00:00Uzbekistan is far south, a region less traveled, less photographed, and far less transformed
00:29by the footprints of modern tourism.
00:33This is where India, Persia, and Central Asia once met, not in battle, but in belief.
00:39This region didn't divide cultures, it connected them through prayer, through philosophy, through
00:45art.
00:46Surkhandariya region shares borders with three countries, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan.
00:52Many people who live in Uzbekistan say, if you want to understand deeply the soul of Uzbekistan, you have to go to further regions, such as Surkhandariya.
01:02In the last time, the number of tourists has almost doubled over the last year.
01:08And now we can allow ourselves to talk about a number of tourists in our region.
01:14Very close to Termes, more than two thousand years ago, Buddhism flourished.
01:20Behind me are the ruins of Faya Steppe, once a peaceful Buddhist monastery, and a key stop along the Silk Road.
01:27It reminds us that Surkhandariya has long been a crossroad of culture and belief.
01:33Inside the painted walls of Faya Steppe's monastic ruins, monks once lived, worshipped, and created art that blended Central Asian and Indian styles.
01:44Where I am standing would be the courtyard of the monastery.
01:49Then westwards, it would be the dwelling area for the Buddhist monks.
01:55And then eastwards, it would be the household sector for cooking the food and washing the dresses of the Buddhist monks.
02:06Beyond me, you can see the stupa, that would be like a museum for keeping the relics dealing with the name of the Buddha.
02:17But the most mysterious site lies just a few meters away.
02:21Karatepa, a network of cave temples carved directly into sandstone cliffs.
02:28Here, monks lived in cells, dug from rock, prayed in underground chapels, and followed a life of solitude and devotion.
02:37Within two hours drive, the mountain town of Boissoun is recognized by UNESCO for its living cultural traditions.
02:45In the heart of the city, the Boissoun Handicraft Center is a quite but powerful effort to keep ancient heritage alive.
02:53Our holy land is based on the earthly part of the monastery.
02:57We are all kind of a well-known people to live here.
03:03We are all kind of a blinded village, because we have to live here in the village, and we are on the way of the village.
03:08We gather the village in the village, the village in the village, and we are all kind of a blinded village.
03:16Outside the town, hidden deep in the folds of mountains, lies a quiet place known as Khujamai Khona.
03:22There you can also smell the fire before you see it. Bread baked in clay tunders.
03:28It is actually a gathering place for locals and tourists.
03:32Very close, Tagisar canyon features towering cliffs made of weather sandstone sculpted by wind and water over millennia into a series of narrow gorges and labouring flag corridors.
03:45There is a place where tourists are going to be, but there is a place where tourists are going to be.
03:53There is a place where tourists are going to be. There is a place where tourists are going to be.
03:59For travelers, seeking an authentic cultural experience, the Hissar range offers the opportunity to stay in traditional villages.
04:07But there in the mountains, a musical surprise was awaiting us, the Boissoun Folklore Ethnographic People's Ensemble.
04:15There are also walks of such a small boat.
04:19It is a place where you have a camp.
04:20From the water, to the projects, the rivers, the rocks, theriks, the rockers, the beach, the rockers.
04:26In our ensemble, there are the small mountains and small mountains, some great parties, and some great mountains.
04:34And we are going to be right on the ground and to our hearts.
04:38It's a living story waiting to be felt.
04:50We came here to film history, but actually we found a true heart.
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