Ura Tyube

Ura Tyube, also known as Istaravshan, stands in the foothills south of the Syr Darya. Its old citadel rises above a town of markets, mosques and workshops, on routes between the Fergana Valley and the cities of Transoxiana. The name Ura Tyube appears in the fourteenth century, though settlement in the surrounding country is far older. Woodcarvers, embroiderers and potters contributed to the town's reputation for skilled crafts.

The Kok Gumbaz, or Blue Dome, is among the monuments of its Islamic past. Its mosque and madrasa are associated with Abd al-Latif, son of the Timurid astronomer Ulugh Beg. In the eighteenth century the town's walls and citadel were strengthened as rival powers and raiders contested the region. Within them, markets, baths and religious buildings served the population of the oasis and the travellers who passed through it.