Termez & the South

The south lies within ancient Bactria, the land north and south of the Amu Darya. The Teshik-Tash cave in the Boysun mountains held a Neanderthal child burial, and in historical times the region was a province of the Persian Empire, crossed by Alexander the Great and then ruled by Greco-Bactrian kings. Under the Kushan Empire in the first centuries AD, Termez became a Buddhist centre on the road between India and Central Asia, with monasteries at Kara Tepe and Fayaz Tepe and the Zurmala stupa, while Dalverzin Tepe near Denov grew into a Kushan city.

After the Arab conquest Termez became a centre of Islamic learning, the home of the 9th-century scholar al-Hakim at-Termizi. Genghis Khan destroyed the old city in 1220. To the north, the town of Kesh, later Shahrisabz, was the birthplace of Timur, and he built a vast palace, Ak-Saray, there, along with mausolea for his family.

The region later fell to the Emirate of Bukhara, whose second city was Qarshi. The Russians built a garrison town at Termez in the 1890s, and in Soviet times it became the base for the war in Afghanistan: the Friendship Bridge over the Amu Darya opened in 1982, and the last Soviet troops crossed it home in 1989. Since independence, Termez has become Uzbekistan's main gateway for trade with Afghanistan.

The south is known across Uzbekistan for its conservative, rural culture and for traditions that survived here after they faded elsewhere. The Boysun district's songs, rituals, crafts and festivals were proclaimed a UNESCO Masterpiece of intangible heritage in 2001.

Many people in the south are descended from once semi-nomadic Uzbek tribes, and Tajik-speaking villages sit in the mountains. Religion runs deep: the shrine of al-Hakim at-Termizi and the Sultan Saodat complex in Termez, and the Timurid mausolea of Shahrisabz, draw steady streams of pilgrims.

Shahrisabz is proud of its connection to Timur, whose statue stands before Ak-Saray, and of crafts such as embroidery; the region is also known for horsemanship and kupkari, the rough horseback game played with a goat carcass at weddings and holidays.

Qarshi, the capital of Qashqadaryo, is the largest city of the south and an industrial centre, with nearby gas fields and the processing plant at Mubarek feeding Uzbekistan's energy supply. Shahrisabz and Kitob are smaller towns in the green foothills, and the steppe grows cotton and wheat with water from the Kashkadarya and the Amu Darya.

Termez, capital of Surxondaryo, is a frontier city of military barracks, wide streets and a busy bazaar, and its cargo terminals and railway handle much of the trade with Afghanistan. The Surxondaryo valley grows cotton and fruit in its long, hot season, while the villages of the Boysun and Hissar mountains live from herding, orchards and small plots.

The south has high birth rates, many young people leaving for work in Russia or Tashkent, and some of the country's lowest incomes. Water, heat and the situation across the Afghan border shape daily concerns.

Southern cooking is mutton-rich and rustic. Tandir go'sht, mutton slowly roasted in a sealed tandoor, is common, as are plov cooked for crowds at weddings, shurpa soup and grilled shashlik. In the mountains, families make flat breads, fresh cheeses and qurt, dried salty balls of strained yoghurt that keep for months.

The long hot growing season in Surxondaryo produces melons, pomegranates, figs and apricots, sold in heaps at Termez's bazaar, while Qashqadaryo's orchards and vineyards around Shahrisabz supply grapes and dried fruit. Honey from the mountain villages is prized.

Green tea is drunk throughout the day, and in the villages guests are given tea, bread and dried fruit before anything else.

Termez gathers the region's Buddhist sites along the Amu Darya: the cave monastery of Kara Tepe, the courtyard monastery and stupa of Fayaz Tepe, and the tall brick mound of the Zurmala stupa, with the Termez archaeological museum holding their finds. Nearby are the mausoleum of al-Hakim at-Termizi, the Sultan Saodat ensemble of domed tombs, the ruins of Old Termez and the fortress of Kyrk Kyz. North of the city lie the ruins of Dalverzin Tepe near Denov.

The Boysun mountains rise north-west of Termez: high valleys, the town of Boysun itself and the Teshik-Tash cave. Along the Tajik border the Hissar range reaches Khazret Sultan, long considered the highest point in Uzbekistan, and the Hissar nature reserve protects the high valleys of Qashqadaryo.

Shahrisabz holds Timur's ruins: the colossal broken portal of Ak-Saray, the Dorus Saodat complex with the tomb of his son Jahangir, and the Kok Gumbaz mosque and Dorut Tilavat ensemble, together listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Qarshi has the Odina mosque and a 16th-century brick bridge over the Kashkadarya.