Uzbek handicrafts: a renaissance that boosts tourism

16-06-24

The revival of traditional handicrafts in Uzbekistan, increasingly integrated into everyday life, is booming and increasing its tourist appeal to foreigners interested in the indigenous.

"We observe a trend of a return to our origins. It's an awakening of the people," says Noilya Usmanova, an Uzbek designer who believes that traditional dress is essential to national identity.

In Central Asia, interest in handicrafts using ancient materials is enjoying a renaissance. In Uzbekistan, chapan and tubeteikas, worn even in Soviet times, were never considered archaic and are now booming.

Usmanova fuses Uzbek style with modern clothing, mixing chapan or abaya with contemporary denim and pants. Inspired by a walk in Samarkand, she incorporates floral and pomegranate embroidery into her designs.

Her company, 'Siluet.Meros', with four boutiques in Tashkent, is in high demand locally and internationally, including orders from Canada, UAE, Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Russia and Kazakhstan. Even Elon Musk's mother bought a hand-embroidered chapan from his brand, which employs 500 Uzbek embroiderers.

Tashkent porcelain

Traditional Uzbek ornaments also adorn local porcelain, popular with tourists. Markets offer a vast array of decorated teapots, trays and tableware that evoke tradition.

Rustam Yekubov, a store owner, learned the secrets of painting on clay from his parents. "My pieces are very personal and very Uzbek. They are a national atlas in white porcelain," he says.

The Potter of Rishtan

Rishtan, in the Fergana Valley, is the cradle of Uzbek pottery, with roots in the 2nd century B.C. "Rishtan pottery is the best because of the composition of the clay, ecological and 'musical,'" explains Muhammad Rasul, a 17-year-old potter.

Tashkent has converted a historic caravan-sarai into a Pottery Center that sells and offers workshops in this ancient art to visitors. Tourism has been crucial, with Uzbekistan welcoming seven million tourists last year, and projecting 15 million by 2030.