Aziz Abduhakimov, Chairman of State Committee on Tourism Development: A chain of hotels taking into account religious rituals must be in Uzbekistan.
A chain of hotels considering religious rituals, the ziyarat-hotels must be established in Uzbekistan noted Aziz Abduhakimov, the Chairman of the Committee for Tourism Development in his interview for VisitUzbekistan journal.
“In the nearest future ziyarat tourism would be become the main direction in the development of internal and external tourism in our country. However there are still several things we must do for the conveniences of visitors in our airports, railway and bus stations which are washing and pray rooms. We are planning to establish a chain of hotels that foresees religious rituals of visitors. Besides, “Halal” and “Kosher” standards are expected to be introduced”.
According to his words, with the introduction of non-visa agreement between Turkey and Uzbekistan the number of visitors-ziyarat tourists to Uzbekistan from Turkey is expected to be raised to 3-4 times that is around 100-150 thousand visitors annually.
Earlier it was informed that during the official visit of R.T. Erdogan, Turkish President the memorandum was signed between the Committee for Tourism Development of Uzbekistan and its Turkish partners.
Press Service,
Muslim Board of Uzbekistan
Egyptian media highlight the Imam al-Bukhari Complex
News portal “see.news” and the leading Egyptian newspaper “Al-Ahram” have published articles about the upcoming International Sister Cities Forum in Samarkand and the Imam al-Bukhari Complex near Samarkand, reports Dunyo IA correspondent.
According to the “see.news” portal, International Sister Cities Forum will be held in Samarkand on July 24-25th, 2026, aimed at expanding Uzbekistan's international cooperation, strengthening partnerships between cities, and developing public diplomacy. The forum's program will include an international scientific and practical conference on urban cooperation, panel sessions and roundtables, ceremonies for signing memorandums and agreements between sister cities, presentations on public diplomacy and interregional interaction, cultural and educational events for foreign delegations, study tours of Samarkand's historical monuments, as well as exhibitions showcasing the investment, tourism and cultural potential of Uzbekistan's regions.
“Al-Ahram” correspondent, Muhammad Abdulsalam Sabrin, dedicated a report to the Imam al-Bukhari Complex near Samarkand, having visited it as part of the international scientific conference “The Mosque of the Authentic Musnad of Imam Bukhari: The Book of the Nation”. The author describes the complex as an integrated scientific and spiritual city spanning an area of about 450,000 square meters, featuring a mosque with four 75-meter minarets, an interactive museum consisting of nine pavilions with rare manuscripts and maps of Imam al-Bukhari’s travels, as well as an infrastructure designed to receive delegations from across the Muslim world. According to the journalist, the complex's capacity after reconstruction has increased from 12,000 to nearly 65,000 visitors per day and he described the site not merely as an architectural monument, but as a message of tolerance and the values of coexistence among peoples.