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.
00:46Surhandariya region shares borders with three countries, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan.
00:53Many people who live in Uzbekistan say that if you want to understand the soul of Uzbekistan, you have to go to further regions, such as Surhandariya.
01:03In 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 million tourists in our region.
01:14Very close to Termes, more than 2000 years ago, Buddhism flourished.
01:19Behind me are the ruins of Faya Stepa, once a peaceful Buddhist monastery, and a key stop along the Silk Road.
01:27It reminds us that Surhandariya has long been a crossroad of culture and belief.
01:33Inside the painted walls of Faya Stepa'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, then 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.
02:05Beyond me, you can see the stupa, that would be like a museum, for keeping the relics dealing with the name of the Buddha.
02:16But the most mysterious site lies just a few meters away. Karatepa, 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 Boisun is recognized by UNESCO for its living cultural traditions.
02:45In the heart of the city, the Boisun Handicraft Center is a quite but powerful effort to keep ancient heritage alive.
02:52Our ancient ruins are more and more and more.
03:03This is a place where we are living in the temple, and this is a place where we are living with the village.
03:11We are living in the temple, and we are living in the temple.
03:13Outside the town, hidden deep in the folds of mountains, lies a quiet place known as
03:21Kudzamaikona.
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.
03:33Very close, Tagisar canyon features towering cliffs made of weather sandstone, sculpted
03:39by wind and water over millennia into a series of narrow gorgias and labouring flag corridors.
04:00For travelers seeking an offending cultural experience, the Hisar range offers the opportunity
04:05to stay in traditional villages.
04:07But there in the mountains, a musical surprise was awaiting us.
04:11The boyson folklore ethnographic people's ensemble.
04:15This is the message of the ancestors.
04:24To the culture of the women, its love and jeez.
04:27We all came together with this whole community.
04:32We heard about the 성thians and the shepes, the shepes, the shepes.
04:33This shepes, we created people and we gave them you.
04:37Surkhandariya is more than a destination, it'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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