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Samarkand (Uzbek: Samarqand, from Sogdian: 'Stone Fort' or 'Rock Town') is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province. The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West, and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study.<br/><br/> In the 14th century it became the capital of the empire of Timur (Tamerlane) and is the site of his mausoleum (the Gur-e Amir). The Bibi-Khanym Mosque remains one of the city's most notable landmarks. The Registan was the ancient center of the city.
Bukhara was founded in 500 BCE in the area now called the Ark. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabitated long before.<br/><br/> The city has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in.<br/><br/> Bukhara's architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was for a long period a part of the Persian Empire. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region.
Bukhara was founded in 500 BCE in the area now called the Ark. However, the Bukhara oasis had been inhabitated long before.<br/><br/> The city has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days in 6th century BCE. From the 6th century CE, Turkic speakers gradually moved in.<br/><br/> Bukhara's architecture and archaeological sites form one of the pillars of Central Asian history and art. The region of Bukhara was for a long period a part of the Persian Empire. The origin of its inhabitants goes back to the period of Aryan immigration into the region.
The Registan contains three madrasahs (schools), the Ulugh Beg Madrasah (1417–1420), Tilya-Kori Madrasah (1646–1660) and the Sher-Dor Madrasah (1619–1636).<br/><br/> The Tilya-Kori Madrasah was built in the mid-17th century by the Shaybanid Amir Yalangtush. The name Tilya-Kori means ‘gilded’ or ‘gold-covered’, and the entire building is lavishly decorated with elaborate geometrical arabesques and sura from the Qur’an both outside and especially within. A magnificent turquoise dome rises over the left (western) side of the building, decorated inside with gilded Qur’anic inscriptions and delicate muqarnas hanging ‘stalactite’ decorations. The interior of the madrasah comprises rooms for students with accompanying vestibules surrounding three-sides of a square courtyard, while a domed mosque occupies the fourth.<br/><br/> The dome rises in four stages. A rectangular plinth forms the primary prayer hall and rises above the madrasa walls. Next, two terraced octagonal tiers rise to support a high cylindrical drum. The dome's monochrome blue color contrasts pleasingly with the drum's polychrome decoration formed by bands of Arabic calligraphy taken from the Qur’an.
Hammamet (from the Arabic al-hammamat, 'the baths') has been known since Roman times for the healing property of its waters. Roman ruins still survive at the nearby sites of Siagum and Pupput, but Hammamet in its present form dates from the mid-15th century, when the old city, known as the medina, and the suq, or main bazaar, were built.<br/><br/> Mediaeval Hammamet was prepared for defence – the Spaniards fortified the kasbah in the 16th century – but in fact the history of the town has been pleasantly peaceful. There are no records of invaders troubling the small fishing settlement, which acquired a reputation for religious learning through the number and proficiency of its murabitin, or saints and holy men.
Aleppo's Great Bazaar (in Arabic, <i>suq</i> or <i>souq</i>) as we know it today was rebuilt first by the Egyptian Mamelukes who drove out the Mongols, and then, after 1516, by the Turks who incorporated Aleppo into the Ottoman Empire.<br/><br/> During the Syrian Civil War, which started in 2011, Aleppo's historic <i>suqs</i> suffered serious damage.<br/><br/> Aleppo, the second city of Syria and quite possibly the longest continually inhabited settlement in the world, is of venerable age. So old, indeed, that its Arabic name, Halab, is first mentioned in Semitic texts of the third millennium BCE. Situated in the north-west of the country, just a few kilometres from the Turkish frontier, Aleppo is located at the confluence of several great trade routes and, as a city of commerce, has always been rich.
Aleppo's Great Bazaar (in Arabic, <i>suq</i> or <i>souq</i>) as we know it today was rebuilt first by the Egyptian Mamelukes who drove out the Mongols, and then, after 1516, by the Turks who incorporated Aleppo into the Ottoman Empire.<br/><br/> During the Syrian Civil War, which started in 2011, Aleppo's historic <i>suqs</i> suffered serious damage.<br/><br/> Aleppo, the second city of Syria and quite possibly the longest continually inhabited settlement in the world, is of venerable age. So old, indeed, that its Arabic name, Halab, is first mentioned in Semitic texts of the third millennium BCE. Situated in the north-west of the country, just a few kilometres from the Turkish frontier, Aleppo is located at the confluence of several great trade routes and, as a city of commerce, has always been rich.
Damascus was first settled in the 2nd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750.<br/><br/> After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad. Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods.<br/><br/> During Ottoman rule, the city decayed completely while maintaining a certain cultural prestige. Today, it is the seat of the central government and all of the government ministries.
Damascus was first settled in the 2nd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750.<br/><br/> After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad. Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods.<br/><br/> During Ottoman rule, the city decayed completely while maintaining a certain cultural prestige. Today, it is the seat of the central government and all of the government ministries.
Damascus was first settled in the 2nd millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750.<br/><br/> After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad. Damascus saw a political decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods.<br/><br/> During Ottoman rule, the city decayed completely while maintaining a certain cultural prestige. Today, it is the seat of the central government and all of the government ministries.
An authentic oriental rug is a handmade carpet that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile.<br/><br/> By definition - Oriental rugs are rugs that come from the orient. The simple definition of the term would be - rugs that come from (were made in) an Asian Country such as: China and Vietnam in the east to Turkey, Maghreb countries, Cyprus and Iran in the west and the Caucasus in the north to India in the south. People from different cultures, countries, racial groups and religious faiths are involved in the production of oriental rugs. Oriental rugs are organized by origin: Persian rugs, Arab rugs, Anatolian rugs, Kurdish rugs, Caucasian rugs, Central Asian rugs, Turkestanian (Turkmen, Turkoman) rugs, Chinese rugs, Tibetan rugs and Indian rugs.