Square and Alley of Memory "Khotira"

We are approaching a special place on Mustakillik Square. This is the Square of Memory and Honours, created in 1999. The space we are in has undergone not just an architectural, but also a profound emotional transformation. In Soviet years, an open memorial to the Unknown Soldier was located here. It added spaciousness to the square, but at the same time featured a cold monumentality. In the late nineties, architects Vache Hakobdzhyan and Mansur Musaev developed a reconstruction project. Initially, they simply wanted to frame the new sixty-meter alley with low memorial walls. But at the suggestion of the republic's leadership, the concept changed: traditional carved iwans were erected here. Masters from all over the country were brought in to create these wooden galleries under the leadership of the famous Kokand wood carver Abdugani Abdullaev. Thanks to this decision, the official memorial suddenly acquired warmth and genuine folk participation. The space became enclosed, intimate, and very human. It is right here, under the vaults of the iwans, that the names of Uzbekistan citizens who did not return from World War II are immortalized. Walking along the alley to the east, we approach the semantic center of the complex. The Eternal Flame burns here, over which the figure of the Sorrowful Mother leans. Sculptor Ilhom Jabбаров, when creating this monument, was inspired by the image of an Uzbek mother from a painting by artist Rakhim Akhmedov. This figure is devoid of pathos. It personifies the quiet, deep grief of all women who lost their sons, husbands, and brothers during the war years. There is no place for loud speeches here. The architecture itself guides us toward silence and respect for the memory of the past.