03.12.19
Khiva will become the cultural capital of the Turkic world in 2020. The corresponding decision was made at the 37th meeting of the TURKSOY Permanent Council in Osh, the press service of the Ministry of Culture of the Kyrgyz Republic reported.
Meeting was attended by: the Minister of Culture of Kyrgyzstan Azamat Zhamankulov, the Secretary General of TURKSOY Dyusen Kaseinov, the Deputy Minister of Culture of Azerbaijan Rafig Bayramov, the Deputy Minister of Culture of Kazakhstan Nurkisa Daueshov, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Nadir Alparslan, the Deputy Minister of Turkmenistan Gurbanmurad Myradaliev, as well as Minister of Education and Culture of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Nazim Chavushoglu as observer country.
Uzbekistan was represented by Deputy Minister of Culture Kamola Akilova, who recalled that Khiva city, one of the main pearls of modern Uzbekistan, has almost completely retained its historical appearance. The ancient city of Khiva was once the center of the Khorezm Khanate, The rich heritage that has survived to this day makes Khiva one of the most interesting cities in modern Uzbekistan.
This city became the capital of the Khiva Khanate in the 17th century. Most of Khiva today resembles an open-air museum. And the center of this museum is Ichan-Kala fortress. All the architectural masterpieces of Khiva are concentrated inside of this fortress.
The most impressive architectural aspect of Khiva is Ichan-Kala, an ancient complex included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The cities that served as the capital in earlier years are Astana (Kazakhstan) in 2012, Eskisehir (Turkey) in 2013, Kazan (Russian Tatarstan) in 2014, Merv (Turkmenistan) in 2015, Sheki (Azerbaijan) in 2016, Turkestan (Kazakhstan) in 2017, and Kastamonu (Turkey) in 2018, And the current status of cultural capital is city of Osh, (Kyrgyzstan) for 2019.
