July 17-19
Hello everyone!
After seeing a different side of Uzbekistan in the Kyzylkum
Desert, it was time for our truck to return to the original path of the Silk
Road. Our next stop was one of the most important trading stops between
Constantinople and China: Samarkand.
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| The regal Registan of Samarkand |
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Samarkand is easily reached from Bukhara by
bus or new, fancy high-speed train |
The place isn’t merely a historical footnote, either. Today’s
Samarkand (locals spell is Samarqand) is the second-largest city in the
country, housing over half a million people. It has large highways, the
beginnings of a tram system and a sense of business that has been missing in
the other towns we’ve been to so far.
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| The tram has two lines and costs 1200 som (about 10p) to ride |
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| Many pretty parks actually make it quite easy to escape the city hum |
The lure, however, is its twinned history as a Silk Road
crossroads, linking China, India and Persia, and as the home of one of Central
Asia’s second-most renowned leader in the last millennium after Genghis Khan.
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| An artist's impression of Samarkand as a Silk Road stop |
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| A statue of Tamerlane in Samarkand |
Samarkand was the home of Tamerlane and the hub of his
empire, which sprawled from the Caucasus to India. He ruled until his death in 1405
– and in that time laid the groundwork to transform Samarkand from forgotten
trading town into a stunning oasis.
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Less mountainous terrain and better water sources are
reasons stated for Tamerlane making Samarkand his capital |
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Our guide told us that Tamerlane united an area containing
26 different 'countries' which existed at the time |
His armies would spread far and wide, conquering and
pillaging whilst spreading the word of Islam. Though born further south in the
town of Shakhrisabz, Tamerlane would return ‘home’ to Samarkand, where he built
a palace and ruled for 35 years. He suffered severe injuries when he was 25,
making him lame in his right leg and severely damaging his right hand. This
apparently led to him being called Tamerlane.
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| Tamerlane's birth name was Timur |
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| A devout Muslim, Tamerlane wanted to unite all of his empire under the religion |
The main construction of this time was a mosque which was
possible one of the world’s biggest at the time. It is named after one of his
wives, Bibi Khanym.
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| The entrance portal to the mosque |
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| The cupola is 41m high |
It was being built whilst Tamerlane was in battle in India
in 1398. The story goes that the architect fell in love with Bibi and would
only finish it if he could kiss her cheek. When the big boss returned, the mark
was still prevalent. The architect soon…wasn’t. Legend has it that Bibi was
sentenced to death too; however, she requested that she be allowed to jump off
her mosque to do so. It then follows the same story of the ‘parachute girl’
from Bukhara which I wrote about in a previous blog. I’m a bit sceptical about
these parachute survivals, in truth.
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| Tamerlane also decreed women would have to wear veils after this incident |
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| The reasoning for veils was so women didn't 'tempt' other men. Different times... |
Tamerlane perished a few years later on the way to China, a
place he’d wanted to see and convert to Islam since his childhood, dying of meningitis.
He is buried in Samarkand under a stunning building called the Gur-E-Amir
mausoleum.
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| Even after seeing dozens of mausoleums on this trip, this particular one was still breathtaking |
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| The inside of the mausoleum - it seems they liked gold |
This majestic mausoleum, built whilst Tamerlane was still
alive, was built by over 20,000 workers who required over 700 massive pots of
plov on a daily basis. They must have been frustrated with the main architect
as Tamerlane kept on asking for changes to be made during its construction.
Still, what they ended up with is pretty impressive.
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The mosque has Persian elements to it as Tamerlane brought
people from modern-day Iran to help with the design |
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| This was only built a year before Tamerlane's death |
The big man is buried in the mausoleum, in a golden gilded
chamber filled with flecks of gold leaf. His tomb is easy to spot – it’s the
stone in the middle. Not just any stone. This is the largest jade stone in the
world. He is surrounded by other, plainer stones which represent many family
members.
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| The size of the stone is linked to the person's importance to Tamerlane, rather than actual height |
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| The stone was brought back from Mongolia |
Remembering those who are long gone is a theme running
through Samarkand. There is a massive graveyard sitting on a hill above the old
centre and also an avenue of mausoleums, called Shah-i-Zinda.
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| The 'Avenue of Mausoleums' |
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The painted ceramic style used for many of
these mausoleums is called majolica |
These are some of the most beautiful mausoleums in the country,
which their royal blue tiles elegantly shaped into mosaics of fabulous flowers
and pretty patterns.
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| The patterns are gorgeous |
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The interior is much cooler, a welcome respite from
the 40°C and above temperatures outside |
More recent deaths are also commemorated in Samarkand.
Interestingly, this city is the final resting place of Uzbekistan’s first
president, Islam Karimov, who died in 2016. I didn’t go in as I had unwittingly
prioritised comfort (wearing shorts) over seeing a man who was in charge when
Uzbekistan was seen as a repressive country. Time will tell whether he’s
remembered as fondly as Tamerlane, though I highly doubt he will.
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| Karimov ruled Uzbekistan for 25 years from 1991 |
One man who is fondly reminisced about is Tamerlane’s
grandson, Ulugbek. He was a famous astronomer and people in that field still
use his work today. His observatory is on the edge of the city and contains
part of the original quadrant he used to identify stars.
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| Ulugbek also ruled part of the empire |
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| Part of the track was discovered by archaeologists in 1908 |
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| This shows how it worked - I'm still stumped |
Samarkand was strictly Islamic at the time and sceptical
about Ulugbek’s teachings. To gain their trust, he thus built an Islamic
structure for the people. This is called the Ulugbek Madrassa and makes up part
of Samarkand’s postcard picture: the Registan.
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| His madrassa has stars on the façade, a way of gently introducing astronomy to the people |
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| The square is approximately 110m by 60m |
A large square is dominated by madrassas on three sides,
which seem to lean into the open space in front of them. Mosaics pop out of
every wall, with beautiful shades of turquoise and teal adding colour to the
sandy brickwork. Each Islamic school has two towering minarets either side of
its stunningly decorative portal, the entrance section which looks like a large
cuboid.
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The Registan was bombed by the Soviets in
1920 - 40% of it has been renovated |
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| The main square used to be a bazaar |
It was in one of these minarets that I had a little
accident. The muezzins must have been much smaller in the heyday of the
madrassa in order for them to reach the top and give the call to prayer. I
forgot to duck when taking the first step up the final, narrow, spiralled
staircase. It hurt but I didn’t realise the damage until my friend found me in
the grounds of mosque staggering around with dried blood down the side of my
head.
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The minarets should lean outwards, just like at the Taj Mahal in
India, so that they don't land on the building if they collapse |
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| The view was pretty good |
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| #warwound |
Many countries I’ve visited suggest various ‘exotic’ foods
as cures for health issues – maybe I should have investigated this further. I
had tried something new the night before. Not the duck shashlik, which was
absolutely delicious and possibly my favourite dish I had in the whole trip.
The bull balls. That’s right. Testicles of a bull. As a kebab. They had a fishy
texture and weren’t as vile as you may think.
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| Left-to-right: duck, testicle, lamb chop |
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The delightfully-named 'Jiz' was also an interesting
option - we had this in Khiva and it was lovely |
But back to the Registan. If it looks good in the daytime,
it is simply stunning in the late evening light. It has been called the noblest
public square in the world and more than lives up to that description as the
soft evening light paints the Sher Dor madrassa. As the sun sets, milky white
lights illuminate little caverns in these cavernous structures, adding to the
charm.
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| Sometimes they put on a laser show - we were told it costs 20 million som to do |
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| Perspective check: much of this is almost 600 years old! |
Samarkand is a monument to an empire little known outside of
this region but one which has influenced many areas of the world. The sheer
scale of the buildings are impressive yet it is also very easy to find a quiet
area to reflect. Personally I preferred Bukhara, I can’t really explain why,
but Samarkand certainly lives up to its reputation as one of the jewels of the
old Silk Road.
Love you all,
Matt
