Central Samarkand Hotel

... our day with a stop at Gur Emir Mausoleum which Tamerlane built for his beloved grandson Mohammad Sultan. It was absolutely beautiful. Just when you think you have seen beauty in a building, you go and find a better one. At least the guides know in which order to show these things off to the best advantage. Tamerlane was also here. One guidebook called this mausoleum surprisingly modest but I think that he must ...

... not end up buying one myself, I hoped.<br><br> There was one shop in Samarkand which still is dying silk and making carpets there and since there were enough tourists on a Sunday, it was open and would welcome us to come and have a look. I have attached myself to this tour member because I don't want to miss out on seeing carpets. They just really appeal to me.<br><br> Marat took us there in his car ...

... all" but the a has a hook over the top and the l&#8217;s are not quite l&#8217;s. I had trouble seeing it the first time but once you have found it in one place, it pops out at you in all the places. It&#8217;s usually set at an angle too.<br><br> There is one octagonal mausoleum in there that was built by Turkmens I think he said which is why it is different than the other mausoleums. There are no doors in this ...

... section (which had the great views of the Registan and looked very cosy) was booked out, and that we would have to eat in the street-side downstairs section. Looking around te first thing I saw was a meat counter open to the sky and buzzing with flies. Behind this was a restaurant that looked more like a school canteen than a romantic hideaway so my carefully laid plans had been completely dashed. After a lot more walking (which on an empty stomach does nothing in the ...

Samarqand was the first stop in Uzbekistan after a surprisingly easy border crossing. We were expecting this to be one of the worst with thorough searches and the rampant bureaucracy associated with the ex-Soviet states. We were through and on our way within a couple of hours - almost a record!<br><br>Stayed in a lovely small hotel in the center of the city, one of the famous cities on the ancient Silk Road and once, I believe, the unofficial ...

... city streets with large plane and elm trees framing each street until we skirted the stunning Rajistan square on the way to our Hotel. The truck stopped, we got out and headed of down a narrow alley to Hotel Furkat. What a great name and a great local hotel.<br> <br><br>Yahoo no dust. Clothes from the desert were now left to soak to remove the dust and sand. You really do not notice the sand and muck until you realise that the shorts you just took off are ...

Modern Samarkand stretches over an enormous area and being mostly designed on a circular basis it was quite difficult to get our bearings. There were many times that we embarked on a long walk trying to find a landmark site, only to find that we ended up in quite a different direction to that planned. <br><br>And so it was not until our fourth and last day in Samarkand that we did a formal tour and were finally able to gain an appreciation of this extraordinary city. This was probably ...

Our First Day In Samarkand<br><br>Alan woke the next day to find that he too was suffering from Bukhara Belly. In fact he was so sick that I actually felt pretty good when I looked at him. Naim was keen to cancel our proposed stay in a yurt camp at Nurata in the Kyzylkum Desert and I hastily agreed. A night in a yurt camp in the middle of the boiling hot desert without proper toilets or access to any medical help sounded horrendous. I think Alan was too sick ...

Sisplau, sisplau, per si algu no ha llegit el comentari del Jordi a l ultima entrada: www.myspace.com/expedicionariantillach Aneu-hi, es un grande! Per mirar de redressar la deriva turistica d aquest ultim segment uzbec, ens llancem cap a una de les pistes que van apareixent, forssa indiscriminadament, a les ultimes pagines de la meva llibreta: Jasur, Samarkand, 500-70-00; un metge ginecoleg que no parlava ni una paraula d ...

... were three stalls selling melons, what we didn't expect was to be seated in the shade while an Uzbek gentleman sliced up the biggest melon I've ever seen and fed it to us piece by piece, really juicy and refreshing. Not only that but when we were ready to leave any offer of payment was refused and we were presented with another two huge melons for the journey. What a lovely way to start a holiday.<br>The rest of the journey's quite uneventful and ...