Museums

Amir Timur Museum - Tashkent

Amir Timur Museum - Tashkent

This museum is located at northwest corner of Amir Timur square. It has been erected in record time for Amir Timur's 660th birthday. Enormous ribbed dome conceals a bold interior where Timurids meet independent Uzbekistan.

Art Gallery of Uzbekistan - Tashkent

Art Gallery of Uzbekistan - Tashkent

Art Gallery of Uzbekistan possesses the richest collection of artworks of Uzbekistan from the beginning of the 20th century up to the present day. It also has a unique collection of Central Asian coins on display.

Aside from its exhibition area of 8,500 sq.m, which is comprised of 15 showrooms, the Gallery includes a duly equipped conference hall for presentations, seminars, business meetings, video demonstrations and other events. Visitors can relax in the cozy cafe and purchase souvenirs in the art shop. The museum is open daily from 11:00 to 17:00, closed Sunday and Monday.

State Fine Arts Museum of Uzbekistan - Tashkent

State Fine Arts Museum of Uzbekistan - Tashkent

This museum keeps the collection of all types of both ancient and modern pieces of art. Along with local content, European paintings and sculpture from 15-20th centuries are also display.

Uzbek art dominates the ground. The first floor is devoted to ceramics from 9-17th centuries: tile fragments from Samarkand, Shakhrisabz, Bukhara and Khiva, finely carved wooden doors and shutters, Bukhara’s court robes heavy with gold embroidery, ornate metal-ware and much more.

Museum of Applied Arts - Tashkent

Museum of Applied Arts - Tashkent

This museum is as popular for its setting as for its many beautiful exhibits. Many foreigners in the past expressed their appreciation of Uzbek architecture by having residences built by masters from Bukhara, Samarkand, Khiva, Fergana and Tashkent. Most of such residences have verandas, reception halls, vibrant with color, ganch and wooden carving. Omar Khayyam's quotes are on the two doorways:

"The world is a great caravanserai with two doors: one entrance and one exit. Every day new gests come to the caravanserai."

Museum of the History of Uzbekistan - Tashkent

Museum of the History of Uzbekistan - Tashkent

In 1970, Tashkent lauded the opening of this white marble museum. This museum has a replica of the Osman Quran, Uzbekistan's only complete Buddha figure (1-2nd century) - enormous 7th century work, and reconstructions of Samarkand's Bibi Khanum mausoleum, Ulugbek Observatory and Khorezm's Koi Krylgan Kala.

State Literature Museum of Alisher Navoi - Tashkent

State Literature Museum of Alisher Navoi - Tashkent

Born in Herat in 1441, Alisher Navoi was very well educated. He enjoyed the most famous poet and politician in Samarkand. His skills extended to painting, music and sculpture. His early work - the Judgement of Two Languages proved that Chagatai language could be as richly descriptive as Persian or Arabic. He remained a bilingual poet, writing poetry of romance, nature and philosophy in both Chagatai and Persian. For his contributions in literature, he is named as a "Father of Uzbek Literature". Hi died in 1501.

The museum displays manuscripts and miniatures, as well as halls painted in the palace and garden scenes of his major work - Khamsa (quintet). Also featured are copies of the busts of Amir Timur and his son Shahrukh, created by the archeologist who examined their bones, and a model of the famous observatory of Shahrukh's son - Ulugbek.

For poem lovers, here is some poems by Alisher Navoi translated into English.

Truthfulness is the essence of honorable people, two themes are seen within it.

Firstly, be honest not only in words, but also in thoughts and deeds.

Secondly, scorn the world of falsehood, but speak out the truth intrepidly.

Both qualities are good in themselves, and together mark greatness of spirit.

Seek from others the knowledge they own,

Never rely on the powers alone.

Spurn the company of those whose talk is vain,

But give ear to the wise again and again.

Treasure the moment, it will not last,

Only the fool lives in future or past.

When justice is the corner-stone of power,

A ruined land will soon be made to flower.

Central Asia Museum

Enormous mix of paintings and textiles, some are even for sale.

Center of Modern Art

Bright new gallery within grand old shell (1934), shared with the Tashkent House of Photography.

Museum of Miniature Arts

Museum of Miniature Arts

See the miniatures created by Kamoliddin Bekhzod, one of the most prominent miniature writers in the World. The works are so fine and neat. They are full with micro details. Astonishing!

Historical Museum of Uzbek Culture and Art

The collection of this museum was established in 1874. It is extensive and well-displayed. The ground floor houses modern paintings and early 20th century posters. Exhibits on the first floor include vessels and ossuaries from Afrosiab, plus fully painted copies of its fragmented murals and replicas of findings from ancient Bactria, such as the Kushan Ayrtam frieze, a graceful limestone sculpture of an Indo-European culture. Among later treasures are Timur's wooden coffin and the immense 19th-century Quran that replaced the Osman Koran on Bibi Khanum's lectern. Traditional crafts are set out in bazaar workshops skullcaps, jewelry, instruments, embroideries and bizarre animal ceramics.

Geological Museum - Tashkent

Geological Museum - Tashkent

This is a new museum of dinosaurs and minerals. You can find all types of geological finding that were discovered in the region.

Natural History Museum

Natural History museum hosts many ancient articles such as cavemen and their paintings to stones and many others.

Tamara Khanum Museum - Tashkent

Tamara Khanum Museum - Tashkent

The last home of Uzbekistan's greatest dancer, Tamara Khanum (1906-1991), a Margilan born Armenian who devoted her life to Central Asian folk dance. Previously women could sing and dance only at home, while young boys played female roles in public performances. Tamara was among the first to perform unveiled. Among photos, paintings and posters are many of her beautiful costumes.

Railway Museum - Tashkent

Railway Museum - Tashkent

Old trains. A fascinating experience right in the center of Tashkent.

Museum of Olympic Glory - Tashkent

Museum of Olympic Glory - Tashkent

Sport is becoming more and more popular in Uzbekistan. Come and see all the winnings of Uzbek teams in various sports events.

Afrosiab History Museum - Samarkand

Afrosiab History Museum - Samarkand

From the 6th century BC to 1220 AD, Samarkand weathered the pattern of invasion and renewal from the hill fort Afrosiab in the northeast of the modern city. The most popular derivation of the name is from a legendary king of Turan, portrayed as a hero, yet brave and wise in Firdausi's Persian epic Shah Nama. Behind defensive rampart with corridors and arrow slits, built of unbaked brick, waterproof reeds and ant-seismic juniper, lived the Sogdians, famed go-betweens of East-West commercial and cultural relations. They were lost to history until Russian archaeologists' began probing the ruins in the 1880s. Their finds and those of later experts are gathered in this marble museum on Afrosiab's southeastern slopes.

Sadriddin Ayni House Museum - Samarkand

Sadriddin Ayni House Museum - Samarkand

Behind the white bust near Registan square is Ayni’s Samarkand residence that was restored with modest traditional furnishings. On display are his works that describe his personal experience in various languages. He was a poet, writer and later president of Tajikistan.

Bukhara's Art Gallery - Bukhara

Bukharan Art Gallery hosts works by both native Bukhara’s painters and painters from other parts of the world. Among the most evocative paintings are those of Pavel Benkov (1888-1949) who spent two years working in Bukhara from 1928-1930 and a series of local artisan portraits by Michael Kurzin (1888-1957) who, although born in the Altai region of Siberia, spent much of the 1940s here, often painting on disused cardboard when materials grew short. Look out also for one of the museum's most famous works "The Fall of the Bukhara’s Emirate" by Tashkent artist Ruzi Chariev which depicts a cowering procession of rich merchants and boys in front of the victorious masses which took ten years to complete.

Many of the newer paintings are for sale in a ground floor shop, which are cheaper and higher in quality than most in other bazaars.

Museum of Regional Studies - Nukus

Museum of Regional Studies - Nukus

This fascinating museum inhabits in the extensive mansion of Bukhara’s millionaire Abraham Koloniarov, who was evicted in 1917. His synagogue has archaeological exhibits from Paleolithic to Timurid periods, and a revealing collection of 19th century photographs. The highlight is a richly colored reception hall decorated after Islamic fashion. Exhibition halls include Samarkand's role in World War II, flora and fauna articles.