Briefly about Urgut

Urgut - city in Samarkand region of Uzbekistan; is located about 50 km southeast of Samarkand. Urgut is located at the foot of the Zeravshan mountains at an altitude of 1000 meters and borders on the Kashkadarya region; received the status of a city in 1973, now it is the regional center of the Urgut district. There are several in the city carpet weaving factories, tobacco-fermentation and slate factories. The center is the city of Urgut.
Date of foundation - December 31, 1964.
The total area is 1.12 thousand km2.
The number of urban-type settlements - 7.
The number of assemblies of mahallas is 102, of which the number of urban mahallas is 40, and the number of rural assemblies is 12.
Rural settlements - 115.
As of January 1, 2016, the permanent population is 459,674, including 194,328 in urban areas (98,293 men and 96,035 women) and 265,326 in rural areas (134,417 men and 130,909 women).
The distance to Samarkand is 35 km.
The border republic is Tajikistan, the region is Kashkadarya, the districts are Taylak, Samarkand, Bulungur. Khokim of the district - Mamatjon Turdiev

Address: 141600, Urgut city, Alisher Navoi street, 104

Phone: (0366) 483-14-52

Website: https://ufez.uz/

The largest oriental bazaar of the Samarkand region is located in Urgut. Here they sell ancient and modern works of folk crafts. The main market days are Saturday and Sunday. These days, you can buy carpets, hand-embroidered products (suzani), leather shoes, jewelry, art metal products, ceramic dishes, wooden chests and much more in the bazaars. Right in the bazaar, there are many places where the main dishes of Uzbek cuisine are cooked - pilaf and manti.

Near the bazaar there are forges, tin workshops, shops of national clothes.

Pottery craft is developed in Urgut. In this area, the main colors of ceramic products are mustard, gold and pale lemon. Interestingly, in Uzbekistan, by the forms of products, and most importantly by color, you can determine in which city this or that item was made. For example, blue, white and green are the colors of Khorezm and the Ferghana Valley, and yellow, green and brown are the colors of Samarkand. As for Urgut, here for seventeen generations the Oblakulov family has been producing exquisite ceramic products on the potter's wheel. In the house of this family, you can get acquainted with the process of the birth of each new pottery creation, as well as traditional artistic embroidery with threads dyed with natural dyes.

Sights of Urgut. Chor-Chinor.

One of the main attractions of the city is the ancient garden Chor-Chinor, translated into Russian means "Four Plane Trees". This garden consists of fifty ancient plane trees, irrigated by the waters of the holy spring. The oldest of the giant trees have a coverage of 16 meters.

In appearance, Chor-Chinor is a foothill hollow, completely hidden under the shade of thousand-year-old trees. Huge trunks with rhizomes rising high above the ground intertwined here in a unique dance of time. Every tree today has a plaque indicating its approximate age, which varies from 800 to 1800 years. Now it is unlikely that anyone will be able to say for sure which of these giants were the so-called "ancestors" of the garden - the famous four plane trees.

In fact, the tract where the plane trees stand is one giant tree-bowl, at the bottom of which there is a spring lake with crystal clear water and sacred fish.

Under the roots of one of the majestic plane trees, time has formed a natural cave, completely hidden underground and inside the tree. The base of the tree serves as its ceiling. Part of the walls is reinforced with brickwork, and the entrance is equipped with a carved door with a lock, which is unlocked for visitors by a special caretaker. Inside the amazing tree, ten people can easily fit, but it is best to stay in it alone or in the company of your closest friends, as, according to legend, the Sufis did, secluded for joint prayers and pious conversations

Interesting place - Urgut. From time immemorial, representatives of Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Christianity and Sufism gathered here and, adjacent to each other, confessed their teachings.

In one of his works entitled “The Book of Ways and Countries”, Abu Qasim Muhammad ibn Haukal, an Arab geographer of the 9th century who visited Samarkand, says that in Shavdar (mountains of the Zeravshan Range) there is a Christian monastery, consisting of a meeting room and cells. Iraqi Christians lived there. The recluses chose this place because of the healthy climate of the region, and went here for the sake of solitude and remoteness of this place. The monastery, says Ibn Haukal, has inalienable property (waqf); people do not leave the temple, and it towers over most of Sogd. This place is known as Urgut.

So, from the manuscripts of a medieval geographer, it becomes clear that somewhere in Urgut there must be the remains of a medieval Christian church. Many archaeologists have tried to unravel the mystery of the temple. But only a young orientalist Alexei Savchenko succeeded in this interesting business.