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3FORMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEIGHBORHOOD (MAHALLA) IN UZBEKISTAN
Manoev Said Bahronovich
PhD, Associate Professor, "Silk Road" International University of Tourism and Cultural
Heritage
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11218665
Annotation. This article is devoted to the formation and development of mahalla centers in Uzbekistan. Mahallas played a big role in the social life of society and reflect the social life of generations. The study of mahallas is an important task for the development of society with an inextricable connection with history. The article analyzes the space-planning structure of mahallas.
Keywords: neighborhood (mahalla), city structure, architectural ensemble, complex, social life.
If the emergence of feudal relations in Central Asia led to the settlement of farmers neighborhoods in and around citadels, the development of feudal relations caused cities to become three-part. These are Ark, Shahriston and Rabod. Ark is citadel where placed king's palace and service buildings, Shahristan is also called "Medina Dakhil" (that is, "inner city"), and Rabod is also called "Medina Khorij" (outer city). In inner cities, communities - mahallas - were formed, which were often united by the profession of the local population. This is clearly visible in the example of Toprak Kala ( Figure 1).
Figure1. Main view of Toprak kala (reconstruction) source: http://karakalpakstan.travel/news-121/?lang=ru
Architecture and urban planning developed well especially during the reign of Abdullah Khan (16th century). Many and various buildings were commissioned by him: shopping malls and a water separator on the Zarafshan river (bandi Abdullakhan). Cisterns, baths, caravan palaces, Kosh-madrasa in Bukhara and others were built. According to V. M. Dmitriev, half-timbered neighborhood mosques, which are the masterpiece of Central Asian architecture, were created at this time (1. p. 44).
In the cities, the neighborhood centers were built in the style of a prestigious ensemble, and the trade, cultural and educational administrative centers of the city were more magnificent.
A complex of monuments was formed and developed in the villages, just like in the centers of neighborhoods.
The city's population and the improvement of city services led to the improvement of its functional centers. Multi-centered cities (including neighborhood centers-mahalla centers) have emerged. Several central urban and neighborhood ensembles have emerged in cities.
It is known from the history of urban development that the composition of ancient cities such as Samarkand, Bukhara, Khiva, Shakhrisabz is composed of public buildings, neighborhood centers and residential buildings surrounding them. Certain laws have been determined in the construction methods of these public buildings and neighborhood centers. It is also the art of creating a harmonious environment - an ensemble of buildings. The warm natural climate of Uzbekistan has required a certain form of squares and streets in city construction since ancient times.
Also, in the 16th- 19th century urban planning, the ensembles that appeared near the places of residence of the inhabitants in the city neighborhoods and village centers, as well as on the edges of the caravan stops, near the sacred natural centers (such as a spring, tree, stone or stream) and the shrines or residences of the saints and prophets are also worthy of special attention. Their main elements consist of a pool, a mosque and, in any case, a number of other rooms or structures.
Neighborhood ensembles are known as examples of several dozen neighborhood centers that have survived to this day in Samarkand, Bukhara, Tashkent, Shahrisabz, Kokand, Gijduvan and a number of other cities. Among the ensembles outside the city and village, we can include many ensembles, such as Khoja Ahror in Samarkand region, Khoja Ismail al-Bukhari, Makhdumi Azam, Khusam Ota in Kashkadarya region, ensemble in Kasbi village, Kiz Bibi in Bukhara region, Khoja Ubon, Kasim Sheikh in Navoi region.
Their characteristic is that around a pond, a spring or a well, a series of buildings were freely formed as a continuous expansion, serving for people to stop, rest and worship for several years. Usually, trees and flower beds, which create shade and coolness, are invisible as an integral part of them. Taking this into account, the formation of such ensembles in scientific literature is called ensembles of free style (pictorial composition).
Before the emergence of ensembles, in the early examples of urban planning, there was a method of separating public buildings from residential areas on a higher ground. In the Middle Ages (from about the 5th century), there was a desire to distinguish not only one building, but several buildings and public centers. This, in turn, led to the creation of ensembles of place of worship, trade, and administrative centers. A number of neighborhood centers emerged around it. In this way, the cities were formed from a set of ensembles that make up city-wide and neighborhood centers that stand out against the background of residential areas.
The placement of Bibi Khanum complexes in Samarkand, old citadel in Bukhara, Aksaray in Shakhrisabz, Kokaldosh in Tashkent, and Ichan Kala in Khiva shows that the main directions of the roads leading to the city were determined by means of the main ensembles. Here, the streets leading to the neighborhoods from the squares organized by the main ensembles of the city are separated, or in other words, the streets from the centers of the neighborhoods lead to the main squares of the city. Architectural ensembles of neighborhood centers with city main ensembles organize whole composite chain.
The main ensembles of the city formed areas where the population gathered, and streets usually crossed these areas. Neighborhood ensembles were located at one side of the road leading to the city center. The center of the neighborhood is called guzar (passage place) in the Persian-
Tajik language because the road to the center passes from here. While ensembles in city centers are made up of different buildings, there are structures common to most neighborhood centers. These are the mosque and the pool intended for use by the residents of the neighborhood. These two facilities are essential and available in all neighborhood centers. Other common buildings are schools, teahouses, madrasahs, or rooms intended for economic and administrative purposes. Also, the minaret and the room for ablution are considered necessary structures. However, in some mosques, the minaret was restored not as a separate building, but as a gatehouse or a smaller mezana (little minaret) on the roof of the mosque. In some neighborhood ensembles, there are shops such as a bathhouse, a barber shop and a butcher's shop. The rooms and buildings mentioned by us appeared before the 1920s. In the period after that, additional functions such as rooms intended for harifona (little party) and neighborhood committee, as well as club rooms, were used for the purpose of providing medical services and maintaining order.
Neighborhood centers are focused on the formation of the pool area and consist of the art of creating a yard. That's why we called ensemble planning in city centers an act of subjugating the environment by means of volumes. We described neighborhood centers originating from the idea of volumes subordinated to the environment. These two ideas define two leading paths in architectural creativity. That is why the ensembles that reflect the idea of subjugating the environment are intended to be observed (in the sense of watching) from the space they form. The second type is designed to feed from the edge around the ensemble. Therefore, the question arises whether it is right to open the surroundings of the Registan ensemble in Samarkand, which is intended to be seen from the square.
Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the above features when considering the signs of formation of the composition of neighborhood ensembles.
It is known that in the urban planning of Uzbekistan, excellent multi-disciplinary urban settlements have been created. They are composed of several neighborhoods. In the suburbs and between the cities, there are rural villages. Villages and settlements were interconnected. This idea is well understood by the concept of Eastern philosophy.
East's great philosopher called As-Soniy, i.e. the second teacher (after Aristotle) Abu Nasr al- Farabi (873-950) continuing Al-Kindi's philosophy, he reconsidered Aristotle's worldviews. His book "Kitab ar akhl al-madina al-fadila" is especially important for the study of urban planning. This book is called "City of Virtuous People" in Uzbek, in which Farabi gave valuable thoughts about the society, the city and its people.
Farabi called the 26th chapter of his work "On the desire of people to unite and help each other", and in our opinion, expresses the concept of creation of medieval muslim cities. "People" - he writes - "according to their nature, for their survival and perfection, unite with the intention of achieving a goal that they cannot achieve alone..." (3, p. 303). Farabi says that this union of people will be three-level: the great society (al-wuzma) is a complex of people's society on the whole earth, the intermediate society (al-wusta) is a society formed by a single people (for example, a country or a society) and finally, a small community (al-sugri) is a city or a certain part of the place occupied by this people. According to the opinion of the great scientist, the following constitute an incomplete society: villages (dehot), neighborhood, then some street, and then a separate family. The last one is the lowest level of society (Figure 2).
Mahalla (neighborhood) and deha (countryside) Farabi think that both are part of the city. But if the neighborhood is considered a part of the city, the countryside is subordinate to the city
by providing services. A house is a part of a street just as a street is a part of a neighborhood. A nation is a part of every known place, and a nation is a part of the people of the world. (3. p. 204).
A city whose inhabitants know that they need each other is a virtuous city. Each of its members is mutually supportive and connects the existence and development of a living organism. Necessary organs are located closer, and secondary ones are located further away. Scientist writes that distant organs always have the same but necessary function as the lower intestines and urinary bladder in the human body. These ideas of Farabi were reflected and developed in the philosophies of Ibn Sina, Ibn Khaldin and Ibn Rushd.
Figure 2. The concept of the location of the population on the earth in the medieval
science (according to Al-Farabi)
Therefore, the idea of the noble city in the eastern philosophy shows the chain network of the structure and interconnection of the population places in the urbanism of Central Asia. In this case, the big interval - small, incomplete and low-level societies - causes urban structure factors (city-forming factors). The fact that people form such societies determines that they will be in such social relations. That is, the fifth level of lower connection between people is the connection of individual families living in several rooms with means such as common gates, corridors, hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, toilets, porches, and courtyards. The fourth is an incomplete connection - it is a group of several families united in a common center by means of the streets - they perform prayers, receive primary education, hold festivals and ceremonies, provide each other with the most necessary services (hairdresser, teahouse, etc.) comes from the need to solve.
Farabi's thesis about little connection consists of the formation of neighborhoods and villages as cities or destinations. The main tool for this is the social centers of the city and the destination. The interconnection of cities and states is partial, affecting the formation of each city without changing its size, forming regional planning. However, the social relations of people in the urban and rural areas form the structure of community centers. Since people's needs are made up of two types: material and spiritual requirements, it is necessary to have functional and
artistically perfect neighborhood, village, address and city community centers. This, in turn, requires and achieves the structure of architectural ensembles and neighborhood complexes.
Architectural ensembles in the community centers of the neighborhoods and villages of Central Asia have several types. But the signs that unite them all are the formation of such buildings around the pond in the past. Therefore, it is possible that in ancient times, when the cities expanded, the water source, which was the only one in the city, was spread into several separate ponds or ditches. This divides the city into certain historical sections. As a result, neighborhoods and centers arose. In other cases, the population living separately in certain social groups in the cities constitutes a neighborhood, and this social commonality creates a neighborhood center united around its common property - a water source ( Figure 3).
Figure 3. Formation of neighborhoods (mahalla)
So, the main basis of neighborhood and village centers water source is considered. The next 13 century of history of islam religion in Central Asia with that it is connected because of second facility - mosque. Most of the mosques were summer places of worship - porches, and separately place of muazzin - have towers. This is the four thing: pool, mosque, porch and almost the tower indispensable in all neighborhood and village centers. Each one is separate received in case this centers to the composition room for ablution, school, khanaqah (room for dervishes) rooms for living, bakery, bathroom, kitchen and administration for additional rooms and several additional structures (4, p 78).
Neighborhood centers are usually called "guzar" because they are located on the main streets connecting the population with the city center. This expression in Tajik means "passage" or "passage place" and means a place to pass on the way to and from the city center. Therefore, this place was not only a place for meeting social needs (gathering, mourning, etc.), but also for a short-term rest for a tired person on the way back (especially during the heat of summer). Therefore, these centers were improved and greened. That's why neighborhood centers (mahalla) played crucial role in architecture and life of Central Asian cities.
Figure 4. Some examples of neighborhoods (mahalla). a-neighborhood "Sharq" in Samarkand, b-neighborhood "IsmoilKhodja" in Samarkand, c- neighborhood "Qozi Fayzi"
in Bukhara.
In conclusion, it should be noted that the neighborhood played an important role in the cultural and domestic life of Central Asia. Centuries-old architectural traditions have been formed in the neighborhood. That's why we need to preserve neighborhoods and use them for modern purposes.
REFERENCES
1. Dmitriev V. M. Compositional features of Bukhara architecture. Materials on the history and theory of architecture of Uzbekistan. - M.: Publishing House of the Academy of Architecture. 1950.
2. Akhmedov M.K. Traditions and continuity in the ensemble development of historical cities of Uzbekistan. Architecture of Uzbekistan (Almanakh). - Tashkent: publishing house of literature and art named after G. Gulyam. 1986.
3. Al - Farabi. Philosophical notebooks. - Alma-Ata: Science, 1972
4. Rakhimov K.J. Neighborhood public centers of historical cities of Uzbekistan. Abstract of thecandidate's dissertation. - M.: MARCHI. 1989
