TRAVERSE 115
more modern and progressive . A conundrum when considering the media reports of Uzbekistan and it ’ s political and cultural situation .
It was hard to argue with the sentiments of American traveller and diplomat , Eugene Schuyler , who in the nineteenth century described the Kokand Urda , Kokand ’ s main feature , as “ more magnificent than any other in Central Asia ... glittering in all the brightness of its fresh tiles , blue , yellow and green ."
The Kokand Urda or Palace of Khudayar Khan is indeed splendid in its ornate grandeur . An uncomplicated design that draws the viewer in , beyond the gates it seems to go on into eternity , with courtyard after courtyard decorated with brightly coloured tiles forming a pattern as splendid as anything in the region . A fantastic prelude to what was to come and a living museum to a proud Uzbek past .
Tashkent , on the other hand , seemed a little more forced yet no less spectacular . The capital of Uzbekistan , Tashkent sits on the border with neighbouring Kazakhstan , meaning it has strategic importance within the region , something it has witnessed since the days of the old Silk Route .
Tashkent ’ s history is at least two thousand years old , lending a profound influence on its multiethnicity , although this has been modified over time , due in
TRAVERSE 115