At the beginning of next month, a direct flight line will be launched from Israel to Samarkand. The Uzbek ambassador to Israel, Feruza Makhmudova, reveals that the private Uzbek airline Qanot Sharq will operate a weekly flight from Tashkent to Natabh and back to Samarkand.
Canute’s fleet includes 4 aircraft, two of the Airbus A320 model and two more of the A321neo model. In addition, the national airline Uzbekistan Air will add another weekly flight to Israel on March 26, bringing it to 4 weekly flights.
Ambassador Proza is in talks with the Israeli airlines El Al and Arkia, which will also open a direct flight line to her homeland. According to her, Arkie is showing great interest in opening the line, but a date has not yet been set for the start of its operation. This means that the supply of seats on lines to Uzbekistan will double and even more.
Part of the soundtrack that accompanied our childhood is the song “The Emir’s Trial” composed by Haim Hefer and singer Nissim Garma. The song opens with the words “In beautiful Bukhara, in my city blessed by the sun.” We grew up knowing that Bukhara was beautiful, but we couldn’t visit it behind the Iron Curtain of the Soviet Union. Today it is possible. Uzbekistan is considered a sought-after tourist country mainly due to the special ancient architecture of palaces covered with blue mosaics, turquoise domes, and minarets.
The towers were originally built to serve as a sort of lighthouse for camel caravans during sand and dust storms. Uzbekistan is a rare combination of very diverse cultural wealth, impressive history, special architecture, a hospitable population, and a pleasant climate. It is a close country, and less expensive than European countries. When Ambassador Prose describes the wonders of her country, she smiles and her eyes sparkle like a girl in love.
She proudly says that the Uzbek government is carrying out major projects to promote tourism. The most important of them is the construction of a new and modern airport in Samarkand which was recently inaugurated.
In addition, a tourist center called “Eternal City” was recently opened in Samarkand, where many attractions and services for tourists will be concentrated in one complex in an area of 17 dunams. It’s a kind of open museum. The houses there were built in an ancient architectural design inspired by houses and picturesque squares described in ancient books. Many artists’ workshops, galleries, shops, many authentic restaurants and hotels have opened in the alleys of the Eternal City. Street artists present their shows. Here the tourists can experience the glorious centuries-old heritage of the Silk Road.
Uzbekistan lies on the “Silk Road” which was a goods transport route between India and China in the east and between Europe in the west. The route from end to end lasted 6,500 km, and the entire journey took 200 days.
In places where there is trade, you can also find Jews. The ancient Jewish quarter of Bukhara is called “Machala” (in the coat). The street of the Jews is called SARRAFON. You can see 300-year-old Jewish houses with carved doors and beautiful ceiling beams.
The original Jews of Bukhara attribute themselves to exiles from the tribes of Naphtali and Issachar during the Assyrian captivity, and say that the verse “And here is the mountain full of horses and a chariot of fire surrounding Elisha” (2 Kings 17/6) It is written about Bukhara.
The most important attraction for Israelis is the Tomb of Daniel the Prophet in Samarkand. (There are 6 other places in the world that are considered Daniel’s burial place). The 30-meter-long tombstone is considered the longest in the world. Some say that only Daniel’s leg is buried here. A local legend says that the grave even grew bigger from year to year.
About ten synagogues are currently operating in Uzbekistan.
A synagogue in Tashkent
Ambassador Feroze Mahmudova at the entrance of the synagogue in Samarkand
The synagogue in Bukhara is 500 years old
The synagogue in Gombaz
There is another tourist site related to us in a spicy way. This is the “Bibi-Hunim Mosque”. Bibihonim (of course, not named after our Bibi).
Bibi Mosque
Tashkent is considered the “city of bread”. Every Jewish neighborhood had a kosher bakery that made bread in its own private style. At the last IMTM fair we saw a variety of such types of bread.
The Jews were the authentic natives since they arrived in the area long before Islam, but were only recorded starting in the 19th century. Their hallmark – the Bukhari domes. The Jews were divided into two communities, Ashkenazim and Mizrahim. The Ashkenazim brought printing, and also secularism. During the Holocaust, many Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis in Europe arrived in Uzbekistan. After the Holocaust, most of them returned to Poland and Russia or immigrated to Israel. When the gates of Russia opened in the 1980s, most of the Jewish community immigrated to Israel. One of the first neighborhoods outside the walls of Jerusalem was the Buharim neighborhood, established by the wealthy of the local Jewish community.
Most of the Jews of Tashkent immigrated to Israel in the first years after the fall of the Iron Curtain, and about 10,000 Jews remain living there to this day. “The Jewish community is an inseparable part of us,” says Ambassador Prose. “Your heritage is also our heritage. We have 130 nationalities and minorities, and we treat them all the same way.” There is no antisemitism in Uzbekistan and never has been.
The situation of the Jews in Uzbekistan is suitable for reciting a number of psalms.The Lord of Oz[בקיסטן] He will give to his people, God will bless his people with peace“.
The Uzbek Ministry of Tourism has prepared a special program for Israelis and Jews from around the world. “We greatly appreciate cooperation with Israel” says Mrs. Proza. “The adults come to us mainly to see the architecture and the art in the museums. I want to arouse interest in the Israeli youth as well. That’s why we attract them through adventure sports facilities, safari trips, hiking trails, etc.” In this framework, Uzbekistan also offers winter tourism for ski enthusiasts at the Amirsoy Mountain Resort site.
36 million people live in Uzbekistan, and its area is 20 times larger than the territory of the State of Israel. Before the corona crisis in 2019, Uzbekistan was visited by 7 million tourists from all over the world, of which 12,000 were Israelis. They conclude the year 2022 with 5.2 million tourists from the world, including about 10,000 from Israel. Israelis are exempt from a visa to Uzbekistan for one month after landing.
The Uzbekistan-Israel Chamber of Commerce also operates in Tel Aviv. Uzbekistan exports dried fruits, textiles, and chemical products to Israel. It imports mainly irrigation technologies and drippers from Israel. The embassy invests efforts in the field of technological cooperation, mainly in IT. “We have startup companies and I encourage them to make connections with similar companies in Israel.”
Will Uzbekistan be the next hot tourist destination for Israelis?
Photo courtesy of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Israel
