Central Asia, the vast territory located on the crossroads East West, North South, on the main passage through Eurasia, became the setting place for a diversity of ethnic groups on their way to greener pastures, literally. The spendid monuments of the cultures they founded have left their traces on this part of the world.

The most interesting period in terms of different ethnicities cohabitating, each contributing their share to the social and cultural life, is without a doubt the Bactrian period. Bactria extended from northern Tajikistan and the territory of present day Surkhandarya in southern Uzbekistan to the north of nowadays Afghanistan.

The cultural development of Bactria has now been researched for over 100 years. A wealth of excavations and remnants of the past were dug up during archaeological expeditions by a number of international teams. Today we have quite a clear picture and excellent insights into this fascinating civilization that blossomed during late antiquity in the south of Uzbekistan, along the Amudarya river.

Bactrian art distinguishes itself through its blend of locally established culture with greco-roman influences, brought to the area by the campaigns of Alexander the Great. Subsequently, the territory was conquered by the nomadic Yu-chi tribe, who founded five kingdoms out of which the Kushan empire arose. The introduction of Bud-dhism, the symbiosis of Buddhist Gandhara Art and the greco-roman elements led to one of greatest cultures in history. Still today you will be abie to explore the ruins of KushanBuddhist monasteries, where monks in the first centuries AD created one of the most tolerant, creative and intei-lectual environments in history, laying the spawning ground for scholars such as Mohammad Ali Hakim at-Termezi, whose works would hundreds of years later be instrumental in the formation of Sufism, in which many elements of Buddhism can be found. Archaeological excavations at Ayrtam, one of the most important monasteries, which at the time stood on the shores of the Amudarya, some 18 km East of modern Termez, was the first site leading to the study of Buddhism in Central Asia. Regrettably, this highly interesting and well-researched monastery was destroyed in the 1980s during the construction of the now equally famous bridge of friendship spanning the Amudarya to the Afghan border. The world famous Ayrtam Fries can now be admired at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. It was at Ayrtam were an engraved stone slab with Bactrian inscriptions was found, together with gold coins and adornments, all bearing a testimony to the extraordinary cultural wealth of Bactria.

Kampyrtepa or also known as the Alexandria Oxianskaya founded by Alexander the Great during his campaign to Sogdiana and its capital Marakanda (Samarkand) is another significant Buddhist monastery in the area that has been researched by several generations of historians and archaeologists. Among scholars there is no doubt as to the importance of its strategic position, with its amazing system of defensive walls and gates dated IV-III centuries BC. It was Kampyrtepa who controlled the roads to the North, the mayor trade route from India to the Roman empire through the Amudarya valley, along the Caspian and Black Seas.

Fayaztepa is a Buddhist complex in the Northwestern of old Termez. The murals on the walls of the temples depict religious subjects, the main heroes of which are of spiritual character. Ancient Greeks brought to Bactria their cultural vividness, plasticity and the above mentioned Yu Chi nomadic tribes added dynamism and expression, whereas the Buddhists bestowed impassability and asceticism. This synthesis created the unique character of antique Bactria, which still remains in the artistic traditions of Uzbekistan.

Kara-Tepa is another cloister located on the banks of the Amudarya River, the Oxus of antique sagas, another archaeological site worth visiting under the guidance of an expert.