Sightseeing of my country

Sightseeing of my country

Ancient cities of Uzbekistan - Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, included in the UNESCO World Heritage List delight tourists with historical architectural monuments that inhaled spirit of the Great Silk Road caravans. Though sights of Uzbekistan are not only about monumental madrasas and minarets, mausoleums of rulers and spiritual leaders.

Nature of Uzbekistan, its traditions, culture, cuisine and handicrafts are amazingly diverse.

National crafts of Uzbekistan deserve a separate story: silk fabrics and carpets, bright ceramics and oriental knives, wood carving and metal coinage, lacquered miniatures and golden embroidery, famous suzanes and old styles of embroidery ‘basma’ and ‘iroqi’, paper production according to an ancient technology and construction of seismic-stable houses from clay.

Uzbek cuisine that at the behast of destiny turned out to be at the crossroads of the culinary preferences of civilizations and absorbed the best of centuries in itself. Talk about the sights of Uzbekistan is impossible without touching gastronomic attractions. Plov (also known as polo, pollo, pilav, pilau, plov, pulao, polu and palaw), bread, sweets - the list is endless. Besides, there is a specialization in dishes: there are centres of plov, or lagman (homemade noodle soup with seasonal vegetable topping) places, shashlik (local barbeque) spots and samsa (also known as samosa) stalls. Each city has many chayhanas (tea-houses), every chayhana has quails singing in it, canals with honey melons cooling in them, and gardens are there with ripe peaches, pomegranate and grapes.

Natural landmarks of Uzbekistan are so that in winter one can do mountains sports; in summer eco tours on camels in the desert and swim in a mountain lake; and in autumn practice some paragliding in Chimgan mountains or have a walk on the shrinking Aral sea bed in Karakalpakstan.

You should definitely find some time to visit museums: Savitsky Museum in Nukus, Local History Museum in Kokand, “Afrosiyab” Museum in Samarkand, House-Museum of Fayzula Khodjaev in Bukhara and Locomotive Museum in Tashkent. There are dozens of them - choose to your interests.

My favourite writer

I am a student, that’s why I should read a lot of books. I like reading. Literature means a lot in my life. It helps me to understand other people better. I often analyze the characters of the books and it helps me to understand the world and myself. I read books by different authors: Russian, Ukrainian, German, and English.

My favourite Russian writer is Darya Dontsova. She is a popular Russian writer of modern prose. The works of this author are smart and really interesting. According to her own words, her novels are based on real facts. That arouses the reader’s interest and provokes their own analysis of the events. When I got acquainted with her books, I was really impressed by her wit and humor. The main characters often find themselves in a difficult situation, but they do not give up and try to find the way out. Some of the characters of her books are mean and jealous. Some of them are deeply feeling, faithful and tender.

When I read books by my favourite author, Darya Dontsova, I have a feeling that I may meet her characters even in my native town. I always try to watch an interview on TV with Darya Dontsova. She has a happy family that supports her in her work and in difficult situations. She has a strong character, and she is optimistic. Her brain works as a good computer and she knows how to derive benefit from it. I always recommend my friends to read her books.

My favourite book

There are many good books. My parents have a big library at home, and when I have spare time I read some of the books that my parents read when they were of my age. I do not think that books written in the 19th, 18th centuries or even earlier may not be useful for a contemporary reader. There are over 300 books in our home library. Among them there are plays by Shakespeare, historical novels by Walter Scott, detective stories by Conan Doyle and many others. But sometimes, I buy a new book. Contemporary writers have their own style and manner. They write about problems that people have to face nowadays.

One of the books I have recently bought is written by a modern French writer, Francois Lelord. It is called «Hector’s Trip». It is a modern bestseller, and is already translated into several languages. It is a story of a young doctor, who decided to make a world tour in his search tor happiness. He wanted to understand what happiness means for him and whether it means the same for all people around the world. Hector meets many people on his way. Some of them look happy but the reasons for that were different. He learned that happiness does not depend on money or fame. Hector met and made many friends in different countries. He observed their way of life and came to conclusion that there are very many reasons for happiness, so that it is not possible to unite all of them. One may become happy, if they find their own answers to the questions «What is happiness?» «How I may become happy?» Hector found his own way to happiness, he understood, that he really did not have to travel so far to find it. In conclusion, I think the problems touched upon in the book could be interesting for any young person. I always advise all my friends this book to.

Internet in my life

Internet is a great invention. It has changed the lives of nearly all people on our planet. Many things have become easier and can be done from the comfort of your own home. For example, people nowadays can order a takeaway food, they can buy clothes online, and they can even work online.

Internet is a global world network, which has united people from different countries and of different backgrounds. Thanks to this network, we can chat with friends, meet new people and connect to our distant relatives via video calls.

Shopping has become much easier. If you don’t have time to go to the store, you can order all the necessary products at the online store and they are delivered within a day. Same can be done with medical pills, railway tickets, shoes, dresses and any other items. In my opinion, it is very convenient.

However, it seems that with the appearance of Internet people have become lazier. They rarely walk or do physical exercises. They don’t need to bother much if everything can be done with one click of a button. My family is a fan of active life, so we try to order online only urgent items. If we want to shop for food or clothes, we go to the nearest supermarket or mall.

The question is why we need Internet. I mostly use it to chat with my friends, especially those who live in other towns. I also like communicating through social networks and reading books online. Other than that I find lots of educational information via Internet. Obviously, it is one of the most useful tools in the life of modern people.

In my opinion, Internet is of great help in everyday life. We just need to learn how to separate useful information from useless. Moreover, we shouldn’t neglect live communication and sports.

The role of High technologies in our life

We live in the era of high technologies, and we use modern inventions in our everyday life because they have brought us much comfort. New technologies have spread on every field over the past 15 years. Moreover, they are rapidly changing. For example, video-recorders, DVD-players or compact disks have already become obsolete and have been replaced by more up-to-date devices. Today we can hardly imagine our life without such modern mobile devices as cell phones or laptops. Our offices are fully equipped with computers, printers, scanners, air-conditioners, interactive whiteboards and wi-fi modems. Household appliances (vacuum-cleaners, coffee-machines, dish-washers, food processors and others) help us to save our time and energy.

However, we should realize that digital and electronic inventions have both negative and positive impact on our daily life.

I am absolutely positive that new technologies or gadgets are making things faster, easier, more comfortable and interesting. For instance, if you install a GPS (Global Positioning System) in your car you’ll never get lost again. And could we imagine just 15 years ago all the things we can do on the wireless Internet nowadays: connecting with friends from all over the world, online shopping and banking, distance online learning, finding virtual relationships and even working from home? Isn’t that awesome?! Our parents used to go to post-offices to send letters or pay bills, they went to libraries to find a good book and they used telephone-booths for phone-calls.

On the other hand, I know some people who are strongly against some modern inventions because they really miss those days when they talked to each other face to face in reality, and not virtually. I partially agree with that as I really believe that people are becoming anti-social and too dependent on their gadgets. Some of my friends also spend half of the time occupying their shiny gadgets (smart-phones or i-pads) even when we go out together. Besides, people who use various social networks a lot (such as Facebook or Instagram) should worry more about their privacy.

Summing up, I could say that there are serious arguments both for and against the use of new technologies but anyway it’s really difficult to imagine our life without them today.

The wonders of our Universe
In 2007, more than 100 million people voted to declare the New Seven Wonders of the World. The following list of seven winners is presented without ranking, and aims to represent global heritage.

Great Wall of China (China)
Built between the 5th century B.C. and the 16th century, the Great Wall of China is a stone-and-earth fortification created to protect the borders of the Chinese Empire from invading Mongols. The Great Wall is actually a succession of multiple walls spanning approximately 4,000 miles, making it the world's longest manmade structure.

Christ the Redeemer Statue (Rio de Janeiro)

The Art Deco-style Christ the Redeemer statue has been looming over the Brazilians from upon Corcovado mountain in an awe-inspiring state of eternal blessing since 1931. The 130-foot reinforced concrete-and-soapstone statue was designed by Heitor da Silva Costa and cost approximately $250,000 to build - much of the money was raised through donations. The statue has become an easily recognized icon for Rio and Brazil.

Machu Picchu (Peru)

Machu Picchu, an Incan city of sparkling granite precariously perched between 2 towering Andean peaks, is thought by scholars to have been a sacred archaeological center for the nearby Incan capital of Cusco. Built at the peak of the Incan Empire in the mid-1400s, this mountain citadel was later abandoned by the Incas. The site remained unknown except to locals until 1911, when it was rediscovered by archaeologist Hiram Bingham. The site can only be reached by foot, train or helicopter; most visitors visit by train from nearby Cusco.

Chichen Itza (Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico)

The genius and adaptability of Mayan culture can be seen in the splendid ruins of Chichen Itza. This powerful city, a trading center for cloth, slaves, honey and salt, flourished from approximately 800 to 1200, and acted as the political and economic hub of the Mayan civilization. The most familiar ruin at the site is El Caracol, a sophisticated astronomical observatory.

The Roman Colosseum (Rome)

Rome's, if not Italy's, most enduring icon is undoubtedly its Colosseum. Built between A.D. 70 and 80 A.D., it was in use for some 500 years. The elliptical structure sat nearly 50,000 spectators, who gathered to watch the gladiatorial events as well as other public spectacles, including battle reenactments, animal hunts and executions. Earthquakes and stone-robbers have left the Colosseum in a state of ruin, but portions of the structure remain open to tourists, and its design still influences the construction of modern-day amphitheaters, some 2,000 years later.

Taj Mahal (Agra, India)

A mausoleum commissioned for the wife of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, the Taj Mahal was built between 1632 and 1648. Considered the most perfect specimen of Muslim art in India, the white marble structure actually represents a number of architectural styles, including Persian, Islamic, Turkish and Indian. The Taj Mahal also encompasses formal gardens of raised pathways, sunken flower beds and a linear reflecting pool.

Petra (Jordan)Declared a World Heritage Site in 1985, Petra was the capital of the Nabataean empire of King Aretas IV, and likely existed in its prime from 9 B.C. to A.D. 40. The members of this civilization proved to be early experts in manipulating water technology, constructing intricate tunnels and water chambers, which helped create an pseudo-oasis. A number of incredible structures carved into stone, a 4,000-seat amphitheater and the El-Deir monastery have also helped the site earn its fame.