21st May
We had a whole day in Samarkand today exploring some of the most significant sites.
We wandered through Registan Square. Translated from Uzbek, “Registan” means a sand place. In the ancient times, this central square was covered by sand. The territory was not initially surrounded by madrassah. In that period, authorities of the city gathered people at the square to announce khan’s orders, held celebrations and public executions, and collected the army leaving to war. In the past, one could see many trade rows around the square, where artisans and farmers sold their goods. All main roads of Samarkand led to Registan where it was always noisy and lively. Various rulers during their reign would change the main significance of the square, but since those times and up to now, Registan has always been the centre of the city social life. There are three madrassahs on the square: Ulughbek, Sherdor and Tilla-Kori, that are the main sights of the city. They were erected by two rulers at different times. Unfortunately, there was some restoration going on.
We then visited the 3 sites. Firstly, Ulughbek Madrassah. The heir of the great state of the Temurids, a well-known mathematician and astronomer Ulughbek, assumed the authority in 1409. In year 1417, he gave an order to build the madrassah that would later be renamed in his honour. It was the first built on the Registan Square. The word “madrassah” stems from Arabic and literally means “teaching and learning place”. In 1420, the construction of the madrassah ended. On the outside, the building, located on the western part of the square, was done in the form of a rectangle; inside there is a square yard.
Next was Sherdor. In 1612, Yalangtush Bahadur was appointed the emir of Samarkand. He was the governor-general of the Bukhara khans and by that time, he was already ruling feudal principalities. He was known as a skilful politician and an educated commander. Being a ruler of the city, he decided to construct another madrassah on the Square of Registan opposite the building erected by Ulughbek. According to the project of architects, the new madrassah was supposed to be located on the eastern side of the square and be a mirroring reflection of the existing building on Registan. However, the exact mirroring did not work as the architect did not take one thing into consideration – 200 years had passed since the construction of the Ulughbek madrassah, and the building had shrunk into the ground and the level of the square itself had risen to 2 metres. As a result, the new madrassah turned out to be taller. However, it is rather difficult to notice this difference visually. Construction lasted until 1636. Upon completion, the madrassah was named in honour of the ordering party. However, the name was not popular, and the building was renamed to Sher-Dor. The name comes from the images on the portal: two big golden tigers carrying a sun on their backs and heading after white fallow-deer which are at the entrance. Sher means tiger (lion) and the name is translated as “adorned with tigers”. This later became a national symbol of Uzbekistan.
Then finally, Tilla-Kori. Ten years after the construction of the Sher-Dor madrassah, the ruler of Samarkand Yalangtush Bahadur planned to build another building that was supposed to complete the ensemble. The construction began in 1646, in the northern part of the Registan Square, on the place of the caravan-sarai. The architect decided that the new madrassah should be another copy of already existing buildings, though would be located in the centre. The construction of the Tilla-Kori madrassah lasted more than 14 years and finished in 1660. The main façade of the building is done in two levels; the central portal is silted with a five-ended deep niche with two entrances leading to the inner closed yard. There is a blue-domed tower of the mosque to the left of the portal, with two minarets standing on both sides of the frontal part. The name “Tilla Kori” was given thanks to its décor. Artists had used the painting method of “kundal” for decoration that contained mostly gild. Among all three madrassah, there are richly decorated walls that leave you impressed with the abundance of golden colour. Tilla Kori means “gilded”.
There was even a woman posing in a traditional wedding dress.
We then wandered through a market which was really colourful. You could taste things as you wandered around.
They even made nougat.
The Bibi-Khanym Mosque is one of the most important monuments of Samarkand. Construction started by Timur in 1399 and was completed shortly after his death. In the 15th century it was one of the largest and most magnificent mosques in the Islamic world. By the mid-20th century only a grandiose ruin of it still survived, but now major parts of the mosque have been restored.
The Shah-I-Zinda includes mausoleums and other ritual buildings of 9-14th and 19th centuries. The name Shah-I-Zinda (meaning "The living king") is connected with the legend that Kusam ibn Abbas, the cousin of the prophet Muhammad was buried there. He came to Samarkand with the Arab invasion in the 7th century to preach Islam. Popular legends speak that he was beheaded for his faith. But he took his head and went into the deep well (Garden of Paradise), where he's still living now. The Shah-i-Zinda complex was formed over eight (from 11th till 19th) centuries and now includes more than twenty buildings. We thought this place was amazing.
The entrance
This is where people can pray before heading to the mausoleums.
The steps leading to the mausoleums.
The walk amongst the mausoleums.
Before dinner we headed out for a wine tasting experience. It was only $10 USD to participate so Shane thought he would try the local wines.
He was quite proud of the fact that he drank all the tastings as not many did.
The wines
On the way back to the hotel we visited the Gur-e-Amir mausoleum which we will be visiting tomorrow, but it was lit up so we got to see it by night.
22nd May
It’s Nicola’s birthday today, so after a few birthday wishes we headed out for more exploration.
Our first stop was Konigil village located about 10 km out of town. They are famous for their mulberry papermaking.
We visited the workshop and watched how they made silk paper. The original silk paper was made from silk fibres, but today it is made from the bark of mulberry trees which are the trees that feed silkworms from whose cocoons silk is extracted. First, they strip the bark off.
Then they boil the fibres, so they become soft.
The next process is then manually done through a water wheel. The water turns the wheel which then moves the big logs which pound the pulp.
Then they mix it with water and lay it out flat on mesh mats. It then starts to look like paper.
Once fairly dry they lay them flat under a big stone.
They then use shells or horns to shine the paper.
The finished product.
Somewhere along the way, this traditional paper-making process disappeared until it was revived as part of UNESCO’s Silk Road Project a couple of decades back. We felt privileged to be able to see the skill involved. We had a wander around the complex and they had some water features that were just for show. What a way to utilise old pots and jugs.
They also make linseed oil, again using the water wheels to squeeze the linseed.
We then visited the Ulugh Beg Observatory. Built in the 1420s by the Timurid astronomer Ulugh Beg, it is considered by scholars to have been one of the finest observatories in the Islamic world. The observatory was destroyed in 1449 and rediscovered in 1908.
This is the museum.
This is what the observatory would have looked like.
The entrance to the observatory.
This is looking down inside the observatory.
The complex.
We also visited the ancient settlement of Afrosiab, which was named after the legendary Turanian king. It is situated in the Chupan Ata Hills and was occupied from 500BC to 1220AD. It occupied more than 200 hectares. River bluffs on the north and east and deep ravines in the south and west protected it. During the Achaemenids period, the city was encircled with a massive wall having an internal corridor and towers. It was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th century. There was an archaeological museum there.
We then stopped at Xoja Doniyor (St Daniels) mausoleum. On the shore of Siab, a small tributary of Zerafshan River, there is a sacred place, which keeps the relics of Daniel, the Old Testament Biblical Prophet. Another version says that there are the relics of Daniyol (or Danier), an associate of the Arab preacher Kussama ibn Abbas. But all versions agree that Danier is the Saint and pilgrims from all the three world religions come here to worship him, Christians, Jews and Buddhists.
The mausoleum and inside it.
Up the top was a cemetery.
About 2 kilometres from the Registan is the Gur-e Amir mausoleum, Gur-e Amir is Persian for "Tomb of the King". This architectural complex with its azure dome contains the tombs of Tamerlane, his sons Shah Rukh and Miran Shah and grandsons Ulugh Beg and Muhammad Sultan. Also honoured with a place in the tomb is Timur's teacher Sayyid Baraka. The earliest part of the complex was built at the end of the 14th century by the orders of Muhammad Sultan. Now only the foundations of the madrasah and khanaka, the entrance portal and a part of one of four minarets remains. This is the one we saw last night.
There were a lot of women from Samarkand visiting the mausoleum. They were very friendly and happy to have photos with us. In fact, they begged for Shane to be in one with them.
Inside the grounds.
Inside the mausoleum.
Another memory of Samarkand.
This is a monument of Emir Timur. He was a great conqueror of Central Asia who lost no battle and subjugated the lands from Turkey to India.
They use electric trams around the city.
It was then time to head to the train station.
The train station was lovely and so clean.
We boarded a train to Tashkent; it was a bullet train. It took 2 hours to get there.
They had a speedometer in the carriage.
We eventually arrived in Tashkent which is the capital of Uzbekistan.
This was my birthday cake that evening. It was not only pretty to look at but it was like a Jaffa mousse.
23rd May
Tashkent was rebuilt after the 1966 earthquake. It has a modern layout dominated by Soviet era inspired architecture.
We spent the morning visiting Tashkent’s old town sites. We visited Barakh-khan Madrasah which was built in the 16th century by Suyunidzh-khan, Ulugbek’s grandson. It became the location of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Central Asia. It is also the place where the rich library of oriental manuscripts is found. The Barakh-khan Madrasah library is used to keep the world-known Koran of Caliph Osman written in the mid-12th century.
Khazrati Imam Mosque was also here. This was constructed in 2007 on the initiative of President Islam Karimov.
One of the apartment blocks in the old part of town.
Next stop was Chorsu Bazaar. This too is located in the centre of the old town. Under its blue dome all daily necessities are sold. Chorsu is a Persian word meaning “crossroads” or “four streams”. This place was unbelievable.
We first had a walk around the meat section. Very little refrigeration here.
Horse sausages.
This tasted quite interesting. It was very much like meringue.
Lots of sugar sweets a bit like toffee.
The fruit and veg looked really fresh and colourful. We have loved the tomatoes over here, they have so much flavour.
The bread was fresh and still hot, so we had some.
They bake it fresh on site.
There were so many varieties of eggs.
This stall sold dried curd treats.
Carting their goods.
We then moved through the outdoor eating area. There were some foods we recognised but certainly some we didn’t.
We recognised the kebabs and plov.
We had to ask what this was, it was minced horse meat and noodles.
Then who knows what??
We met this lovely old man. Our guide interpreted for us. He was 89. We gave him a little koala and his face lit up. Although he looked confused when we were trying to explain what a koala was and even more confused about where Australia was.
We then walked to the metro train station. We had heard a lot about the metro and the detail of the platforms. They were really clean and beautifully decorated.
Here are some examples of some of the other platforms.
Once off the train we walked to Amir Timur Square. Right in the centre of the square is a monument to the statesman Amir Timur, who managed to find a centralised united state composing of 27 countries in the vast territory from the Mediterranean Sea to India. The monument plinth is engraved with Timur’s famous motto “Power in Justice”. The square was originally founded in 1882 and originally called Konstantinovsky Square. In 1994 it was renamed to honour the great Timur. The famous Uzbekistan Hotel in the background.
The most famous architectural monument located on the Square is the Tashkent Chime. From the moment of its construction in 1947, it became the symbol of Tashkent. During World War 2 a resident of Tashkent participated in battles in Germany. They brought the famous clock mechanism from a place called Allenstein and presented it to Tashkent on behalf of their regiment. They built the clock tower for this mechanism.
We then had a walk down Broadway.
There was even a food truck.
We visited the Museum of Applied Arts. This was founded in 1937. The museum currently displays over 4000 exhibits including woodcarving, ceramics, embroidery and jewellery.
This is the earthquake memorial which is dedicated to the Tashkent earthquake which occurred in 1966. It is the Monument of Courage and is dedicated to the men and women who rebuilt their flattened city following the earthquake. It is in the form of a granite cube displaying the time (5:22am) of the first tremor while an Uzbek man.
This is the State Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Alisher Navoiy. The history of the theatre started in 1929. In 1939 it was renamed to the Uzbek State Opera and Ballet Theatre, and in March of 1948 it was united with Russian theatre and called the State Opera and Ballet Theatre named after Alisher Navoiy. Later, in 1959 the theatre obtained the status of Academic theatre and in 1966 – the status of Bolshoi Theatre.
We then returned to our hotel which was a pretty swanky hotel.
This is our room. We couldn’t believe it when we walked in last night. It is 60 square metres.
24th May
Today we set off on an overland adventure to Tajikistan. We set off early as we were not sure how long it would take to get through the border. Here is another soviet apartment block.
Once out of Tashkent it was nearly all farming apart from a big reservoir. We drove across the top of the dam.
We had one last stop in Uzbekistan. While we were wandering around this little town, we found a bakery. He was putting the bread in the oven, literally stepping inside so he could smack it against the wall to cook.
We finally arrived at the Uzbekistan border.
This featured blog entry was written by shaneandnicola from the blog The 5 Stans.
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