Tamerlane’s Gate and the Il-18 Crash (+many old photos and a picture) — travelling in Uzbekistan

Tamerlane’s Gate is the most famous gorge in Uzbekistan, or rather its narrowest part, located in the western part of the Pamir-Alay (a mountain system in the southeast of Central Asia). The Sanzar River flows through the gorge, which separates the Malguzar and Nuratau ranges.

The gorge is located on the way from Tashkent to Samarkand, 15-16 km from the city of Jizzakh. Tamerlane’s Gate (the name was given for the similarity), formed by two protruding huge almost vertical slate rocks, is also called the Jizzakh Passage. Its other names are Ilyan-uta, or Jilyan-uta, which means «a snake gorge».

The width of the gorge varies from 120 to 130 meters; in some places it narrows to 35-40 meters.

The Tamerlane Gate is the site of a road and a railway connecting Tashkent and Samarkand (possibly the only passage through the Nuratau Mountains, and therefore a route for traders and conquerors since ancient times). But perhaps the most interesting are the inscriptions in Persian located at a height of 10 meters from the foot of the cliff where trains run (the right side of the gorge if you are traveling from Jizzakh to Samarkand).

One of the inscriptions dates back to 1425 and reads as follows: “With the help of the Almighty, the great Sultan, the conqueror of kings and peoples, the shadow of God on earth, the support of the sunnah and sharia, the sovereign, the supporter of the faith, Ulugbek Guragan, may Allah prolong the time of his reign and rule, undertook a campaign against the country of the Jeti and Mongols and from that people [safely] returned unharmed in the 828 new moon year [according to the Hijri].” It is believed that this inscription was created by order of Ulugbek, an astronomer and ruler of Samarkand, the grandson of Tamerlane.

The second inscription, carved by order of Abdullah Khan II (1534-1598) in 1571, states: “Let those who pass through the desert and travel through havens on land and water know that in the year 979 [according to the Hijra], a battle took place between a detachment of the repository of the caliphate, the shadow of the Most High, the great Khakan Abdullah Khan, son of Iskander Khan, 30,000 people of fighting people, and a detachment of Dervish Khan and Baba Khan and other sons, of whom there were: from the side of the relatives of the sultans — up to 50,000 people, and mercenaries — up to 400,000 from Turkestan, Tashkent, Fergana and Dashti-Kipchak. The detachment of the Possessor of the Lucky Combination of Stars was victorious. Having defeated the aforementioned sultans, he put to death so many of that army that for one month the blood of those killed in battle and in captivity flowed on the surface of the Jizzakh (Sanzar) River. Let this be known!» A bit gloomy, of course.

And although both inscriptions were made much later than Tamerlane (he died in 1405), most likely he also passed through this gorge.

A little higher than these inscriptions, a copper plaque with a gilded Russian state emblem and a signature in gold letters was installed: “Nicholas II, 1895, ordered: ‘There will be a railway.’ 1898, fulfilled.”

Of course, it was not nice to install a copper plaque above the old inscriptions. I also think it is not nice.

When the material came out, I received an addition on social networks that there is (or was?) a white spot on the rock in that gorge where a plane crashed. The spot is at the very top on the right, if you go to Samarkand.
I don’t know if it’s there, but information about the plane crash near Samarkand in the winter of 1970 is on the Internet. I’ll give a very brief summary.
The Il-18 crash near Samarkand.
On Friday, February 6, 1970, an Aeroflot Il-18 crashed near Samarkand, killing 92 people. The plane was operating a local U-45 flight from Tashkent to Samarkand. The Il-18 crashed into a snow-covered mountain slope at an altitude of 1,500 meters and 32 kilometers northeast of the airport at an angle of 15–16°. The impact tore the fuselage into five pieces. The co-pilot and 13 passengers received various injuries, and the remaining 92 people (7 crew members, 78 adult passengers and 7 children) died.
Primary cause: crew error.
Secondary causes: air traffic control error.
Crew casualties: 7 out of 8 people.
Passenger casualties: 85 out of 98 people.
I was also told on social media that those who did not crash froze to death, since the soldiers arrived a day later. I have not found any information about this yet. I hope that 14 people survived. If anyone has information on this matter, please write in the comments.

And one more thing. Most likely, the name «Tamerlane’s Gate» is not liked by everyone in Uzbekistan, since it is still customary to call him Sahibkiran (that is, happy, or born during the conjunction of two planets) Amir Timur. Tamerlane means «Lame Timur». Therefore, it is better to call this place «Timur’s Gate». However, in the article I used the established name of the gorge.