About Uzbekistan

Being one of the modern and independent States of the world, Uzbekistan, at the same time is a cradle of modern civilization. It is a treasury of unique historical monuments, the history of which could be traced back more than 2500 years.

Uzbekistan is situated in central Asia between the Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers. It is bounded by 5 countries: by Kazakhstan in the north and northwest, by Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in the east and southeast, by Turkmenistan in the southwest, and by Afghanistan in the south.
Less than 10% of its territory is intensively cultivated, irrigated land in river valleys and oasises. The rest is vast desert Kyzyl Kum and mountains.
The geographical position of Uzbekistan approximately corresponds to the geographical positions of Italy, Spain and Greece. But it is to say that the nature of Uzbekistan is different, because of the far location from seas and oceans, from the nature of these countries.

Territory

Uzbekistan has an area of 447,400 square kilometers . The territory of Uzbekistan is twice bigger than the territory of Great Britain and 14 times bigger than the territory of Belgium.
Uzbekistan includes the following regions:
1. Tashkent
2. Fergana
3. Andijan
4. Namangan
5. Syrdarya
6. Djizzak
7. Samarkand
8. Bukhara
9. Navoi
10. Kashkadarya
11. Surxandarya
12. Khorezm
And Karakalpakstan Republic.
Uzbekistan is Central Asia’s most populous country. Its 32,121,000 citizens comprise nearly half the region’s total population. Uzbeks comprise a majority of the total population. Other ethnic groups include Russians, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Tatars, Turkmens, Jews, Uighurs and other nationalities.

Environment

Uzbekistan has a rich and diverse natural environment. The region comprises deserts and green valleys, high mountains and plateaus, rivers and water bodies. The height of mountains made the climate dry and there emerged deserts: Karakum and Kizil Kum. Mountains compose 1/5 part of the territory of republic.

Seasons

The average air temperature in July is 300 C in the shade. Extreme high air temperatures can be seen in Tashkent +44 — +45 C, in Termez +50 and in Kizil Kum +80 C.
From 22 of June till 5th of august there is the hottest period in the region, the local people call as a “Chilla” that means, 40 hottest days.
Autumn. In September it is still warm, the weather looks like in summer. On 23rd of September, people celebrate the holiday, harvest festival “Mehrjon”. Everywhere they organize the farmers markets – sales of fruit, vegetables and gourds. Autumn begins just in October . The days become shorter and the air temperature decreases. The rains turn in snow. It is the time of gathering the cotton, fruit and veg.
The winter in Uzbekistan is short. The coldest month is January.
The biggest rivers crossing the territory of Uzbekistan are Amudarya and Syr Darya. There is a big number of rivers, spreading uneven.

Currency

The national currency of Uzbekistan –sum. This currency has been put into circulation in Uzbekistan since 1994 and today is the only means of payment. In circulation there are banknotes of the following value: 100,200,500, 1000 and 5000 sum.
All the banknotes differ in color. It is mainly cultural and historic monuments of Uzbekistan are depicted on the notes.

Religion

The dominating religion in Uzbekistan is Islam. The majority of the population are Muslims and Sunnites.