Samarkand, Uzbekistan, April 26th, 2014

24 Apr (Thurs):   We left Bukhara in rain and it rained on and off as we took the longer southern road to Samarkand.  The first 4 hours or so was through flat desert with some irrigated land growing wheat together with other parts ploughed ready for cotton.  As we got close to Shakhrisabz the country improved and there were lots of orchards.  Shakhrisabz is Timurlane's (see later) birthplace and he built himself an enormous palace here.  Now there are only the ruins of the entrance portal but they are still impressive.

We continued to Samarkand over a 1,700 m pass.  There were boys selling bunches of wild tulips and the driver stopped to buy me a bunch.  At the top of the pass we tried the wild rhubarb on sale at a stall but it was too cold, wet and windy to linger.

Alexander the Great was very impressed with Samerkand and it must have been a fabulously city for a long time before Ginghis Khan obliterated it in 1220.  In 1370 Timurlane made it his capital and re-built it in grand style using artisans from all over his empire which stretched from Turkey to India.  It is these 14th C buildings which bring people here today and which impressed Marco Polo.  After Timurlane died his grandson Ulegbeg reigned for 40 years.  He was a scholar and astronomer and we visited his observatory and interesting museum depicting his scientific work.

Samarkand has extensive parks together with mosques, madressahs and mausoleums galore.  We are staying near the university and had lunch in a Uzbek equivalent of a fast food  joint.  We found the local beer store (actually 3 side-by-side).  They do a roaring trade - we saw one customer buying 3 cases of vodka.

As usual we like wandering around the bazaars, although the few gypsies are annoying. There are also old women selling fine handknitted lace woollen shawls (Orenburg?) now for the photos:-

The Malika Prime in Samarkand with a good shower and a very good breakfast.

Wild tulips. They are as big as cultivated ones.

Ak Saray Palace, the 40m high ruins of the portal to what must have been an incredibly huge palace which Timur built for himself

Tilework at Ak Saray palace in Shakhrisabz

Kok Gombaz mosque in Shakhrisabz

 

The palm trees on the interior tiled walls were left by the Indian and Iranian designers.

Wild tulips for sale along the road.

Looking down a shady avenue to a seated statue of Timur.

Exquisite tiling in the Gur e Amir mausoleum where 2 of Timur's sons and 2 grandsons are buried. When the grave was opened in 1941 it was found Timur was lame and that his grandson Ulegbek had been beheaded.

 Outside view of the famous Registan which has huge 14thC buildings on three sides

Another view of the Registan complex.

The Sher Dor Madressah has lions over the portal although they look more like tigers.

 A musician demonstrating Central Asian musical instruments.There are many stringed instruments with various numbers of strings and also a flute.

 Photograph of the Registan in the 19thC. Stalin started (or at least encouraged the restoration starting in 1930.

Giant marble Koran stand at Bibi Khanym mosque (She was the wife of Timur.

 The remains of Ulegbeg's sextant. His observations were remarkably accurate.

Sorry this is out of focus but it shows he calculated the length of the year to within one minute.

Daniel's tomb still popular with Jews, Christians and Moslems. Timur brought his remains here from Susa (Iran) - for good luck!

Part of the 7thC Sogdian fresco at Afrosiab an older Samarkand.

 Zoroastrian ossuary in the Afrosiab museum.

Market in Samarkand.

Bokhara, Uzbekistan, April 23rd

Last Monday (21st) we left Turkmenistan by the Farab border crossing where there was a great lineup of trucks.  With our guide Murrad on hand the Turkmenistan side was easy and then there was a shuttle bus which we shared with some Swiss but it only went as far as the actual border where there was the first Uzbek passport check.  We then had to walk dragging our cases for over 1 km to the immigratiion and customs building.  We had to fill in a Russian language customs declaratiion but they did lend us a form in English that had been previiously filled in by a  German tourist which was very helpful.  Eventually after 2.5 hours we were on the road and arrived in Bukkara at about 7 pm.

Our hotel, the Komil is a restored/refurbished courtyard house of a 19th century merchant. It is a bit of a labyrinth with at least 3 courtyards but is very nice.  The other guests are mostly French - indeed most tourists seem to be French, German or Italian and I.have never before been asked if I was Portuguese!
 
On Tuesday morning (22nd) we started our tour of Boukara by visiting the Mausoleum of Samamid built between 892-943 AD with its fine brickwork.  Next stop was Bolo Hauz (1712) with 20 columns reflected in a pool.  Across the square is the Winter Palace built on the site chosen  by Cyrus in the 6th century BC.  The 19thC emir was notoriously cruel and it was here in 1842 that two British army officers were publically executed after digging their own graves.

. Then on to Poi Kalan with its minaret built in 1127.  Here Job is supposed to have struck the ground with his stick from where a water supply sprang up.

The city is much more geared to tourists than anywhere else we have been and there are a lot of stalls selling ikat fabric, embroidered  items, wood carvings, miniature paintings, puppets and so on.

The women in Bukhara dress quite differently from those in Khiva.  Here the most common outlfits are matching above the ankle slacks and dresses in bright colours with a lot of sparkles.  The men wear the square skull cap.  Pilgrimage  is a popular pastime often to mausoleums of imam/sufi saints.

Bill has been pleased to find that you can buy draught been in empty water bottles filled while you wait for about $1.70/l and it is very good.  I find the dried apricots and various nuts, pistachios, peanuts and walnuts very good but bananas from Equador are $1 each.

 The plain street frontage of the Komil hotel, Bukhara

Our windows on our courtyard.

Mausoleum of Samamid built between 892-943 AD

Not bad brickwork 1100 years ago!

Typical local dress in Bokhara.

Old style street butcher.

More modern refrigerated butcher.

Some of the 20 columns of the Bolo Hauz (1712)

 Bolo Hauz ?

 Lion in a courtyard at the Winter Palace in Bokhara.

 Walls of Khiva.

 Fresh Russian style Bread

Cauliflowers for sale.

 

Tilework at Poi Kalon a 16thC mosque.

Silk carpet weaving. Girls must be 16 at least.

Not sure of the function of the handles on the furnace. They were forging knives.

Madressah Nodiz Devon begun in 1622. Note the birds on the tiles.

Bottling draught beer at a very reasonable price and a good product.

Bokhara puppets

Mulberry tree on the courtyard of a madressah

The dining room of our hotel.

Shortage of labels- will follow later

Brass Chandeliers at Bahauddin Naqshbandi a popular local pilgrimage site

 Pilgrims circling around an ancient mulberry tree at Bahauddin Naqshbandi.

Pilgrims relaxing and praying at Bahauddin Naqshbandi.

 The  Emir's Summer Palace at Sitorai Makhi Khosa built about 1900 in a mix of Russian and central Asian styles.

 The white room where the mirrors are decorated with white plaster.

 Miniatures on "silk paper" (actually mulberry bark paper)

There are still peacocks in the grounds of the Emir's palace but no longer the extensive menagerie he had. We were too early for the roses but there are heaps of rose bushes.

Chor Minor