ASIA

by Anatoly Ionesov, Director

The International Museum of Peace and Solidarity was established in December 1986 to mark the International Year of Peace in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. The city of Samarkand is a 2750-year-old UNESCO World Heritage town and focal point of the Great Silk Road. The idea was born in the early 1980s when a number of international peace exhibitions were organized by local Esperantists in Samarkand.

Included in the museum collection are exhibits about such subjects as the Holocaust, the evils of Stalinism, the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Chernobyl, environmental protection, disarmament, and conflict resolution. There are also various gifts from friends of our museum from around the globe, all expressing sentiments for peace, friendship, cooperation, and solidarity: authentic cover plates from the last Pershing II missile; scrap metal from destroyed Soviet SS-20 nuclear medium-range rockets; soil from Auschwitz, the site of the Battle of Stalingrad, and Hiroshima Peace Park; roof tiles from Nagasaki, burnt by the atomic fire; an impressive 23 meter-long "ABC for Peace" tapestry created by children from New Zealand; a 7 meter-long "2000 Doves for Peace" mural made by Chinese boys and girls from Xi'an; and beautiful miniature handmade carpets by young Iranian craftsmen. These gifts represent the efforts of many human beings for a more peaceful world.

The Peace Autograph Collection includes signed photographs and personal messages, as well as autographed works, of prominent men and women around the world in such fields as peace, science, culture, space exploration, and sports. This collection includes items contributed by over 160 Nobel Laureates.

The museum has organized a photographic exhibition entitled, ”Hiroshima-Nagasaki: Voices of Remembrance and Hope” and collected many thousands of signatures for the Appeal from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in support of the creation of a nuclear weapons　free zone in Central Asia.

The vitality of this museum, unique to the region, earned it the honorary title of ”People's Museum” by the Uzbekistan Ministry of Culture in November 1989.

Our motto, by Alisher Navoi (1441-1501), a great Uzbek poet and humanist:
"Mind, ye peoples of the Earth,
Enmity is an evil state.
Live in friendship, one and all--
Man can have no kinder fate."

As a non-profit and non-governmental organization, we seek to promote peace through citizen diplomacy, culture, and the arts; deepen public awareness of the global challenges on which the future of the world and the survival of our descendants depend; and demonstrate the multicultural diversity of the human race, fresh visions of a better world, and the need for worldwide solidarity.

Address: P.O. Box 76, UZ-140100, Samarkand, Republic of Uzbekistan
Tel: +998-66-2331753
Homepage:　http://peace.museum.com
Days closed: National holidays in Uzbekistan
Admission: Free (An appointment is recommended.)

(Originally published on March 3, 2008)