"Every pot has its own lid."

“I know the city will, I know the garden will bloom...” Mayakovsky’s lines persistently popped up as I flew to the capital of Uzbekistan. The words of the poet can be safely attributed to Tashkent, as I soon became convinced.

After landing in Tashkent, you realize the validity of the warnings of friends: do not be nervous, the procedure of passing customs is protracted, otherwise it simply does not happen ... never! In the queue to the passport control desk, our group was immediately pushed to the middle, very soon we were in the tail, and the indigenous people of the wonderful country of Uzbekistan moved forward, quietly attaching themselves to familiar and unfamiliar people. Everything happened quietly, without too much fuss. Border guards worked in a similar unhurried rhythm, periodically disappearing on their business and not always returning to the workplace. After an hour and a half, there was a cherished stamp in the passport, and a strange picture opened before my eyes. The passengers' belongings spinning on the transporter, a dozen men filmed and carelessly stored on the floor, apparently freeing up the tape for the next flight. The fate of our suitcases did not interest him at all. So began my acquaintance with the Uzbek capital, fortunately, further impressions were more pleasant.

We say fountain, we mean pool.

Today, it is hard to imagine that almost 47 years ago, the city was severely hit by an eight-magnitude earthquake. Early in the morning of April 26, 1966, at 5:23 hours, the underground element challenged Tashkent, destroying more than 2 million square meters of living space alone, 78 thousand families were left homeless. It was possible to give a second life to the city by the efforts of all the Union republics, and after 3.5 years after the mournful date, the handsome Tashkent was actually rebuilt, providing seismic protection of buildings from an earthquake to nine points. In the zone of high danger even managed to hold under the ground three metro lines, numbering 21 stations. A reminder of the past tragedy is the Courage memorial complex. On the clock of a splitting black cube, the arrows froze forever in the position when the first push was recorded. Next to the man, who barraged a woman with a child from trouble, a panorama behind them, clearly demonstrating the restoration of Tashkent.

Stoney soil and lack of water did not prevent it from turning into a green flowering garden city: four types of acacias, oaks, tulip trees, shameless chinars (the name is due to the absolutely bare trunk, without bark), and the patterns on the flowerbeds are changed every three months so as not to get bored. Squirrels and chipmunks in park areas are found at every turn, the latter almost tame. There are no sparrows habitual to us here at all, they survived the Mayns (locust starlings), nicknamed “Afghan messengers”, as they massively moved to the country after the military events in Afghanistan. The center of the capital is also decorated with 11 large and small canals, the local population uses man-made water arteries for swimming in the heat. Although officially, only children were allowed to swim in (!) fountains, of which there are a great many, including light and music.

Automotive patriotism

The most popular car brands on the streets of Tashkent are easily counted on the fingers of one hand, their assembly is carried out in Uzbekistan. These are well-known brands DAEWOO and Chevrolet. It seems that the highly patriotic local population ignores other passenger vehicles, rather because of the high price.

In my opinion, a very extraordinary event took place in the former Soviet city in 1943 (!): a building appeared, mind you, not a hospital, not a factory, but the State Musical Theater named after Mukimi (as it is called today, and in addition to it opened ten more). War, difficulties, but the townspeople decided – we will cope, and did not ask the state for a penny of money to support the morale of the population in harsh times, not to get angry. During the Great Patriotic War, Faina Ranevskaya and Anna Akhmatova were evacuated to Tashkent; in addition to industrial enterprises, film studios and theaters of the country were transported here.

The riches of religious culture are now stored in the library of the Spiritual Administration on Hazrat Imam Square – it is more than 30 thousand books, among them two thousand rarities. Of particular value is the sacred relic - the Koran of Osman (VII century) with traces of blood of its author, according to some researchers. Caliph Osman ibn Affan, the third ruler of Muslims after the Prophet Muhammad, developed a standard (canonical) text of the Quran. He sent five copies of the book to the main cities of the Caliphate, and ordered the former scattered records to be burned in order to avoid discrepancies in the sacred treatise. The caliph kept the sixth list. When the conspirators broke into his house in 656, they found him reading the Koran. The blood of the chopped ruler sprinkled the pages of the manuscript, now included by UNESCO in the Memory of the World register.

One of the last, in 2002, was opened in Tashkent memorial complex "Shaqidlar choirasi" ("In memory of victims of repression"), framed by plantings of young thui. These trees are similar in shape to living obelisks, as if “established” in honor of every innocent person who died. The memorial of the same name is the only one of its kind in the CIS. It contains evidence of repression and persecution of the people of Uzbekistan by the tsarist government and the Soviet regime, including on the fact of the “cotton case” of the 1980s.

"Sun and Water Child"

Nowadays, Uzbekistan is among the top five world producers of cotton - a relatively inexpensive natural product almost openly lying on the surface of boxes (which can not be said about our northern flax). Cotton is not only textiles, but also money. Yes, it is from this fiber that “money paper” is made. Without cotton oil, real pilaf is unthinkable, cotton honey is tasty and useful. And from the "white gold" get powder and soap, stearin and glycerin, lubricants. Cakes are fed to cattle. There are about 1,200 products - derivatives of cotton, a plant known since the VI century BC. The “child of the sun”, as it was called by the ancients, is also the “child of water”, because during the day cotton 10-15 times updates the water content in the cells.

Another national virtue of Tashkent is hospitality. Visitors to the house will always be offered water (very important in hot climates), if the owners want the guests to stay, they will soon bring tea and bread. Pial educated people hold a special way - with the tips of three fingers (no matter what is hot). Another way is possible: fold the thumb and index finger with a ring; not so aesthetically, but traditions are observed in this case. By the way, the future mother-in-law begins to look at the tea ceremony. Chaikhans in the city are a frequent phenomenon, melons and grapes are still sweet as honey, Uzbek pilaf with necessarily yellow carrots is also revered. Another issue is that there are not enough visitors in these institutions. The local guide explained briefly: each pot has its own cap! In general, there is a great doubt whether everyone participates in this holiday of life. And if it’s so good at home, why do so many Uzbeks seek to earn money outside their homeland?

Olga Yakunina