Cultural Comics · Madaniy komikslar
Issue 01 · Samarkand
History that children want to read.
Cultural Comics brings Uzbekistan’s past to life through AI-illustrated stories of Nasriddin Afandi. We take each new issue into schools, kindergartens and learning centres and turn it into a live session on culture, history and reading.
Come on, climb on my donkey. We’re off to Samarkand!
- 2
- sessions held
- 1
- issue presented
- 2
- languages: Uzbek and English
- 6
- people in the team
One issue. One era. One conversation.
01
A guide every child knows
Nasriddin Afandi has made people laugh across Central Asia for centuries. In our comics he travels through time, asks the questions pupils would ask, and makes the answers stick.
02
Each issue is one chapter
Every issue focuses on one place or one period of Uzbekistan’s history, from Samarkand’s monuments to the age of Amir Timur. Read in order, the issues show how the country changed over time.
03
Reading, culture and talk
Sessions mix reading aloud, history, and hands-on culture such as pottery, silk and national cuisine. Comics come in Uzbek and English, so they also work in language classes.
Afandi and the Iron Emir
Samarkand in the age of Amir Timur, 1370-1405. Flip through it the way pupils do in a session: the story panel on top, a short history note under each one for the teacher.
Comic language
Use the arrows, your keyboard, or swipe on a phone. Afandi’s meeting with Timur is a folk legend; every other panel is based on historical sources.
ISSUE 02
Afandi and the Iron Emir
Samarkand, 1370-1405
History note
This sample issue follows Nasriddin Afandi into Samarkand at the height of Amir Timur’s empire.
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Uzbekistan’s story, season by season
Each season of the series covers one period. Together they trace the land from ancient Sogdiana to independent Uzbekistan.
- 01Heritage special
Samarkand: city of monumentsPresented
Registan, Shahi Zinda, Gur-e Amir and Bibi-Khanym, plus pottery, silk and national cuisine. Presented at both sessions.
- 021370-1405
Amir Timur and the TimuridsPreview on this page
An empire ruled from Samarkand, great builders, and Ulugh Beg’s stars.
- 036th c. BCE to 8th c. CE
Sogdiana and AfrasiabPlanned
Traders of the Silk Road, the wall paintings of Afrasiab, and Maracanda before Samarkand.
- 049th to 11th c.
The age of scholarsPlanned
Al-Khwarizmi’s algebra, Ibn Sina’s medicine and al-Biruni’s measurements of the Earth.
- 0516th to 19th c.
Bukhara, Khiva and KokandPlanned
Three khanates, caravanserais and the walled city of Itchan Kala.
- 06Early 20th c.
The JadidsPlanned
Reformers who opened new schools, newspapers and theatres.
- 071991 to today
Independent UzbekistanPlanned
A new country, its symbols, and the heritage it is restoring.
- 08Your idea
What should Afandi explore next?Open
Schools can suggest a topic for a future issue when they invite us.
Sessions so far
Both sessions presented our Samarkand issue: the city’s history, its monuments, its crafts and its food.
Session 2Uzbek + English
Shanghai School
Learning centre
The children read the Uzbek comic in its English version, so the session doubled as a language lesson.
What the children learned about
- Samarkand’s rich history and its place in Uzbekistan’s civilisation
- Registan Square, Shahi Zinda, Gur-e Amir and the Bibi-Khanym mosque
- Samarkand’s crafts: pottery and silk
- Samarkand’s national dishes and its culture of hospitality
Session 1
Angren
Tashkent region
The project’s first session: children in Angren met Samarkand through the comic.
What the children learned about
- Samarkand’s rich history and its place in Uzbekistan’s civilisation
- Registan Square, Shahi Zinda, Gur-e Amir and the Bibi-Khanym mosque
- Samarkand’s crafts: pottery and silk
- Samarkand’s national dishes and its culture of hospitality
How a session works
Read together
We present the new issue and read it aloud with the children, panel by panel.
Talk history
We stop at key moments: the dates, the map, the people, and the monuments still standing today.
Touch the culture
Crafts, patterns and food from the era, such as Samarkand pottery, silk and national dishes.
Keep the story
Children answer Afandi’s closing question, draw their favourite place, and keep the comic.
Organisations we have worked with
The places that opened their rooms to Afandi.
Learning centre
Shanghai School
Hosted our second session and the first bilingual reading of the comics.
Session: 14 August 2026Report on the channel
Tashkent region
Angren
Children and educators in Angren joined our first session.
Session: 18 July 2026Report on the channel
Your organisation
Schools, kindergartens, libraries, museums and learning centres can host a session or sponsor a print run of an issue.
Become a partner
The people behind the panels
The writers, illustrators and hosts who make each issue and take it into classrooms.
Core team
Writing, illustration and media.
Abdulqodir Valijonov
Chief Operating Officer
Amirbek Kholmatov
Project Founder
Azamat Adhamov
Editor
Farruxbek Yariev
Editor
Fazlulloh Ubaydullayev
Editor
Mokhinur Ishmukhamedova
Editor
Bring Afandi to your classroom
Invite a session to your school, join the team that makes the comics, or support a print run. The team reads every application.