Les Juifs des routes de la soie : une culture bimillénaire en Aise centrale

Les Juifs des routes de la soie : une culture bimillénaire en Aise centrale_0
For 23 years, MIZVADA (formerly Valiske), a French company specializing in organizing tours dedicated to Jewish cultures around the world, has been passionately exploring the little-known heritage of global Judaism. Among these traditions, those of the Jews of Bukhara, in Uzbekistan, hold a very special place.
 
Our new exhibition, presented at the Jewish-Alsatian Museum in Bouxwiller, north of Strasbourg, invites the public to discover one of the oldest and most fascinating Jewish cultures.
 
Heirs to a history spanning two millennia, the Jews of Bukhara have developed a unique identity at the crossroads of the Persian, Sephardic, and Muslim worlds.
 
A journey to the heart of a unique Jewish civilization
The exhibition offers a rich journey, allowing visitors to explore many aspects of Jewish life in Uzbekistan:
- History of the communities of Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkent
- The reception of several waves of Jewish refugees, including children, during the Great Patriotic War 
- Relations with the Sephardic world, particularly through the influence of rabbis from Morocco
- Coexistence with Muslim populations, marked by deep cultural exchanges
- The Soviet period, marked by upheavals, migrations, and resistance to identity erosion
- Traditional cuisine, the aromas of spices, and recipes passed down from generation to generation
- Dance and music, including the famous shashmaqam
- Family customs, festivals, clothing, and rituals
- Crafts and trade, fields in which the Jews of Bukhara have long excelled
- Tshalas, or Muslims of Jewish origin, bearers of complex and often little-known histories
 
Through objects, photographs, testimonies, historical documents, and handcrafted works, this exhibition offers an immersive experience into a world where spirituality, traditions, and diverse influences intertwine.