In an article published in National Geographic for which Ona Vileikis was interviewed, various controversies regarding the restoration of Samarkand's historic monuments are outlined.
Samarkand, known by UNESCO as a 'Crossroad of Cultures', has been the focus of criticism with some restoration projects being seen to erase, rather than preserve, history. However, more recently, collaborative initiatives to preserve Samarkand's past in a sustainable manner are emerging.
According to Ona, who indicated that surrounding areas have suffered due to a lack of interest at governmental and international levels:
Samarkand’s monuments have been disconnected from their urban fabric. The local, vernacular architecture is mostly unacknowledged. As a result, walls have been built, dividing neighborhoods in the city and artificially separating areas considered tourist-worthy from those that are not."
Ona is a researcher on the Arcadia-funded Central Asian Archaeological Landscapes (CAAL) project, led by Tim Williams. She is experienced using geospatial content management systems for the monitoring of transnational World Heritage and has collaborated widely with regional and local professionals and government officials on documentation and digital technologies.
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