Silk Road: News, Events, Articles

Notable for its unifying role in the global progress of the mankind is the ancient caravan route known in history as the Great Silk Road. For centuries the branches of overland and sea routes of this transcontinental system of roads connected different parts of the vast Eurasian continent. Not only trade was conducted on the Great Silk Road; it promoted an exchange and mutual enrichment of knowledge, technologies, beliefs, customs and traditions – thus connecting the material and spiritual cultures of different peoples and countries.

At the 17th Session of UNESCO General Conference, which was held in Paris in October-November 1972, there was adopted the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Over 750 cultural and natural sites were then selected to make up the World Heritage List. To organize their protection there was also set up World Heritage Fund.

The history of human civilization is most vividly represented by the Silk Road monuments. In 1988 UNESCO launched the 10-year project "Integral Studies of the Silk Road – the Road of Dialogue". The travel agencies operating in the Silk Road region today basically cover 9 countries: Georgia, Armenia, Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China.

Uzbekistan possesses the largest number of historical sites. Over 4000 architectural monuments of Uzbekistan are of outstanding universal value. Four of them – the complex Ichan-Kala in Khiva, the historic centers of Bukhara, Shakhrisabz and Samarkand – are inscribed on the World Heritage List. Many unique ancient monuments in these cities have been well-preserved to the present day and are of world importance.

In Turkmenistan only one of the sites has been inscribed on the World Heritage List so far. This is Merv, one of ancient oasis-cities along the Silk Road. The region was once part of the Hellenistic world. At the end of the 4th century B.C. Alexander the Great and his troops came here. The eastern territories soon became part of the Seleucid Empire. Merv boasts of Erk-Kala, the first walled town of Merv, ancient Buddhist stupa, Christian monuments, the gorgeous Sultan Sanjar Mausoleum…

In Kazakhstan the most remarkable architectural monument is the Khoja Akhmad Yassavi mausoleum in Turkestan (former Yasa). It was included in the World Heritage List by the decision adopted at the 27th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Paris from June 30 to July 5, 2003.

Mesopotamia, the land between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates, gave rise to many cultures and religions. The past thousands of years left us a lot of marvelous ancient monuments within the territory of today's Iran. Three of them – Chogha Zambil, Persepolis, and Meidene Imam (Imam Square) in Isfahan – are under the protection of the United Nations Organisation.

Some branches of the Great Silk ran across the territories of today's Caucasian countries – Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Armenia was recorded on the map of Babylon as far back as the beginning of the 1st millennium B.C. Three Armenian monuments were inscribed on the World's Heritage List: the Gekhard Monastery and the upper valley of Azat, the monasteries Hagpaa and Sanahin, the cathedrals and churches of Echmiadzin and the archeological site of Zvartnots Temple.

No less ancient is thousand-year old culture of the peoples of Georgia. UNESCO has acknowledged as masterpieces of world importance such monuments of Georgia as ancient patriarchal cathedral Sveti-Tskhoveli in Mtskheta (1010-1029), the wonderful cathedral Bagrati built in 1003, the monastery ensemble in Gelati (the 12th-7th centuries).

Another Caucasian country - Azerbaijan also possesses a number of world heritage monuments. Among them is the ancient walled city complex with the Shirvanshah Palace and Maiden Tower in Baku, the country's capital, "Icheri shekher" ("Inner Town") – an ensemble of unique architectural monuments with the traces of Zoroastrian, Sasanid, Arabian, Persian, Shirvan, Ottoman and Russian cultures.

UNESCO World Heritage List goes on growing. One cannot but admit UNESCO activity on preservation of oral and intangible cultural heritage. So far only 20 intangible "properties" from all over the world has been inscribed on the World Heritage List including the Georgian polyphonic singing "Shakrulo", the cultural area of Uzbekistan's Boysun District, Osman's Koran that is kept at Spiritual Council of Muslims of Uzbekistan in Tashkent.

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