Paru le 16/09/2003 | Relié sous jaquette 229 pages
Tout public
texte Pierre Chuvin
Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva : three great Central Asian cities which arouse our wonder by the originality and sheer power of their mythic silhouettes. Here Pierre Chuvin delves into the vibrant artistic and architectural heritage of this once forbidden land, with photographs by Gérard Degeorge demonstrating a rich and varied past, and reinstating the region's Islamic art within the chaos of world history. The insightful historical voyage begins over two thousand years ago when Alexander the Great approached the city walls of Samarkand and was stunned by its invincible size and beauty. It recounts how merchants on the Silk Road and warring armies, headed by the likes of Gengis Kahn and Tamerlane, continued to cross paths for centuries in this region. Unceasing rivalries spurred these different parties to create ever more spectacular buildings, gardens, and mosques. This book attempts to make these silent places, with their dazzling livery of turquoise ceramic, echo once more with the sounds of the men that created and peopled them, and bears witness to the cultural legacy of a vibrant civilization.
Pierre Chuvin spent five years in Tachkent, Uzbekistan as the director of the Institut Français d'Etudes sur l'Asie Centrale. He is the author of a number of books on Asia and a professor of Greek literature at the university of Paris-X Nanterre.
Gérard Degeorge is an architect and civil engineer, an historian of the Arab world, and a specialist on Syria. His photography is featured in The Art of the Islamic Tile (Flammarion, 2002).
