About Uzbekistan

A Wild West town with teahouses, Baisun (Boysun) is the largest settlement in the triangle and the only one to boast an official hotel. Besides its unique skullcaps and other embroidery, the main attractions are again natural and the Gur Cur Ata  massif and Ketmanchapt Mountains, which tower above the town, attract walkers from the whole oblast. The village goes crazy on the first moon in May during the UNESCO -sponsored Baisun (Boysun Buhori) cultural festival in May that includes fashion shows, dance and folk music ensembles from over Central Asia. The festival has been dormant for the last couple of years but it's worth checking to see if it has revived. UNESCO recently declared Baisun to be on its list of the '28 Masterpieces of Oral and Intangible Heritage of humanity'.

Boysun sits within the Boysuntau Mountains (foothills of the Hissars), in range of several hikes and excursions, including an overnight trek to the Teshiktosh Cave (Machay Cave), believed to have been inhabited by Neanderthals more than 50,000 years ago. It's a day's return walk or donkey ride from the village of Machay, itself a 45km drive north of Darbent. You will need a guide for this or any other trek around here, both to set up homestays and to keep you away from border zones.

Closer to Boysun you can hire a car for the 25-minute drive to the moderately interesting Oman Hona, a mosque and cave shrine on a narrow mountain gorge. You can inquire about transport at Boysun's lone hotel, the grotty Nomat Hotel without bathroom in the middle of town.

Regular public transport links Boysun with Denau. If you do this trip on a Thursday morning, don't miss the bazaar that suddenly springs to life in the middle of the desert just east of Tangimush, about halfway between Denau and Boysun. The towering Hissar Mountains north of Denau are off-limits without special permits, but Denau has bustling bazaars, a few lively chaikhanas in the centre, and a couple of attractively priced hotels: centrally located Denau Hotel and, a bit further out, the downright flashy Euroasia Hotel.

The action is at least as good on the north side of the Boysuntau range near Shakhrisabz in Kashkadarya province. The highlight here is Langar, home to a famous mausoleum on a hill and a mosque with some unrestored 16th-century tilework. Langar's mud-walled houses, like the surrounding hills, are shaded a deep, eye-pleasing maroon. Langar is 64km south of Shakhrisabz by car.

The town has a handicraft centre and local museum. Twenty-minutes' drive outside town is the hollow tree of Alpamysh; the village is said to be the homeplace of the Uzbek epic of the same name. Outside town is the Omonkhana mineral spring.

People of Boysun decorate their homes with colorful "suzane" (embroidered coverlets), homespun carpets, that are light, strong and warm, and decorate dresses and shoes with fancy ornaments and embroidery. There is painted ceramic tableware on tables and carved trunks near walls.

In the backyard of every house there is a "tandyr" - a clay oven where the traditional flat bread is baked. Flour used in breads is made of grain grown locally and processed manually or using water mills. Blacksmiths who still make various tools, instruments, utensils and jewelry for local residents are well-known for their skills. In general, lifestyle of Boysun people preserves the traditional way of life. Each family, makhalla (neighborhood or block), village gently keeps handicraft traditions, culture of household and family ceremonies and follow them from generation to generation.

The most remarkable thing is that Boysun is neither a myth nor theatrical performance of past days. It is not a fantasy. This is the reality. This small island of the past and traditional does exist.

Any special event that is holiday, birthday or death, is carried out using certain ritual ceremonies that are filled with specific meaning and keep the echoes of heathen creeds. Alpamysh, a heroic epic poem was composed in the very place, amidst Uzbek kin kungrat, using the folk songs. Folk traditions of Boysun people are truly unique. This was recognized by the world as well. Folk songs, dances, legends, costumes, handicrafts here make up the natural lifestyle of local people. People, nature and the space merged together to create a beautiful harmony of the being. That's why at the end of May in 2002, the First Open Folk Festival "Boysun Spring" was held in the ancient land of Boysun. Popular singers and artists gathered here to perform to the public ceremonial songs and dances. Guests from many countries of the world took part in the festival. They got a unique experience to see in Surkhan oasis the careful and respectful attitude to cultural and spiritual wealth of Uzbek people.