gizhduvan is a town in the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan
and the capital of Gizhduvan district (raion). Its population in 1970 was 16,000.
s built by Ulugh Beg
is in Gijduvan (the others are in Samarkand
and Bukhara
). The tomb and memorial of a prominent Central Asian philosopher Abduholik Gijduvoni is also located in Gijduvan.
Historically, Gijduvan is used to be an educational, religious, and cultural center for Gijduvan and the province. However, starting from 1930's the population became increasingly secular and today the religion plays a very minor role in everyday life. Modern Gijduvan is a commercial center for not only Gijduvan raion but also for neighboring areas.
making techniques. Shashlik is beef or lamb marinated overnight and grilled on skewers. Many other restaurants in the country, including those in the capital Tashkent copy Gijduvan's fish frying technique. The main difference is that in Gijduvan cooks de-bone the fish before frying while in the rest of the country fish is not de-boned.
The town is also known for its traditional Uzbek treats like halva
, candies, etc. Many agree that Gijduvan was able to cultivate more refined cuisine compared to other parts of the country because it is one of the earliest populated areas in Central Asia. Bukhara, a fifth largest city in Uzbekistan, is about 40 km away that city has been populated for at least 5 millennia and Gijduvan is thought to fall in the same areas as long as its age is concerned.
The city used to have a large Jewish minority who moved to Israel and the United States after the fall of the Soviet Union when economic conditions were difficult.
The foremost sport is soccer.
The city has high schools, a few vocational schools, medical college, hospitals. Gijduvan has no higher educational establishments so in order to attend universities the residents travel to Buhkara, Samarkand, Tashkent or other bigger cities.
Historically, the town was famous for its industrious merchants who traveled to other bigger commercial centers and brought various goods to the local market. They seem to uphold that reputation to this day. Local businessmen travel to China, Russia, the Baltic states, Turkey and Iran to buy goods wholesale and bring those goods to Gijduvan. These days shoppers from outlying areas come to Gijduvan for any type of shopping including groceries, various type of supplies, home appliances and electronics, car parts, clothing, etc. Gijduvan has a whole-sale market where merchants from surrounding areas buy their supplies and sell in their shops in rural areas. The town operates a live stock market too where farmers can buy and sell their live stock.
Gijduvan craftsmen play important role in the local economy and their work is a major attraction for tourists. The town has a distinct style of the pottery which is defined by applying a unique turquoise-bluish color to the pottery. Some notables including Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and Hillary Clinton have been to Gijduvan to see the work of local craftsmen.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
and the capital of Gizhduvan district (raion). Its population in 1970 was 16,000.
History
One of the three madrasahMadrasah
Madrasah is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious...
s built by Ulugh Beg
Ulugh Beg
Ulugh Bek was a Timurid ruler as well as an astronomer, mathematician and sultan. His commonly-known name is not truly a personal name, but rather a moniker, which can be loosely translated as "Great Ruler" or "Patriarch Ruler" and was the Turkic equivalent of Timur's Perso-Arabic title Amīr-e...
is in Gijduvan (the others are in Samarkand
Samarkand
Although a Persian-speaking region, it was not united politically with Iran most of the times between the disintegration of the Seleucid Empire and the Arab conquest . In the 6th century it was within the domain of the Turkic kingdom of the Göktürks.At the start of the 8th century Samarkand came...
and Bukhara
Bukhara
Bukhara , from the Soghdian βuxārak , is the capital of the Bukhara Province of Uzbekistan. The nation's fifth-largest city, it has a population of 263,400 . The region around Bukhara has been inhabited for at least five millennia, and the city has existed for half that time...
). The tomb and memorial of a prominent Central Asian philosopher Abduholik Gijduvoni is also located in Gijduvan.
Historically, Gijduvan is used to be an educational, religious, and cultural center for Gijduvan and the province. However, starting from 1930's the population became increasingly secular and today the religion plays a very minor role in everyday life. Modern Gijduvan is a commercial center for not only Gijduvan raion but also for neighboring areas.
Cuisine
Gijduvan is famous for its local cuisine and is considered to have the best fish frying and shashlikShashlik
Shashlyk or Shashlik , is a form of Shish kebab popular throughout Israel, Lithuania, former Soviet Union, Iran, Mongolia, and parts of central Europe. Shashlyk is originally lamb depending on local preferences and religious observances...
making techniques. Shashlik is beef or lamb marinated overnight and grilled on skewers. Many other restaurants in the country, including those in the capital Tashkent copy Gijduvan's fish frying technique. The main difference is that in Gijduvan cooks de-bone the fish before frying while in the rest of the country fish is not de-boned.
The town is also known for its traditional Uzbek treats like halva
Halva
Halva refers to many types of dense, sweet confections, served across the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Balkans, Eastern Europe, Malta and the Jewish world.The term halva ,...
, candies, etc. Many agree that Gijduvan was able to cultivate more refined cuisine compared to other parts of the country because it is one of the earliest populated areas in Central Asia. Bukhara, a fifth largest city in Uzbekistan, is about 40 km away that city has been populated for at least 5 millennia and Gijduvan is thought to fall in the same areas as long as its age is concerned.
Culture
The languages spoken in Gijduvan are Uzbek, Tajik and Russian. Although the majority of population identifies themselves etnically Uzbeks some oldest families in the city speak Tajik at home.The city used to have a large Jewish minority who moved to Israel and the United States after the fall of the Soviet Union when economic conditions were difficult.
The foremost sport is soccer.
The city has high schools, a few vocational schools, medical college, hospitals. Gijduvan has no higher educational establishments so in order to attend universities the residents travel to Buhkara, Samarkand, Tashkent or other bigger cities.
Industry
Gijduvan is in the irrigated cotton growing area of Uzbekistan between the Zeravshan River valley and the Shimolii canal. The town has a cotton processing plant which prepares cotton grown by the farmers in the province for export. Cotton's importance in Uzbekistan's economy has been continuously dropping since the independence in 1991 which is why Gijduvan and the province has been diversifying its economy and its agriculture is moving away from cotton and branching into vegetable and fruit farming. Some sectors of the economy like transportation are also on the rise. M34 highway connects Gijduvan to other parts of the country including Bukhara, Samarkand and Tashkent.Historically, the town was famous for its industrious merchants who traveled to other bigger commercial centers and brought various goods to the local market. They seem to uphold that reputation to this day. Local businessmen travel to China, Russia, the Baltic states, Turkey and Iran to buy goods wholesale and bring those goods to Gijduvan. These days shoppers from outlying areas come to Gijduvan for any type of shopping including groceries, various type of supplies, home appliances and electronics, car parts, clothing, etc. Gijduvan has a whole-sale market where merchants from surrounding areas buy their supplies and sell in their shops in rural areas. The town operates a live stock market too where farmers can buy and sell their live stock.
Gijduvan craftsmen play important role in the local economy and their work is a major attraction for tourists. The town has a distinct style of the pottery which is defined by applying a unique turquoise-bluish color to the pottery. Some notables including Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales and Hillary Clinton have been to Gijduvan to see the work of local craftsmen.