The hospitality of the people of Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva is known around the world. However, there are other cities in the country capable of surprising travelers. For instance, Shakhrisabz in Kashkadarya province, on whose soil Amir Temur, the greatest military leader and statesman, took his first steps. Every year about 11 thousand tourists visit Temur`s small motherland.
Extensive work is underway in the region to refresh the appearance of the regional centre and other towns, and to develop new tourist routes. For instance, one of them will be to the village of Gelon in the Shakhrisabz district. It is categorized as “untouched by civilization”.
Gelon is located in the southern part of Uzbekistan in Kashkadarya, on the western slopes of the Pamir-Alay Mountains. The area is situated on the border of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, 80 km from Shakhrisabz. The village is surrounded by high mountains, reaching over 4,000 metres in the east. It is one of the highest mountain villages in Uzbekistan. It is not easy to get here by a difficult, but picturesque mountain dirt road with numerous serpentines.
⠀
Gelon is the oldest village in the region and is considered the richest in Kashkadarya Province. There are about 7 thousand people in Gelon. The inhabitants of the village are predominantly Tajiks, so the inscriptions in public places here are in Tajik. The main activities in Gelon are potato growing, cultivation of watermelons, fruits, and cattle breeding. All villagers are practicing Muslims and they also perform weddings according to Islamic Shariah rituals. Girls get married at the age of 18. A Gelon resident is obliged to keep his wife clean and safe, to recite the holy prayers and not to drink or smoke.
There are only three schools in Gelon. Two of them were built by the state and one branch was erected by the people themselves by the khashar method. This mountain village was not spared from the pandemic either. There are several guest houses here. Before the coronavirus, many tourists used to come here in spring. But the pandemic harmed families living off tourism, and taxi drivers.
Unique clay houses with ancient narrow streets can still be seen here. There is no other place in Uzbekistan where in the layout of the houses the first floor of the house is residential, and the ground floor is used for keeping livestock. The same architecture is used in Tibet and the highlands of Nepal.
A river with the same name flows through Gelon. The village has interesting local artists and musicians who actively participate in various events, including weddings.
Gelon village currently has the highest number of long livers. Its residents reach the age of 85-90. Here you can easily see a person who is over 85 and he is the epitome of health and strength.
Tourists may get acquainted with the everyday life of inhabitants of the village, taking 1-3 days walk around picturesque surroundings, as well as in neighboring villages Kul, Shut and Sarchashma.
Not far from Gelon, right on the border between Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, there is a holy mountain called Khazret-Sultan (4080 m), where thousands of pilgrims come to pray.
On the way to the village, one can visit one of the most spectacular and abundant waterfalls in Uzbekistan, the 40-meter Suvtushar waterfall.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Subscribe to the channel and don’t forget to like our videos.
#iran, #gilan, #village, #architecture, #landscape, #travel, #view, #hill, #nature, #iranian, #old, #background, #tourism, #building, #traditional, #rural, #beautiful, #house, #persian, #home, #mountain, #culture, #green, #sky, #persia, #ancient, #natural, #countryside, #asia, #summer, #sunrise, #east, #mountains, #light, #history, #masuleh village, #masuleh, #scenery, #place, #simple, #blue, #color, #landmark, #masouleh, #morning, #outdoor, #built, #iran 2022, #destination, #country
