The Memorial To Earthquake Victims In Tashkent

In 1966, at 5:23 am, Tashkent experienced a damaging earthquake. The epicenter was right in the center of the city and the shallow depth of the quake (3-8 kilometers) meant a whole lot of shakin' went on. Most of the old city was destroyed. Two hundred people died and 200,000 people lost their homes.

Ten years later, a memorial was opened. Its formal name is Monument of Courage. The style, of course, is Soviet brutalist, socialist. The centerpiece is a generic family in a powerful pose with a black granite clock, cracked and stopped at the moment of the earthquake.

Detail of the stopped clock. Smashing. Behind the main sculpture is a ring of gold metal cutout friezes. The scenes are a mix of classic Soviet worker might with more traditional Uzbek themes.

Electricity will make you strong.

Doing a little dancing and tambourine pounding. Making little rocks from big rocks. Jack it.

Back to the main sculpture, this time, an abstract view in silhouette. 

Some Snowfall In Tashkent

Tashkent doesn't have much of a winter. Some cold weather, maybe a few snowfalls that leave little dustings. The rare white blanket is a nice change from the dusty norm and a good chance to get out and see some sights.

Icon with snow, the famous Hotel Uzbekistan.

Hard to believe, right downtown, a meandering canal and footbridge creates a bucolic scene within the urban environment. The Monument of Courage with a little white dusting. It's dedicated to victims of the big earthquake in 1966.

The palace for Grand Duke Nicholas Constantinovich, one of the Romanovs. Nice pad, ready for a bitter, period Soviet epic film set.

Another memorial, the weeping mother for the WWII victims from Uzbekistan. Putting the frieze in freeze. The impressive workers scene outside the Mustakillik Maydoni metro station.

Cool pedestrian footbridge and big Ferris wheel. Lovely. For a day, until the melting commences.