Then Now
OLD TASHKENT 🐫 🐫 🐫 🐫
🐅 🐅 🐎 ⚔️ 🐎 🔥 🔥 🐎 ⚔️ 🐎 🔥 🔥 Labzak darvozasi Qashqar darvozasi Taxtapul darvozasi Qo‘qon darvozasi Qorasaroy darvozasi Qo‘ymas darvozasi Sag‘bon darvozasi Beshyog‘och darvozasi Kamolon darvozasi Chig‘atoy darvozasi Samarqand darvozasi Ko‘kcha darvozasi Ko‘kaldosh madrasasi Hazrati Imom Chorsu bozori O‘rda qal’asi Jome masjidi Kallonxona Shayxontohur Hind karvonsaroyi Sebzor Shayxontohur Beshyog‘och Ko‘kcha Anhor Salar Qoraqamish Kaykovus Chovli arig‘i Ko‘kcha arig‘i Bo‘zsuv
Gate sites were found by matching 1866–1912 maps to today’s map (Tashkent khokimiyat project). The wall line is approximate.
East is at the top and north on the left, as on the 1865 plan
Until the 19th century Tashkent was surrounded by a mighty wall. At first it had 7 gates; as the city grew there were 12 by 1864. The gates were made of spruce and bound with wrought iron; each had a guard (darvazabon) and a toll collector (zakatchi). Legend says the 12 gates followed the 12 stars of the ‘muchal’ year cycle. The last gate was pulled down in 1890, yet their names still live on in city districts.
The gates
Labzak Gate
Named after the area in the north of the old town. Kashgar Gate
The Great Silk Road to Kashgar and China started here, heading east. 🐫 Caravan road Takhtapul Gate
‘Takhta pul’ means ‘wooden bridge’ — over the Kaykovus canal. Another version: ‘tokhta, pul’ — ‘stop, money!’, as tolls were taken here. 🐫 Caravan road Kokand Gate
The road to Kokand began here. In the mid-19th century the Kokand khan rebuilt the city gates. 🐫 Caravan road Karasaray Gate
‘Karasaray’ means ‘black palace’ in Uzbek. Koymas Gate
By one version ‘koymas’ is Uzbek for ‘the one that won’t let you pass’. Sagban Gate
By one version from Persian ‘sagbon’ — ‘dog keeper’. Beshagach Gate
Folk meaning: ‘besh yogoch’ — ‘five trees’. One of the four quarters of the old town bore the same name. Kamalan Gate
The name is linked to the nearby Kamalan cemetery. ⚔️ 1865 Chagatay Gate
Named after Chigatay, one of the main streets of old Tashkent. Samarkand Gate
It stood at the start of the road to Samarkand. 🐫 Caravan road Kukcha Gate
Named after Kukcha — one of the four quarters (daha) of the old town.
Inside the wall
Kukeldash Madrasah Built around 1570 next to Chorsu: yellow brick and a 20-metre portal. Hazrati Imam The spiritual heart of Tashkent: 16th-century Barak Khan Madrasah and the Friday mosque with 53-metre minarets. Chorsu Bazaar ‘Chorsu’ means ‘crossroads of four ways’ — one of the three main squares of the old town. In 1865 it was an open square with covered rows and an Indian merchants’ caravanserai; the famous blue dome was built only in 1980. Urda citadel The military citadel stood here by the Ankhor. Today — the Urda area where Navoi street crosses the canal. Friday Mosque Tashkent’s main Friday mosque by Chorsu, founded in the 15th century by Sheikh Khoja Ahror Vali — hence its second name. Kallonxona An old mahalla next to Chorsu bazaar in the Kukcha quarter. Its old name is Kallonxona; today people call it Kallaxona. Old-town mahallas were often named after their residents’ trade. Shaykhantahur Three mausoleums: Sheikh Khovendi at-Tahur (14th c., built on Amir Temur’s initiative), Kaldirgochbiy with its pyramid dome (15th c.) and Yunus Khan, Babur’s grandfather (15th c.). Today — Navoi & Abdulla Qodiriy streets. Indian caravanserai On Chorsu square stood a closed, fortified caravanserai of Indian merchants. Water always flowed at its entrance and candles burned: by their faith the merchants purified themselves with water and fire. It stood until 1917. In caravanserais merchants slept, camels rested in the yard and goods were kept in storerooms. Abulkasim Madrasah Built in the 19th century by the Tashkent ishan Abulkasim Sheikh — a mosque, a bathhouse and a madrasah. A second floor was added in 1864. It survives today on Bunyodkor avenue by the National Park and houses a crafts school: jewellers, woodcarvers and miniaturists work here.
The four quarters
Sebzar quarter One of the four quarters (daha) of old Tashkent: green mahallas with gardens, vineyards and courtyard orchards, home of the Hazrati Imam complex. By one version the name comes from ‘sabza’ — greenery. Shaykhantahur quarter One of the four quarters, named after Sheikh Khovendi at-Tahur who lived in the 14th century. His mausoleum, the Urda citadel and the mahallas by the Ankhor were here. Today a city district bears the name. Beshagach quarter One of the four quarters. Folk meaning — ‘five trees’: under huge plane trees by the gate stood a chaikhana and a market. Today — Beshagach square and the National Park. Kukcha quarter One of the four quarters, along the Kukcha canal: water wheels, gardens, big neighbourhood mosques, with Chorsu bazaar and Kukeldash madrasah on its edge. Today — the Kukcha area.
History and nature
Turan tiger Tashkent was ringed on the south and south-east by tugai — 5-metre reed thickets along the Chirchik channels. … 1865: the battle for the city On 9 May Alimqul led a 40,000-strong army against the Russian force under the city walls and was mortally woun… 1864: the first assault repelled In autumn 1864 Chernyaev’s force came along the Chimkent road (today’s Yunusabad) and stormed the city. The de…
Sources: Wikipedia, mytashkent.uz, gazeta.uz. Some name meanings are only versions.
