Tashkent, << tahsh KEHNT >> (pop. 2,993,453), also spelled Toshkent, is the capital of Uzbekistan, a country in central Asia. The city lies in the valley of the Chirchik River. Tashkent used to be divided into two sections, an old city and a new city. Today, there is little difference between the two. Many structures of the old city were destroyed during a powerful earthquake in 1966. They were replaced by multistory apartment buildings, stores, and office buildings. Tashkent has machinery plants and a cotton-textile mill. It is the regional center for cotton fabric production.
