Samarkand, Crossroads of Culture

It's been more than 1 weeks since I wrote about our traveling journey in Uzbekistan. There are 2 other cities that I need to write, but since these 2 cities are too magnificent for me to just write just based on our experience. I feel the urge to read more and more about the history of these 2 great cities. The history that amazed me, the long journey of life.

I was awe-inspired since the first time I set my foot in front of Registan Square, the grande buildings monuments of human civilization for centuries. in 2001, UNESCO added the city as one of World Heritage List, Samarkand - Crossroads of Cultures. 

We arrived at Samarkand around 11 am, our guest house host picked us at Samarkand's train station. We took Afrosiyob from Tashkent, around 300 km journey for 2 hours using the fast train. It costs 200.000 so'm, or only 18USD, or 50 AED per person for the VIP class. We got free breakfast and only 12 seats in our wagon. A very comfortable journey.

Outside the train stations, you will find lots of taxi drivers offering Samarkand tours, we don't have time to check for the price. Our guest house host already picked us. Not far from the stations' gate you' ll see tram, one of public transport in Samarkand, but it doesn't operate around tourism area. Samarkand is quite busy city too nowadays, traffic jam in the main roads, developments of the roads took part as the cause of it.

Our guest house is a bit off the city, around 8 km in the suburbs area, but it's only 17 minutes to travel to the tourism objects using taxi, or around 30.000 so'm one way. Once we reach the guest house, we were served with Uzbek's tea, qora choy, or black tea. Tea is very common here in Uzbekistan, you can find it everywhere, they will ask you, qora choy, ko'k choy? black tea or green tea? After few days, you'll become addicted in to it, especially on cold weather, and you barely found hot chocolate anywhere.

The name Samarkand was derived from old Persian words, asmara ("stone", "rock") and from Sogdian qand ("fort" or "town"), Samarkand literally means "stone fort" or "rock town". The city has long been a central point of trades across the region, it held central position on the Silk Road between China and The West. Samarkand was also home for diverse religions, Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Manichaeism, Judaism, Nestorian Christianity, and when the armies of Ummayyad Chaliphate under Qutayba ibn Muslim captured the city at 710 AD, much of the city population converted to Islam.

Numerous great emporium was ruled Samarkand through the span of time, Alexander The Great was conquered Samarkand in 329 BCE, Sassanian Empire from Persia, Turkic Khaganate, and Samarkand was under patronage of Ummayyad and Abbasid Caliphate, and then replaced by the Samanids Empire. Continued by the Turkic Qarakhanid Dynasty, and conquered by Mongolian, Gengis Khan on 1200 AD until 1370 AD, when Amir Timur (Tamerlane) starting the Timurid Empire.

Most of the sites that we visited during our trip are the heritage during Timurid Empire, you can seebig Timur statues sits in the center of the city, as if he's watching and witnessing Samarkand up until now.

After short rest, 1pm we start our journey to the old city, our host ordered a taxi to take us to Registan. After we cross the street, and walk through the front site of the Registan, we were silent for a moment, four of us was just jaw dropped watching 3 big buildings in fornt of us. The old buildings that invite us to explore what's behind the wall. 

The Registan, it's the city square of Samarkand, was starting developed by the grandson of Amir Timur, Ulugh Beg. Consists of 3 buildings, Ulugh Beg madrasah, Sher Dor madrasah, and Tilla Kori madrasah. I was amazed by the passions of Ulugh Beg for science. He also built an enormous observatory, that had Fakhri sextant with diameter of about 36 meters, to increase the accuracy of his observations. He published Zij-i-Sultani of 994 stars, one of the greatest stars catalogue, one of the most original of the middle ages. You'll feel thrown to the magnificent era where lots of intellectuals gathered to study and discuss. We really enjoyed our visit there, we hired a guide for 200.000 so'm that explaining about the sites for around 45 minutes, and after that we re-explore the sites until sunset. It was incredible place, we saw many couples took pre-wedding photographs around the area. But lots of souvenirs vendors inside the sites just make our visit a bit uncomfortable.

We continue to explore Samarkand the next day, our host told us that Imam Bukhari mausoleum is near our guest house. So we decide to start our exploration from there. Imam Bukari is one of the greatest Islamic scholar born in Bukhara, he compiled hadith collections Shahih al Bukhari. Unfortunately we couldn't enter the site, it is in the development process to be built as one of pilgrimage center, and I'm sure it will attacts many moslem to visit. It's rain when we visit the area, the road were muddy because of the construction project, and our taxi driver told us about the apples farms that during winter we can only saw the dried branches, along the way to Imam Bukhari mausoleum.

We didin't realize that day journey would drain our energy, at least for me it's also drained me emotionally. The whole day, weather was gloomy, dark clouds with forecast of snowfall, and we visited lots of mausoleum, a.k.a graveyard or burial sites. From Imam al Bukhari mausoleum, we drove back to the city, to Gur-e Amir, it is Amir Timur Mausoleum, yes, it is graveyard of Amir Timur. For me and husband , who loves to watch historical drama and movies, we're a bit surprised, to find another side of history. We used to know Amir Timur's name for the antagonist part in the story, but we learnt about his great legacies here, in Uzbekistan.

From Gur-e-Timur we moved to Registan area, to explore another sites, we took a walk around 1 km, and enjoy strolling around the city. Made a short stop for the street food, enjoy the cold weather, and a bit rain. It was so great.

Reached Registan area, we walk pass the Registans to the park besides, where we can find statue of the first president of Uzbekistan, Islam Karimov. I think, it's one of the place where locals also enjoying the parks, you'll see quadcycle bike rental, street vendors, and people walking around. The heritage sites stretches around 2 km, with many sites to visit, including Siyob Bazaar, it was closed during our visit.

We visited, Bibi Khanym mosque, a gigantic mosque that built during the reign of Amir Timur,it originally had about 450 marble columns, which were hauled there and set up with the help of 95 elephants, that brought by Amir Timur from Hindustan. But, the mosque already has problems from the beginning of the construction, so it needed restorations many times, until it stopped by Abdullah Khan Ozbeg, ruler from Syahbanids Dynasty , Khan of Bukhara in the late of 16th century. The mosque starting to ruined and collapsed, and re-restored in 1974, by the government of Uzbek-SSR.

On the opposites of the mosque, we can find Bibi Khanym mausoleum. Bibi Khanym was Amir Temur's favorite wife.

We ended our strolls in Shah-i-Zinda, I was thinking that it's a Royal Complex, since it was written as Shah-i-Zinda Ensemble. Turns out it is a burial complex since 11th century. The dark clouds that hang in the sky, really add depressing ambience. What I'm impressed is, the burial complex is still exists and used up to now, we saw lots of modern burials around the complex. 

When we had breakfast in the guest house, we talked with other guests there, they were Uzbeks, and they asked us, why we travel during winter. A lot of tourist attractions isn't operating during cold days, but we didn't found any crowds during our visit, it's an advantage, since the pandemic still haunt us. But we missed few things, like the Siyob Bazaar.

Overall, it was a great trip there, honestly it made me wants to read and get more informations about Uzbekistan, and makes me want to explore another country in Central Asia.