Urgench, Uzbekistan

Urgench is the name of two cities, one of which is located in Uzbekistan and second one is located in Turkmenistan near the village of Kunya-Urgench and is the ruins of ancient settlement.

Ancient Urgench today is located on the territory of Turkmenistan, close to the state border. The exact time of origin of the settlement is not known, however according to some records it is considered that the city had already existed in the 1st century AD.

It was quite large trade and industrial city with developed irrigation system. In the 10-11th centuries it was the capital of Khorezm, but in the 13th century the city was destroyed by army of Genghis Khan and century later it was ruined to the ground by Amir Temur. The city had being struggled for its existence untill the 17th century, but then it was left with all its mosques, minarets, fortresses and irrigation systems. Today ruins of ancient Urgench attract a lot of tourists from all over the world.

Modern Urgench is located on the territory of Uzbekistan close to the Uzbek-Turkmen border. So both cities are divided not only by time but also by state border. This city was founded in the beginning of 20th century. There is almost no any historical sightseeing in the city. Being the administrative center of Khorezm region of Uzbekistan, Urgench plays role of transport nodal point in the region.

There are railways running through the city and connecting south and north of Central Asia. Within the city there is the international airport “Urgench”, which is capable to receive aircrafts of any type and serves flights from Tashkent, Moscow, Saint-Petersburg and other cities of the world. Also Urgench is connected with Khiva by unique trolleybus line with 35 km of length. By the way, all major sites and monuments of Khorezm region are located in Khiva. So Urgench is the perfect place for start point to tours to Khiva and Kunya-Urgench.