Sherdor Hotel Samarkand

... think the one you climb, were at such an angle that they attached ropes to it and tried to pull it upright again. Now it is more upright but the minaret at the back right corner is what Marat calls the &#8220;Leaning Tower of Registran Square&#8221; or the &#8220;Uzbekistan Leaning Tower of Pisa&#8221;.<br><br> We went into this Madrassah after standing and looking through the grill and also taking photos of the ...

... threw out all the carpets and my friend looked at Kilims. He finally narrowed it down to a couple and I held them up and he stood back and then he picked one. I was seriously looking at a carpet that I liked and it was $850. Abdullah dropped it to $700 but I would have to ship it and that would have been $90. If he would have dropped it to $600, I would have done it but once my friend had made up his ...

... tell you the buildings and mosques and Madrassahs just keep getting better and better. I would have been quite disappointed to do this trip in reverse because Samarkand is a delight of wonders and glorious buildings.<br><br> The mosque Bibi Khanum is huge but much smaller than it used to be. The construction of it was not very good and it started raining bricks off the ceiling of the mosque once it was done. And ...

... 1220 with the arrival of Genghis Khan, who (like almost always) annihilated most of the city he conquered. Samarkand would have almost dropped off the map altogether if it weren't for the equally brutal tyrant Timur (Tamerlane) who made Samarkand his capital in 1370 and spent the next 35 years turning it into the most impressive city in Central Asia. Much of what stands in Samarkand today dates from Timur's time.<br><br>Before we could take in any of the sights we made a ...

Oh Samarqand, oh Samarqand, how many mausoleums are in your midst?'<br><br>Lots, is the answer to that, lots and lots.<br><br>Started the day with our first breakfast in two weeks amongst the cherry trees (and the wasps) in the courtyard of our very pleasant hostel. After the obligatory game of Cazzio (a card game taught to Dave by a Russian truck driver called Alex on the ferry) and general faffing we headed into town, along the Registan, in the midday sun. Our first stop ...

... in some major road works, Baz and Tim managing to get through. This meant a 5 hour wait, during which Rick and I, and our vehicles, were the centre of attention! I lost count of the number of Uzbeks I talked to, and I particularly remember one moment when I sneaked away, sat down and had a quiet drink and when I looked up 20+ faces were staring intently to see what the 'Englais' would do next! It was a bit of a struggle at times but I ...

... of normal life for a tourist.<br><br>The following day was the usual walking tour. We started at the Shahr I Zindah. This is an avenue of tombs placed side by side on the far side of the city. The stairway up to the tombs is known as the stairway to heaven as the view once the stairs have been conquered is very moving.<br> <br><br>We wandered up the hill past the markets and the huge Bibi Khanyan Mosque. Built in a hurry they forgot a few bits and it crumbled ...

... with the fabulously well preserved ancient architecture of a mind boggling array of medressas, mosques and mausoleums. We must have visited them all. But the highlights for us were the Ulugbek Observatory and the magnificent Registan. The Registan is the simply stunning centrepiece of the city and probably the most well known single site in all of Central Asia. It simply abounds with magnificent azure tiled medressas, tilting tall minarets and ornate fluted domed buildings.<br><br>And ...

... en transport urba col lectiu) ens apropa al Magasin Dustlick, miscel lanics baixos comercials d un dels centenars de bloquets sovietics de l extraradi de Samarcanda; un colomar i una adrogueria entre d altres. Rebotem per uns quants veins comunicatius que es relleven per saber de nosaltres, fins que, exercint discretament la seva autoritat, ens guanya l aksakal de la mahalla, que ens convida a dinar. Les Mahalles son ...