Concrete in the Kucheh: Can the Old City Survive Its Own Success?

TALAS — Walk down any lane (kucheh) in the Old City on a summer evening and the quarter seems to be thriving. The teahouses are full, saddlers and komuz makers are working with their doors open, and guesthouses advertise rooms in three languages. Tourism has become the main source of income for many of the families who live in the lanes around the old Kokand citadel.

Look up, though, and the cranes are visible. The Historic Districts Ordinance adopted by the city council in 1997 protects a zone of about 64 hectares around the citadel, bars the demolition of listed buildings and limits new construction to two stories. Since 2007, permits have been granted for hotels and commercial buildings on the edges of the zone, and inside it a number of mudbrick courtyard houses with carved walnut porches have been replaced by concrete buildings. Outside the zone the law offers little protection. In 2018 a merchant house of 1910 near Bazar-i Kalan was demolished to make way for a hotel.

The city government says that all new projects comply with the ordinance. Architects and residents who spoke to the Herald said that compliance with the letter of the ordinance was not the same as protecting the quarter. "Two stories of concrete is still concrete," said one architect who took part in last year's successful campaign to list the Philharmonic Hall.

The quarter has no international safety net. Because Irad is not a State Party to the World Heritage Convention, the citadel quarter cannot be nominated for the World Heritage List, whatever its merits.