Urgench

Urgench (Uzbek: Urganch / ??????) is city (1989 pop. 126,380), and the capital of the Khorezm Province, southern Uzbekistan, on theAmu Darya River and the Shavat canal. It is 450 km west of Bukhara across the Kyzyl Kum Desert. It is located at latitude 41° 32' 60N longitude 60° 37' 60E, at an altitude of 91 meters.

Related Topics:
Khorezm Province - Uzbekistan - Amu Darya - Bukhara - Kyzyl Kum

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The history of the city goes back to the second half of the 18th century. The city should not be confused with the city of Konya-Urgench (also known as "Old Urgench" or "Gurgench") in Turkmenistan. The city of "Old Urgench" was relocated to Urgench after the Amu Darya river changed course in the 16th century, leaving the old town high and dry. "New Urgench" was a trade center of the Khiva khanate.

Related Topics:
Konya-Urgench - Turkmenistan - Khiva

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Modern Urgench is a Soviet city, with a plethora of Soviet monuments and cotton motifs adorning everything possible, from street lights to apartment houses. Of note is a monument to the 20 Komsomol members killed by Tekke basmachi on the banks of the Syr Darya in 1922, and a large statue to Muhammed al-Khwarizmi, the 9th century local mathematician who invented algebra, outside the Hotel Urgench. A flat, drab place, it is the main gateway for tourists to Khiva 35 km to the southeast, whose old city, known as Itchan Kala, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Related Topics:
Soviet - Cotton - Komsomol - Basmachi - Syr Darya - Al-Khwarizmi - Mathematician - Algebra - Itchan Kala - UNESCO - World Heritage Site

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