Tashkent celebrates 2,200th anniversary

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TASHKENT — Tashkent, Central Asia's largest city and Uzbekistan's capital, marked its 2,200th anniversary on Sept. 1. UNESCO's General Assembly passed a resolution recognising the holiday as one of worldwide significance. To mark the occasion, a gala concert was held at the city's International Convention Centre, built especially for the anniversary. Visitors from 60 countries attended the festivities.

"Anniversary celebrations of all sorts have been going on since July 15. Every part of the country, however remote, has been visited by performers and historians giving lectures on our past," said Farida Abdurakhimova, director of the anniversary preparations headquarters.

The history lectures are vital, as most Uzbeks have not yet forgotten the 1984 celebrations of Tashkent's 2,000th anniversary. Playing on the confusing dates, jokes have been circulating about how life in the country, as on the frontlines in wartime, makes each year feel like ten.

In Moscow, Uzbek Ambassador Ilkhom Nematov attempted to explain the 200-year discrepancy to journalists. Apparently, carbon-dated archaeological artefacts recovered from a dig in the ancient city of Shashtep outside of Tashkent were determined to be 2,200 years old. The diplomat did not mention, however, that carbon dating has a built-in margin of error of 70 years to 300 years.

Some suggest that such historical dates are dictated by modern necessity. With half the population living below the poverty line, entertaining displays of pomp have become absolutely essential to morale.