Hotel Asia Samarkand

... Quite often two Madrassahs were built together facing each other or a Madrassah attached to a mosque or a Madrassah facing a mosque, etc. Often they were built by competing rich people wanting to pave their way into paradise a bit better or even Ulug Bek who was a believer in the secular government and built Madrassahs in Bukhara to appease the religious leaders.<br><br> The mosque was magnificent. It is still ...

... to Shahizinda as a second choice. Indeed, it was quite crowded with Uzbeks when we where there, more than the tourists even.<br><br> As we are walking into the complex, a man hurries by with a ram. Pretty sure he was going to be a sacrifice. And as we are standing inside the entrance, an imam is busy praying for a family. Uzbek mosques and Madrassahs are not state supported. Marat says that many people are not ...

... are telephoned and advised of this. They eventually return at 22.30. There is a long debate and Rustam is baulking because he does not want the police involved again which may happen if the hotel become nosey about my injury!!!. I insist. Abdullo persuades him. At 23.00 we race off to pick up another friend who knows hotels in Samarqand and scour the city for a hotel. Around midnight one is found and I am left there for the night.

... almost 2 months on the road we had a good case of mosque and medressa shock.<br><br>We spent the next hour or so wandering around the Registan taking in the various buildings. The tile work had recently been given a make-over by the Karimov government (and had been maintained with zealous energy by the Russians) so the buildings all looked in pristine condition. The front of the Sher Dor Medressa sported two huge frescoes of lions that looked suspiciously like tigers ...

... us to Karambek for dinner. As has come to be expected Lonely Pants was well off with its pricing guide but we where too tired to leave so settled down to our second shashlikh of the day. We were, however much amused by the translations on the restaurant's meuu; some of the highlights included, "Mothers-in-Law Language", &#8220;Tape Measures from Pork&#8221;, &#8220;Feminine Whim&#8221;, &#8220;Hen Stuffed Prodigy&#8221; and &#8220;Luxurious Balls&#8221; to name but a few.

... Eventually we found a small flat area, where we stopped and set up camp. Before we turned in, we were visited by one of the ugliest, scariest insect/spidery things I've ever seen. It had an 8cm leg span, big preying mantis like front legs/claws, moved fast and, well, we weren't gonna touch it. I took aim and drop kicked it as far as possible and made sure I kept the tent doors zipped shut!<br><br>Still had a good nights sleep though - see ya. Pete.

... domes and as far into the Madrassas in the square as we could. The photos detail this far better than I ever could. <br> <br>Each day I learn something new and the guide finally provided an answer to the reason they use the stalactite decorations over the arches, doorways, in the corners of the domes and at the top of the minarets is to help with earthquake dissipation. Similar to what is used today in modern buildings o isolate them from the movements. <br><br>How ...

... it was not uncommon to see women in body hugging jeans and revealing tops frequenting mosques where prayers were being undertaken. <br><br>From the Registan we walked some three or four kilometers through the back lanes of Samarkand, amongst the houses and living areas of the local Samarkanders. This was around six hours into our trip and we were feeling exhausted. It was however a great opportunity to see how people live and from the photos it can be seen that life is still pretty hard ...

... soupy meat flavoured noodles that are quite tasty until you get to the large lump of congealed mutton fat in the bottom of the bowl. <br><br>Alan survived the fried eggs and we spent a very sedate day. Our hotel was near the university grounds of Samarkand and was surrounded by leafy wide roads and large parks. We spent a leisurely morning strolling down University Road, a serene street lined with enormous ancient plane trees and red and white ...

... l antic imperi timurida, un catxarro muntat a velocitat de llampec, sobre les restes de l imperi mongol, entre l est de Turquia i la India, cap alla al s. XIV. Sembla ser que en Timur, el tira que li dona nom - com tot bon tira- va fer un gran i preponderant us de l arquitectura per presentar les credencials de l imperi al mon, i aixi ho resen les inscripcions: "per veure el poder del nostre poble, mireu els nostres ...