2008 Programs And Events
Ambassador Sees Ancient and Avant-Garde in Visit to Karakalpakstan (10/16/2008)
Ambassador Richard Norland visited ancient fortresses and browsed a collection of modern art during his visit to the Karakalpakstan Autonomous Republic on October 15-16, 2008.
Norland traveled overland to the region from Khiva, crossing the Amu Darya River at the same point used for millennia by Silk Road travelers. He visited the fortress complex of Ayaz Qala, where the oldest structures date back to the 4th Century B.C., when the Khorezm region gained independence from Persia.
He stayed overnight in a yurt in the desert near Ayaz Qala, then visited a series of ancient castles and garrisons en route to Nukus. The city serves as capital of the Autonomous Republic that has seen its economy shift from reliance on fishing in the shrinking Aral Sea toward agriculture, mostly production of rice and cotton.
In Nukus, Norland met with government leaders and toured the I.V. Savitsky State Art Museum. The museum is considered one of the finest in Central Asia and is home to one of the world’s largest collections of avant-garde art from the Soviet era. Igor Savitsky collected this art from the 1920s and 1930s when it fell out of favor with the Soviet leadership. The museum also houses exhibits on issues related to the Aral Sea, endangered flora and fauna of the region, and Karakalpak folk art.
“Through the visits to these ancient sites and the museum, the Ambassador experienced the cultural richness of Karakalpakstan,” said Carol Fajardo, the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Tashkent, who accompanied Norland on the trip. She noted the warm hospitality shown by the hokim (mayor) of Boston, who showed the Ambassador the town’s outdoor museum of detailed models of the area’s clay castles.
The visit was part of Norland’s plan to visit each of Uzbekistan’s 14 administrative areas.