Conducting practical classes directly at the production sites is one of the main priorities of dual education, which is widely used in our university. Thus, the students of the groups Guid 119 and Tour Ind 119 visited the unique center of production of the famous Samarkand paper – the factory “Meros”, located in the village of Konigil, in order to conduct practical classes as tour guides. The lesson was organized by the teacher Vafakulova M.
The students prepared an individual tour over the factory and shared information about the facility. In addition, students received information from artisans working in the paper mill.
The “Meros” factory is not only a tourist facility, but also a full-fledged production facility. The paper mill works even with government orders, because what is written on such paper is stored longer. Production is carried out according to ancient technologies with the help of accurately reproduced mechanisms of the medieval craft. In those times Samarkand was one of Central Asia’s centers for the production of paper.
It is known from history that cotton, mulberry bark and silk threads were used in the production of ancient Samarkand paper. The main secret of creating Samarkand paper was the use of mulberry tree bark. The paper thanks to its fibers became incredibly silky, which allowed this unique product to enter the world market. Paper production in the city did not last long. Because of the wars between Samarkand and Bukhara, and then the invasion of the jungars, production was destroyed, and the technology was forgotten. The ancient technology was restored on the initiative of UNESCO. For this purpose, ancient documents were raised and preserved copies were studied. Then the developments were tested in the course of long-term experiments (for 10 years), until the masters achieved an ideal result completely identical to the old technology.
Students of the Silk Road University enjoyed visiting the factory and noted that once here, the tourist will feel the whole atmosphere of the medieval craft.