Click a term to initiate a search. NavigationUser login |
Wikistanbazaar
The marketplace and center of economic activity in Central Asian cities, the bazaar is generally located at a major intersection so as to be easily accessible from major routes in and out of town.
Bismillah
'Bismillah' is the first word of the verse bismi-llāhi ar-raḥmāni ar-raḥīmi, which begins almost every Sura of the Quran. The verse is used in many circumstances as a general blessing.
Bukhara
A city of southern Uzbekistan and long-time regional capital. Monumentalized under the 10th century Samanid dynasty and later by the Timurids. The Khanate of Bukhara was one of the last additions to the Russian Empire.
camel
Bactrian camels (so named after their origin in Bactria, in what is now northern Afghanistan) were the principle means of transport for people and goods along the 'Silk Road' trade networks stretching across Central Asia.
Chimkent
Currently the capital city of the South Kazakhstan Province and the third largest city in Kazakhstan. Founded in the 12th century as a stopping point along the 'Silk Road' trading network between the Middle East and China. Incorporated into the Russian Empire in 1864.
dasturkhon
A cloth spread for setting out a meal, around which people sit to eat. Cloth and diners sit on the same surface, such as a raised platform, porch, or simply the ground.
Farghana
A region of what is now southeast Uzbekistan, a broad valley fed by the Narin River of Kyrgyzstan and draining into the Syr Darya. Also the name of the historical capital city of the region. Babur, father of the Mughal dynasty, began his political life (and the text of his memoirs, the Baburname) in Farghana.
haliun
A very light-colored palomino horse, otherwise known to western equitation as an isabella. The female is called haliugch. The etymology of the term haliun is uncertain; it seems to be cognate with the verb haliurah (to ripple), which could relate to the horse's movement over the ground or to the rippling of the horse's hair.
|