PERSPECTIVES OF CULTURAL AND COGNITIVE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT OF GREAT SILK ROAD IN THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN

ABSTRACT

This article reveals the role and historical significance of the Great Silk Road in Kazakhstan’s development and the people who were on its route. Silk Road had a huge impact on the formation of political, economic and cultural order of the countries through which it passed. Along the route there were all its large and small caravanserais and villages, especially caravan routes were dotted in Central Asia and the Caucasus. The Silk Road was full of the major ethnic processes, active interaction of cultures, it carried out large-scale commercial operations, concluded diplomatic agreements and military alliances.

Keywords: culture, Great Silk Road, history, route, tourism.

INTRODUCTION

The history of the legendary Silk Road is full of mysteries and mysteries. Ancient civilizations arose and disappeared here, new ethnic groups were born and whole nations perished as a result of the invasions of invaders, unknown masters created priceless cultural monuments, Buddhist preachers incomprehensibly maintained an atmosphere of high spirituality and religious correctness, famous travelers made amazing discoveries.

The Silk Road is a system of caravan routes that have connected the cultural centers of the vast expanse of the mainland between China and the Mediterranean for more than a thousand years. The term itself was first introduced into scientific circulation by the German geographer and geologist V.Richthofen in the 70s of the XIX century. It turned out to be extremely successful and generally accepted for designating connections between the Far Eastern and Western world. Since the II century AD, silk has become the main commodity carried by Chinese merchants to distant countries [1].

Purpose of the work: Study of the prerequisites for the development of cultural and educational tourism on the Great Silk Road in Kazakhstan.

Research objectives:

1. Study of the history of the Great Silk Road.
2. Analysis of the prerequisites for the emergence of the Great Silk Road.
3. Recommendations for improving the success of the tourism sector on the Great Silk Road.

Research methods: In order to develop tourism on the Great Silk Road, descriptive, comparative, and expert assessment methods were used.

People were always there, trading with their neighbors, exchanging goods, skills, and ideas. Throughout the history of Eurasia, routes crossed by communication routes and trade routes, which were gradually connected, through land and sea, where silk and many other goods were exchanged between people from all over the world, are now known as the Silk Road. [2].

One can talk endlessly about the goods that went along the Silk Road, but it is perhaps impossible to list them at all. Porcelain, furs, slaves (especially women), metal products, spices, incense, medicines, ivory, thoroughbred horses, precious stones were traded here. But, of course, the most important commodity is silk.

Due to its lightness, compactness, huge demand and high cost, it was an ideal trade item for long-distance transportation. As evidenced by the “Voyage around the Eritrean Sea”, silk was transported in threads as raw and in finished products

The population of East Turkestan was familiar with silk back in the Chow period, and in the IV century BC silk threads penetrate into India. Written sources report that already in the II century BC, Chinese silk became widespread in Parthia and in the first half of the I century BC, battle banners were made from it. In the I century BC, silk penetrated into Alexandria– the main trading center of the Eastern Mediterranean, where luxurious garments were sewn from silk for Queen Cleopatra. Silk was imported to Rome in the second half of the I century. In the reign of Emperor Augustus, silk is mentioned, found in the verses of Virgil, Propertius, Horace and Ovid. Moreover, if Horace considered silk robes to be an external expression of effeminacy and vice, then Ovid admires silk, comparing the loose hair of his beloved with the multicolored fabrics of the Serov people. Silk became widespread among the Roman nobility in the first half of the I century BC. Martial, in Rome in the Viscus Tascus area there was a special market where silk was traded[3].

However, these large-scale networks were more than just goods and valuable goods: the constant change and mixing of the population led to the transfer of knowledge, ideas, culture and beliefs that had a profound impact on the history and civilization of the Eurasian peoples. Travelers along the Silk Road attracted not only trade, but also intellectual and cultural exchange, which took place in cities along the Silk Road, many of which became centers of culture and training. Thus, science, art and literature, as well as handicrafts and technologies were distributed and distributed in societies in these areas. Languages, religions, and cultures developed and influenced each other.

For centuries, the great Kazakh steppe has hosted caravans of the Great Silk Road in the oases of its cities and settlements. On the territory of Kazakhstan, the Silk Road began from the Chinese border. Silk, weapons, medicines, rice, exotic goods were transported to the West and Europe through the Kazakh steppes. The steppe rulers offered their services to ensure the safety of trade caravans, demanding in return a share of goods or cash. This is how taxes and customs duties appeared.

The main line of the Silk Road passed through the territory of Kazakhstan through the south of the country. From the border with China, trade caravans moved through the cities of Sairam, Yassy, Otrar, Taraz and further into Central Asia, Persia, The Caucasus and Europe.

The most enduring heritage of the Silk Road is its role in establishing contacts between cultures and peoples and promoting exchange between them. On a practical level, merchants had to learn the languages and customs of the countries they traveled to successfully negotiate.

One of the most famous technical achievements, which spread throughout the world along the Silk Road, was the development of paper - making technology, as well as printing machine technology. Similarly, all over Central Asia, irrigation systems have common features that spread through travelers, that is, they absorbed not only their cultural knowledge, but also the knowledge of the societies in which they were located [4].

The main merchants in ancient times were Chinese, Arabs, Indians, Persians, Somalis, Greeks, Syrians, Romans, Armenians, Bengalis, Arabs, Indians, Bactrians and Sogdians from the 5th to 8th centuries [5].

In June 2014, UNESCO declared the Tien Shan Silk Road Corridor a World Heritage Site.

During the 19th General Assembly in Kenju (Republic of Korea), UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai presented a white book in which he stated: “Tourism: the future of 2030” – the tourism industry has a great growth potential and by 2030 the number of international tourists will reach 1,8 billion [6].

There are enough artifacts that confirm that the Great Silk Road as a trade route was not limited to the South Kazakhstan regions. It was not something permanent and established.  On the banks of the Irtysh there are 16 cities of kimak, and their history is also a trace of the great path. One of the greatest achievements of the Silk Road was the arrival of paper production from China to the Turkic states.

In the VI-III centuries BC, the territory of Kazakhstan was inhabited by nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes of the Saks, whose high culture is known for the excavations of numerous mounds, including Beshatyr, Issyk, Tegisken, Uygarak. These tribes were not a passive side in the development of the Silk Road. In the second half of the VI century, the great nomadic Empire-the Turkic Khaganate-had a great influence on these processes. In the seventh century, dozens of cities were reported. The largest cities were Suyab, Taraz and the city of “Ak Uzen”, later called Ispijab [6].

Kazakhstan, with the support of UNWTO, has studied the tourist potential of the country - the cultural heritage of historical and cultural objects of the Kazakh part of the Silk Road. The list of UNESCO World Heritage sites in the countries of the Silk Road includes: in 2003, the mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Turkestan (South Kazakhstan), in 2004, ancient drawings of the archaeological landscape Tamgaly (petroglyphs) (located 170 km northwest of Almaty and in the south-eastern part of the Shu-Ili mountains). Also among the nominees were eight objects of the Semirechye part of the Silk Road: Antonovka settlement-medieval Kailak, Talgar, Karamergen, Aktobe Stepninsk, Ornek, Kulan, Kostobe and akyrtas archaeological complex.

In the Syrdarya part: Karaspantobe, Kultobe, Turkestan, Sidak, Syganak, Sauran (sauran archaeological complex), Zhankala (UID), Zhankent, Kuyuk-kesken-Kala, Chirk-Rabat, Babish-Molla settlements. The Borizhar cemetery, monuments of oases of Otrar and Zhetiasar, and the village of Balanda were added to this list.

The village of Bozok is a unique place of nominees, located on the Saryarka part of the Silk Road. The mangyshlak or Ural-Caspian part included the settlements of Kyzylalka, Zhaiyk and Sarayshyk.

The last category of monuments that claim to be included in the UNESCO list is the burials Boraldai, Issyk and Beshatyr. It is included in eight UNESCO historical and cultural monuments. Among them are the Iasi-Turkestan, the Merke Turkic temple, and megalithic monuments of Begazy-Dandybai culture. The World Heritage Center includes mounds with stone ridges of the Tasmola culture, Eshkiolmes and Arpa-Ozen petroglyphs, the Paleolithic and geomorphological complex of Karatu, the monument to the Otrar Oasis and the historical and cultural landscape of Ulytau.

Scientists have placed these monuments next to the best examples of World Culture. These monuments of the legendary Silk Road are included in the system of Kazakh and international tourist routes. Today, the architectural heritage of the ancient settlements of Otrar, Sauran, and Turkestan attracts many researchers to the country.

Currently, within the framework of the state program for sustainable tourism development of forced industrial and innovative development, infrastructure and construction of tourist facilities on the Silk Road are divided into a separate section. All this contributes to the growth of the main indicators of domestic and international tourism.

CONCLUSION

Summing up, I would like to note that the Silk Road is one of the best brands in the world and offers great opportunities for tourism activities in any country.

I consider it important for the successful promotion of the project on the Silk Road :

First, the National Tourism Administration is considering the possibility of creating a single tourist product for the countries of the Great Silk Road.

Secondly, the development of the potential attractiveness of the Silk Road, which includes:

1. restoration of cultural objects and historical monuments on the ancient caravan route;
2. development of decorative and Applied Arts in order to preserve the rich cultural heritage of the Silk Road countries;
3. development, implementation and promotion of joint strategies, programs and marketing to promote the success of the project.

These measures will help local communities develop intercultural dialogue, participate in processes related to the discovery of tourist opportunities and the use of these benefits, that is, the UN, UNWTO and UNESCO successfully implement the transcontinental project for the sustainable development of tourism on the ancient, historical route of the Great Silk Road.

References:

1. Е.И. Лубо-Лесниченко. Китай на Шелковом пути. М., 1994, с. 260
2. http://en.unesco.org/silkroad/about-silk-road
3. Vadim Eliseev. The Great Silk Road: cultural and trade highways. 2001
4. Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 33 p.
5. Kulakhmetova G.A. Reference Guidebook “130 Wonders of Kazakhstan along the Great Silk Road”
6. WTO General Assembly / / national scientific journal "The World of travel" No. 5 (16), September - October 2011, 3 pages.
7. Никитинский Е. Қазақстанның туристік саласының дамуы // ғылыми-әдістемелік журнал «Сокпак-Жол» № 5, Алматы, 2011, 4 б.