Uzbekistan – Samarkand? Samar-grand…

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.

The regal Registan of Samarkand

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.

The tram has two lines and costs 1200 som (about 10p) to ride

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.

An artist's impression of Samarkand as a Silk Road stop

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.

Less mountainous terrain and better water sources are
reasons stated for Tamerlane making Samarkand his capital

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.

Tamerlane's birth name was Timur

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.

The entrance portal to the mosque

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.

Tamerlane also decreed women would have to wear veils after this incident

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.

Even after seeing dozens of mausoleums on this trip, this particular one was still breathtaking

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.

The mosque has Persian elements to it as Tamerlane brought
people from modern-day Iran to help with the design

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.

The size of the stone is linked to the person's importance to Tamerlane, rather than actual height

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.

The 'Avenue of Mausoleums'

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.

The patterns are gorgeous

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.

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.

Ulugbek also ruled part of the empire

Part of the track was discovered by archaeologists in 1908

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.

His madrassa has stars on the façade, a way of gently introducing astronomy to the people

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.

The Registan was bombed by the Soviets in
1920 - 40% of it has been renovated

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.

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

The view was pretty good

#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.

Left-to-right: duck, testicle, lamb chop

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.

Sometimes they put on a laser show - we were told it costs 20 million som to do

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