Looking for Afshona
December 28, 2009 7:59 AM Subscribe
Does anyone have the exact location (coordinates) of Qishlak Afshona, just north of Bukhara, Uzbekistan, birthplace of ibn-Sina (aka Avicenna)? Or an awesome source of high-detail maps?
I must have spent half a day on Google, but nowhere could I find a map or a precise description of how to get there. I've even been there, but another hour or so on Google Earth wasted - I still couldn't find it. I was distracted by the driver who talked uninterruptedly on his mobile phone all the way there and back, and by hunger since he refused to stop at a chaikhana for a bite to eat.
I must have spent half a day on Google, but nowhere could I find a map or a precise description of how to get there. I've even been there, but another hour or so on Google Earth wasted - I still couldn't find it. I was distracted by the driver who talked uninterruptedly on his mobile phone all the way there and back, and by hunger since he refused to stop at a chaikhana for a bite to eat.
Response by poster: Yes - it was the museum I went to see. It has been fairly recently renovated and is now very interesting. Thanks for your links, but I had found them all while googling and none of them shows precisely where QA is located.
posted by aqsakal at 8:46 AM on December 28, 2009
posted by aqsakal at 8:46 AM on December 28, 2009
Are you currently in Uzbekistan, or have you returned form your trip. If the latter, you could order a paper map online.
Stanfords, an awesome map/travel bookshop in London, has several (paper) maps of Uzbekistan; specifically, there is a 1:13,000/1:550,000 Bukhara Street Plan - Bukhara Province Map that might help you.
Alternatively, have you checked in any tourist guides?
posted by James Scott-Brown at 9:11 AM on December 28, 2009
Stanfords, an awesome map/travel bookshop in London, has several (paper) maps of Uzbekistan; specifically, there is a 1:13,000/1:550,000 Bukhara Street Plan - Bukhara Province Map that might help you.
Alternatively, have you checked in any tourist guides?
posted by James Scott-Brown at 9:11 AM on December 28, 2009
French Wikipedia gives Khormeytan as an alternative name of his hometown.
posted by nangar at 9:43 AM on December 28, 2009
posted by nangar at 9:43 AM on December 28, 2009
Response by poster: James: Many thanks - that looks very promising. I was hoping for something free online, but if I don't find it, I'll take your tip and order the Bukhara street plan/Province map. And anyway, I'm a little obsessed with maps, and this was a great source to find! I've seen some excellent tourist guides, but none of them pinpoints Afshona. Even the very good travel agent I tried in Tashkent could only wave vaguely NW of Bukhara and say "get a driver" (which is waht we eventually did). No, I'm not there at the moment, but I'll be going back, especially to Bukhara. I was just hoping to be able to give some accurate coordinates to friends who want to visit the museum, and post a placemark and some pix on Google Earth/Panoramio.
nangar: thanks, that was interesting - I hadn't come across the Khormeytan variation before. Google gives 150 or so hits on that, so I'll work through them tomorrow - maybe there's something free online there.
If I can get close enough I'll probably be able to recognise it on Google Earth. I know we went north up the M37 from Bukhara to somewhere around Vobkent, turned west, travelled some way (this is the vague part) and it was on the right-hand side of the road.
posted by aqsakal at 1:09 PM on December 28, 2009
nangar: thanks, that was interesting - I hadn't come across the Khormeytan variation before. Google gives 150 or so hits on that, so I'll work through them tomorrow - maybe there's something free online there.
If I can get close enough I'll probably be able to recognise it on Google Earth. I know we went north up the M37 from Bukhara to somewhere around Vobkent, turned west, travelled some way (this is the vague part) and it was on the right-hand side of the road.
posted by aqsakal at 1:09 PM on December 28, 2009
There's an Afshona under the big 16 and 18 at the top of the topographical map that can be downloaded from http://en.poehali.org/maps/100k--j41-009.html.
Can you read Cyrillic?
I'm not the best map reader, but it looks like it is around Latitude 40° 00' and Longitude 64° 22' 30".
Does that seem like the right place?
posted by derforsher at 11:22 AM on December 29, 2009
Can you read Cyrillic?
I'm not the best map reader, but it looks like it is around Latitude 40° 00' and Longitude 64° 22' 30".
Does that seem like the right place?
posted by derforsher at 11:22 AM on December 29, 2009
Response by poster: Great, derforscher! Yes, that has to be it - many thanks indeed. I can "read" Cyrillic in the sense that I know what sound the letters make and can then make an educated guess at the sense of about 40% of the words - but of course place-names are easier, and yes, that definitely says "Afshona" and is definitely in the right area. Am now running for the airport and haven't got time to collate the map you pointed out to Google Earth, but I'll do this as soon as I'm back (3 January).
Please let me (and other MeFi map enthusiasts) know how you found this - it looks like a site I could spend days on (especially as I don't speak Russian).
posted by aqsakal at 12:09 AM on December 30, 2009
Please let me (and other MeFi map enthusiasts) know how you found this - it looks like a site I could spend days on (especially as I don't speak Russian).
posted by aqsakal at 12:09 AM on December 30, 2009
Response by poster: PS: Got it! (Couldn't resist trying - now I'll really have to run to the airport, especially given the checkin delays post-Detroit.) Your coordinates were very close: it's exactly 39.994359 by 64.382253.
Many thanks again.
posted by aqsakal at 12:36 AM on December 30, 2009
Many thanks again.
posted by aqsakal at 12:36 AM on December 30, 2009
No problem—I hope you didn't miss the flight.
You can go to http://en.poehali.org/maps, zoom in, click on the area of interest, and it will list the available maps on the right under "Карты". If you put the mouse cursor over one of the listed maps, it will show the area it covers on the main map. You can also filter the results by selecting a scale from the "Scale" drop-down box and clicking "Filter".
Another option is to use http://mapstor.com/ which allows you to browse by country or search by major settlements, lakes, or rivers. The links to the free maps don't seem to be working, so you will need to copy the map name (e.g. 100k--j41-009) and then go to http://en.poehali.org/maps/[map name].html (e.g. http://en.poehali.org/maps/100k--j41-009.html).
posted by derforsher at 11:56 AM on December 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
You can go to http://en.poehali.org/maps, zoom in, click on the area of interest, and it will list the available maps on the right under "Карты". If you put the mouse cursor over one of the listed maps, it will show the area it covers on the main map. You can also filter the results by selecting a scale from the "Scale" drop-down box and clicking "Filter".
Another option is to use http://mapstor.com/ which allows you to browse by country or search by major settlements, lakes, or rivers. The links to the free maps don't seem to be working, so you will need to copy the map name (e.g. 100k--j41-009) and then go to http://en.poehali.org/maps/[map name].html (e.g. http://en.poehali.org/maps/100k--j41-009.html).
posted by derforsher at 11:56 AM on December 31, 2009 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Made the flight (barely!), and now back on base. Thank you for your links - I'm looking forward to many happy hours playing on these sites. I find maps (and Google Earth) a magical way to conjure up places I've been, together with their sounds and smells.
posted by aqsakal at 3:05 AM on January 4, 2010
posted by aqsakal at 3:05 AM on January 4, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
Abu Ali ibn Sino Memorial Museum
Afshona village, Peshku district, Bukhara region
City transportation
Bukhara – Peshku bus or taxi
Going off of that, here is geographical information for Peshku district.
posted by oinopaponton at 8:38 AM on December 28, 2009