Two centuries ago, there was a wasteland on the site of Termez.

Old Termez was called Zunnunabad, and the settlement of Termez along the Surkhandarya was called “Shahri Gulgula”. No one lived here from the beginning of the 18th century until the 1970s.

In 1892, the Emir of Bukhara Abdulahadkhan began construction to further develop production and trade and announced this at a meeting with the participation of influential religious figures, representatives of the upper classes and major government officials. They built part of the industrial zone from the current North Gate along Taraqqiyot Street to the city center, as well as around the Termez river port. The locals call this place the New City. This place was the most beautiful part of the city until the 1980s. Settlements were built in its eastern part.

In 1902, the buildings of the post office, telegraph, financial institutions and the doctor’s house were built from baked bricks at the expense of the emir. The telegraph building corresponds to the current Post Office No.6. The site of the financial institution now houses an exhibition hall and retail outlets. On behalf of the emir, a complex of caravanserais was built at his expense and the contribution of a major local entrepreneur, Imomalibay.

The exterior decoration of houses built in Tuprakkurgan is made of raw bricks. Luxurious houses were built here, and their decoration was very different from the housing of the Russian military in Samarkand and Tashkent. As Termez became a major economic center, entrepreneurs from Russia began to come here. In 1905-1910, two cotton ginning plants built by Matchinbayev and Shamsiddinov appeared in Termez. In 1910 there were 28 enterprises in the city. In the same year, Imomalibay built the Murchbobo mausoleum and a mosque.

The palace of Emir Abdulahadkhan in Termez and the hotel complex were turned into residential buildings in the 1950-60s. The real name of the city has been forgotten. 

There are almost 50 buildings built by the Bukhara emirs in the historical part of Termez. These buildings do not need renovation. Most of the houses have retained their original appearance, as well as the decorations on them. The tourism potential of the region will increase if the buildings are equipped with exhibits of military equipment of that period and turned into a museum since part of the military facilities here were built in 1894.

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Photos by Jonibek Quzimurodov, UzA