Historic Samarkand on the Silk Road

This year in our travels, we are following an ancient Silk Road route that has led to Uzbekistan. Last week we were in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, and this week, Samarkand. Born out of an oasis on the Silk Road route, Samarkand is one of the oldest cities in Central Asia with a history of over two and a half millennia. 

Sherdor Madrasa, Samarkand (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

Captured by Alexander the Great in 329, then ruled by various Turkish, Arab, and Persian groups over the following centuries, Samarkand is full of architecture that reflects the culture of those groups. Now days, as a city of around 500,000 people, it has a well preserved historic ‘old town’ that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to that architecture.

Our guest house (beige colour) in old town Samarkand (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

To get to Samarkand, we travelled from Tashkent on a clean and very fast train that put us in Samarkand in the early afternoon. We were staying in a guest house right in the old town of Samarkand, which is laid out like the old town of Tashkent, so to enter our guest house, we first went through a courtyard.

Amir Temur Mausoleum, Samarkand (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

But the best part of that guest house was the view from our window of the 15th century Amir Temur Mausoleum – the tomb of the King. We saw it as we entered our guest house in the afternoon, but at night time, this beautiful Mausoleum was lit up and looked stunning – and we never tired of seeing it every night we were there.

Samarkand's Registan from left: Tillya-Kari Madrasa; Ulugh Beg Madrasa; Sherdor Madrasa

We were soon out in the streets of Samarkand wandering around seeing many jaw-dropping sights. Our first stop was the Registan, Samarkand’s iconic main square which contains three 15th-17th century madrasas (school for the study of Islam). Each is well preserved and has living quarters, a mosque, and an inner courtyard.

Leigh outside the Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

The outside of each is adorned with beautiful mosaics. In places, there were examples of the original exterior showing faded mosaics and decoration, next to bright faithfully restored areas. The workmanship was amazing. We spent a lot of time outside and inside of each of these historic structures.

Inside the Tillya-Kari Madrasa, Samarkand (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

Inside, each was stunning with more beautiful mosaics, mostly in arrays of blues, and rich-looking gold leaf, all gargantuan in scale. Sometime later, we left the Registan and walked for many kilometres, seeing more amazing mosques, mausoleums and museums.

Bibi-Khanum Mosque, Samarkand (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

We were impressed with the scale of Bibi-Khanum Mosque. It was built in honour of King Amir Timur’s wife in 1404. At that time, it was one of the largest and most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world. Donning our ‘Mosque kit’ that we bought from home to cover our bare legs and heads, we explored the inside. One of the smaller inner mosques was beautifully simple.

The wonderful market in Samarkand (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

Close by, we found a large bazaar where we bought some dried fruit to nibble on as we walked around. The fruit and veges here are beautiful. While we walked, we saw many more impressive historic buildings, including the Gur-Emir Mausoleum, resting place of King Amir Timur (aka Tamerlane), and the Shakhi Zinda Necropolis.

Shakhi Zinda Necropolis, Samarkand (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

Shakhi Zinda is the burial place of royal people and nobles from the 11th to 15th centuries. Inside, are narrow streets lined with huge mausoleums showing lots of domes and ancient stonework. After a huge day, we straggled back toward our guest house., and on the way, we encountered some women dressed up in their best clothes having a day out.

Photogenic ladies in Samarkand, Uzbekistan

We spotted them trying to take selfies, so Leigh offered to take the photo for them. They made sure their knees and feet were covered then she took the photo, and with their permission, also took one for us. There was a lot of giggling afterwards and it was a lovely moment. Various forms of the type of dress and headwear shown in the above photo, seems to be the norm for Uzbekistan women.

Concert for Uzbekistan's Cultural Day celebration, Samarkand, Uzbekistan

Walking back past the Registan on the way home, we saw a cultural concert in progress. Men and women in beautifully embroidered coats, were dancing to Uzbek music played by a local band. We stayed and enjoyed the very rhythmic music, and Leigh, along with an Iranian woman there, was asked to say “Welcome Uzbekistan” for TV!   

 

The walls of Shakhrisabz city (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

Leaving the concert, we picked up some spinach and potato samsas (like samosas) to eat at our hotel, far too tired to hunt down a restaurant. After a huge couple of days sightseeing in Samarkand, we had some days off and caught up on the blog etc, then went out for another sightsee. This time, we left Samarkand for the day, and visited a UNESCO site now called Shakhrisabz, once a Persian walled city known as Kesh.

The ruins of Amir Timur's palace, Shakhrisabz (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

Shakhrisabz/Kesh is over 2700 years old, and although having a turbulent past, and various names over the centuries, it later became famous as the place where the ruler Amir Timur lived. The main part of Shakhrisabz has been faithfully restored, but we found a lot of it a little too twee in its restoration, as some buildings had a newish look. However, we quite liked Aksaray - the ruins of Timur's palace.

 

The City Baths, Shakhrisabz (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

We also liked the City Baths (15th century), which still functions as a bath house to this day. We’d booked a car and driver for our day trip to Shakhrisabz, as it is around 80 km south of Samarkand. The road was terribly bumpy, but we stopped now and again to look at the views, and the drive seemed quite quick. On the return journey, we stopped at a roadside restaurant.

Marg at or lunch stop restaurant near Shakhrisabz (UNESCO), Uzbekistan

We sat at a traditional low table which is raised on a platform, and were served a traditional tandir meal of meat cooked in an earthen oven much the same as an Indian tandoori. We’d had a wonderful day, and after arriving back at our guest house, packed our bags ready to leave Samarkand. Tomorrow, we are headed to the historic city of Bukhara, but that’s in the next blog.

This blog is one in a series about our travels along the Silk Road of Central Asia.