In 2007 ISESCO (the structure of IOC) announced Tashkent as the capital of Islamic culture.
Every year this organization announces three cities to be the Islamic cultural centers. One of the cities must be from Arabic countries, another one from Asia and the third one from Africa.
On IX conference of the ministers of culture of OIC three cities: Bukhara, Cairo (Egypt) and Bamako (Mali) were chosen as Islamic cultural centers of 2020.
Actually Bukhara has been Islamic cultural center for centuries. It was named as “The dome of Islam”. There is great meaning in the selection of Bukhara as the Islamic cultural center of 2020. It is worth mentioning that thousands of scholars who have contributed to the world civilization were born, lived and studied in this city.
Azamjon Abdurakhimov
The teacher of Tashkent Islamic Universities
“Study of Islamic civilization ISESCO” department
The International Pilgrimage Tourism Week is dedicated to the scientific and spiritual heritage of such representatives of the Islamic world as Abu Hafs Kabir Bukhari, Sayf al-Din Bakharzi, Abdulkholik Gijduvani, and Bahauddin Naqshband. Bukhara, among the famous seven cities such as Makkah, Madinah, Mazar-i-Sharif, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and Damascus, once again demonstrates itself as a city that has made an invaluable contribution to the glory of Islam.
To ensure the implementation of reforms in the tourism sector, in particular the further development of pilgrimage tourism, practical work is being carried out in Uzbekistan to establish the Golden Ring tourist route, increase air routes between Muslim countries, and build large hotels, tourist centers, and restaurants with the participation of investors.
Bukhara, the pearl of Islamic civilization, will host events and conferences during the International Pilgrimage Tourism Week.