Recognition is not a date of manufacture
UNESCO’s Memory of the World register records the Holy Koran Mushaf of Othman with a registration year of 1997. That is the year of recognition, not the year the manuscript was made. This is documentary heritage: a different programme from the World Heritage list used for places such as Samarkand and Itchan Kala. See the UNESCO register entry.
For a visitor, the useful distinction is between the date of an object, the date of its later recognition and the history people associate with it.
Keep the attribution and the catalogue evidence separate
UNESCO’s entry links the manuscript to Caliph Uthman, also spelled Othman. The Metropolitan Museum of Art takes a different kind of approach in its catalogue of a surviving leaf from the Tashkent Qur’an: it dates that leaf to the late eighth or early ninth century. The two descriptions should not be collapsed into one certain production date. Read the Met’s object record.
A respectful explanation can acknowledge the traditional association while identifying the museum’s dating as a scholarly attribution. Ask what evidence supports a label rather than treating a revered name as proof of when a particular page was written.
Look at how the writing works
The Met describes its leaf as ink on parchment, written in early kufic script with sparse decoration and without the dots that distinguish otherwise similar Arabic letters. Its dimensions are approximately 55 by 70 centimetres: this is a substantial page, not a pocket book. These details belong to the catalogued leaf, not to every surviving fragment or later copy.
In their wider account of early Qur’ans, Julia Cohen and Maryam Ekhtiar explain that readers often already knew the recitation, and that early writing could omit consonant points and short-vowel signs. What looks unfamiliar to a modern reader reflects a different writing convention. Look for the relationship between the letters, spacing and page, not only decoration. Read their museum essay, published in May 2014.
Check the venue, not an old itinerary
Uzbekistan Travel’s announcement of 6 April 2026 reports the Islamic Civilization Center’s March opening and describes a Quran Hall featuring the Mushaf of Uthman. That dated announcement is useful context, but it is not a live display schedule or a promise of access on your travel date. Read the official announcement.
Before a manuscript-focused visit, confirm the exact venue, whether an original or reproduction is displayed, the interpretation language, photography rules and any access requirements. A museum catalogue may preserve an older location description; do not assume it is today’s visitor instruction.
Choose a question before choosing more stops
For a first Tashkent day, decide whether you want to explore manuscript history in depth or combine a shorter introduction with neighbourhood and architectural context. Leave room for reading labels, questions and seated breaks instead of filling every hour.
For an individual proposal, share your dates, group size, guide language and preferred pace through the planning form. Our routes are suggestions; venue access, guiding, transport, hotels and final prices require individual written confirmation. An enquiry is not a reservation.