Ancient Buddhist temple complex Fayaz-Tepa. The series of essays "Directly to the South!", Termez, Uzbekistan

I’m continuing the series of essays on my trip to the most southerly region of Uzbekistan with the team of "Mysterious Uzbekistan"

You can read the previous essays here:
1.Tuz-Gori – the salt kingdom of Uzbekistan
2. The ancient river port of Kampyrtepa or a trip to Buddhist Termez, Uzbekistan.
3. Archaeology Museum of Termez, Uzbekistan
4. At-Tirmizi Mausoleum, Termez, Uzbekistan

So, if you remember, then we parted with you near the mausoleum of Al-Khakim At-Tirmizi. After we had plenty of pictures, our guide drove us into the bus and we went to a new attraction - the ruins of the ancient Buddhist temple complex Fayaz-Tepa. Of course, in those early years this complex was called in a different way. The complex was discovered and studied by the Soviet archaeologist Leonid Albaum.
The age of this temple complex is more than two thousand years. However, for Uzbekistan it is not surprising. This complex was built approximately in II-III centuries BC. The total area of the complex is about 1.5 square kilometers. The complex itself consists of three parts - monastery, temple and outbuildings. It looked something like this:

The tallest structure of the complex is the stupa. It locates a little bit away from the whole complex. In the temple there is a beautifully decorated Buddha statue. Alas, we were not allowed inside the temple, and through small windows to make normal photos isn’t possible to do. By the way, during the excavations found various images of the Buddha - from the most primitive, to the very detailed and skilfully executed. The walls of the temple are decorated with Buddha images, which date back to the Ist century AD and are considered to be among the most ancient in the world.

Time and conquerors did not spare this temple complex. According to archaeological data, it ceased to function in the IV century AD. After the invasion of the Sassanids and archaeologists literally in pieces restored this structure.

Near the stupa, along the temple wall were statues of the Buddha. Most of which were destroyed, and their remains were transported to the Tashkent Museum.

On the territory of the monastery there were cells and study rooms in which the novices lived and studied.

On the territory of the economic part there were stables and auxiliary rooms. In addition, from the river to the monastery was held the aqueduct, which supplied the monastery with fresh and clean water.

At the moment Fayaz-Tepa is designated by UNESCO as a historical monument, and excavations and archaeological surveys are conducted to this day and since 2006 Fayaz-Tepa has the status of an open-air museum.

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